A few facts about football (soccer)

One fact about soccer is that every man understands the offside rule, but no woman does!

A gross oversimplification, of course, and horribly sexist!  The rule is that a player is offside if there are fewer than two players between him and the opposition goal line at the moment that the ball is passed forward to him from a member of his own team. This leads to all sorts of debates, because the decision is usually made by a linesman (assistant referee) who has to make a split-second judgment based on his view of two things, namely the position of the offending player and the moment of the pass being made. If he is parallel with the play at the time, he has a reasonable chance of doing this, but if not …

The FA Cup is the world’s greatest club competition. That is surely true, because it is watched by people all over the world, and has a history of bringing together the giants and the minnows on the same pitch. And sometimes the minnows win!

A word of explanation for the uninitiated.  Every club in the country (that is, England and Wales - Scotland has its own competition) that is registered with the Football Association is entitled to enter the competition. This includes a whole host of amateur clubs that play in local leagues as well as the professionals. After several preliminary rounds there will be a number of these clubs who reach the “first round proper”, which is when the lower tier professional clubs join in. All the rounds are drawn from scratch, so a small amateur non-league club can find itself playing a professional league club. 

When the third round is reached, the top clubs (i.e. from the Premiership and the Championship) enter the draw. If any of the minnows have survived to this stage, they stand a chance of drawing a club that is oozing with international players who earn millions and own private jets. 

The draws for the later rounds are televised and watched eagerly as the small clubs hope to draw a much larger club. Although the chances of winning such a match are not as great as when a club of equal or lower status is drawn, there is a huge financial incentive for the smaller club, because it stands to fill its own ground if the draw is a home fixture, or, if drawn away, share in the gate receipts of the larger club, which may well be able to accommodate tens of thousands of fans at its ground.

The best result – from the smaller club’s point of view – is neither to win nor lose the game when drawn against a larger club but to earn a replay, because the second match is always played at the ground not used for the original match. It is even better if one or both matches is televised, because the fees earned from TV companies are well worth having.

The history of the competition includes many examples of ‘giant killing’, when a minnow has defeated a major club from the top flight of English football. A moment of brilliance or luck can turn a match upside down and produce an unexpected result that will bring a minnow club, and its players, very welcome fame and publicity, if only for a few weeks. It is the possibility of an upset that excites the public imagination and makes the FA Cup such a fascinating competition.

Any more facts about soccer? It’s a game of two halves, the winners are over the moon, the losers sick as parrots, and referees have to leave their guide dogs in the changing room. That should be enough to be getting on with.

© John Welford