Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each, who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins annually with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season, which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference, including four division winners and three wild card teams, advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament, which culminates in the Super Bowl, played in early February between the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games.
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isle of Man also competing. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the theoretical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system, the Premier League. Below that are levels 2–4 organised by the English Football League, then the National League System from levels 5–10 administered by the FA, and thereafter Regional feeder leagues run by relevant county FAs on an ad hoc basis. It also often happens that the Premier Division of a Regional Feeder League has its constitution given to it by the FA. They have to accept it or appeal but cannot reject it at an annual general meeting.
The Israel national football team represents Israel in men's international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association. They have been members of the European Confederation UEFA since 1994.
The China national football team, recognised as China PR by FIFA, represents the China in international association football and is governed by the Chinese Football Association.
The Associated Press poll provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadcasters from across the nation. Each voter provides their own ranking of the top 25 teams, and the individual rankings are then combined to produce the national ranking by giving a team 25 points for a first place vote, 24 for a second place vote, and so on down to 1 point for a twenty-fifth place vote. Ballots of the voting members in the AP poll are publicized.
The Uruguayan Football Association is the governing body of football in Uruguay. It was founded in 1900, as The Uruguayan Association Football League, and affiliated to FIFA in 1923. It is a founding member of CONMEBOL and is in charge of the national men's team and the national women's team, as well as the Uruguayan football league system.
ECCO City Greens FC is a football club from Botswana based in Francistown.
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or throwing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance the ball at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
The 2009 COSAFA Cup is the 13th edition of the football tournament that involves teams from Southern Africa.
Arthur Bartman was a South African football goalkeeper who last played for Kaizer Chiefs in the South African Premier Division.
The SAFA Regional League, known as the Hollywoodbets Regional League for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of domestic football in the South African football pyramid. As of 2023, each region plays in a league of 18 teams, with the top two teams being promoted to the SAFA Second Division. Most teams are made up of players under the age of 19.
The UEFA Nations League is an international football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.
Lebogang Priscilla Mabatle is a South African soccer player who plays as a defender for Moroccan Women's Championship side Wydad Athletic Club Women and the South Africa women's national football team.
Bambanani Nolufefe Mbane is a South African soccer player who plays as a defender for SAFA Women's League club Mamelodi Sundowns and the South Africa women's national team.
Matome Trevor Mathiane is a South African soccer player who plays as a defender for Marumo Gallants. He spent most of his career with the Lamontville Golden Arrows in the South African Premier Division. He was the Arrows' captain.
Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya is a South African soccer player who last played for South African Premier Division club Sekhukhune United, as a left-back. He joined the Kaizer Chiefs's youth system in 2016 and made his debut for the club in January 2018.
Tsepo Winston Mhlongo is a South African politician. As a member of the Democratic Alliance, he served as a councillor in the City of Johannesburg until the 2014 national election, when he was elected to the National Assembly of South Africa. After that, he was appointed Shadow Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform. Mhlongo became the Shadow Minister of Sport and Recreation in January 2017 before he was selected to be Shadow Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture in June 2019. On 1 December 2023, Mhlongo was expelled from the DA and lost his parliamentary membership. He has since joined ActionSA.
Nocawe Noncedo Mafu is a South African politician currently serving as Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture. She has been a member of the National Assembly since 2014. She was Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements from 2014 to 2019. Mafu is a member of the African National Congress.
The 2021 SAFA Women's League was the 2nd season of the fully-professional SAFA Women's League, and the 13th season of nation-wide league competition in women's club football in South Africa.
