A Beginner's Guide to How Football is Played: Rules, Positions and Basics

You know, I’ve always found something profoundly beautiful about team sports. It’s that shared heartbeat, the collective breath held during a crucial moment, the legacy passed down from one generation of players to the next. I was reminded of this recently when I came across a moving tribute from a women’s basketball program, honoring a departing player. It spoke of battles fought together, victories celebrated, and lessons that would live on in every new athlete who took the court. That, right there, is the soul of any team game, and it’s the perfect lens through which to understand football. At its core, football isn’t just about rules and positions; it’s about building a story, a legacy, within those white lines. If you’re new to the beautiful game and feel lost when offside is called or someone shouts “switch the play!”, consider this your friendly guide from a lifelong fan. We’ll walk through the basics, but always with an eye on that bigger picture—the battle, the victory, the challenge that defines a team’s story.

Let’s start with the absolute foundation: the objective and the field. The aim is simple—score more goals than the opponent. A goal, worth one point, is scored when the entire ball crosses the goal line between the posts and beneath the crossbar. The game is played on a rectangular pitch, typically between 100-110 meters long and 64-75 meters wide for professional matches, for about 90 minutes, split into two 45-minute halves. Now, here’s where the shared battle begins. Each team fields eleven players, and the positions form the skeleton of their strategy. You have the goalkeeper, the last line of defense, the only player allowed to use their hands within the penalty area. In front of them are the defenders, the stoic guardians. Center-backs are the physical pillars, while full-backs operate on the flanks, contributing to both defense and attack. The midfield is the engine room, the thinkers. Defensive midfielders break up opposition plays, while attacking midfielders are the creative sparks, the playmakers. Up front, the forwards or strikers are the primary scorers, the ones who write the headlines. But here’s my personal belief: while star strikers get the glory, a game is almost always won or lost in the midfield. Controlling that space is everything.

Understanding how these players move and interact is governed by the rules, and the most famous—and often debated—is the offside rule. In simple terms, a player is in an offside position if they are nearer to the opponent’s goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent (usually the last defender) at the moment the ball is played to them. It’s not an offense to be in that position; it’s only an offense if they become involved in active play. This rule prevents goal-hanging and encourages build-up play. Other key rules involve fouls and misconduct. A direct free kick is awarded for serious fouls like kicking, tripping, or pushing, and can result in a goal directly from the kick. An indirect free kick, requiring a second touch before a goal can be scored, is given for less serious offenses like dangerous play or obstruction. A penalty kick, a huge moment in any battle, is awarded for a direct free kick offense inside the defending team’s penalty area. Serious fouls or acts of unsporting behavior are punished with yellow (caution) or red (dismissal) cards. I’ll admit, the interpretation of these rules, especially what constitutes a foul, can be infuriatingly subjective and is a constant source of debate among fans. That’s part of the drama.

Beyond the rules, the flow of the game is about phases and philosophy. The team in possession aims to create scoring opportunities through passing, dribbling, and crossing. The team out of possession defends, aiming to win the ball back through tackling, intercepting passes, and maintaining a tight shape. Set pieces—corner kicks, free kicks, and throw-ins—are critical opportunities, often deciding tight matches. Tactically, teams adopt formations like 4-4-2, 4-3-3, or 3-5-2, which denote the arrangement of defenders, midfielders, and forwards. A 4-3-3, for instance, is generally more attacking than a 4-5-1. But the numbers only tell part of the story. The real lesson, the one that echoes that tribute to the Lady Bulldog, is about cohesion. It’s about how a goalkeeper’s distribution starts an attack, how a center-back’s perfectly timed tackle fuels a counter, and how a midfielder’s vision unlocks a defense. It’s a chain of trust. I have a soft spot for teams that play with a high press, hunting the ball in packs. It’s exhausting but exhilarating to watch, a true testament to collective will.

So, as you begin your journey into understanding football, look beyond the basic framework. See the goalkeeper’s save as the first pass of a potential victory. See the midfielder’s relentless running as the backbone of every challenge. The rules and positions are the grammar, but the game itself is the story being written. Every match is a new battle, every goal a shared victory, and every setback a challenge to be faced together. The legacy of the sport is built on these moments, and the lessons from legends past inform the stars of tomorrow. Whether you’re watching a local Sunday league game or the World Cup final, you’re witnessing a living narrative. Now you know the basics, you can appreciate not just what the players are doing, but why they’re doing it, and the profound connection that makes eleven individuals a single, fighting unit. Welcome to the story.