Explainers

How football works: rules, concepts and history.

Laws of the game

How Long Is a Football Match? Duration, Added Time & Extra Time

A football match lasts 90 minutes in two halves of 45, plus added time. Here is how the clock, stoppages, extra time and shootouts actually work.

Updated 5d ago

Penalty Shootout Rules: How the Tiebreaker Works Step by Step

How a penalty shootout works: order of kicks, who is eligible, sudden death, goalkeeper rules and the retakes that decide knockout ties.

Updated 7d ago

Substitutions in football: how the five substitute rule and the three windows work

Five is a ceiling, not an obligation: Law 3 leaves the number to whoever runs the competition, caps the changes at three windows and charges nothing at half time.

Updated 8d ago

Yellow Card and Red Card Rules: Bookings, Accumulation, Bans

How yellow and red cards work in football: which offences are punished, how cautions accumulate into suspensions, and the nuances that still confuse fans.

Updated 10d ago

VAR in football: how video refereeing actually works

What VAR can review, the clear and obvious threshold, on-field reviews and semi-automated offside: a plain guide to how it works.

Updated 14d ago

Advantage Rule in Football: What It Is and When It Applies

The advantage lets a referee wave play on after a foul. Here is how the decision works, the few seconds that matter, and why cards still follow.

Updated 17d ago

Offside in Football: The Rule Explained Simply and Completely

What offside really means: the position, the exact moment it is judged, the three ways a player becomes active, and the exceptions almost everyone forgets.

Updated 26d ago

Corner Kick Rules Explained: What an Olympic Goal Is

How a corner kick must be taken under Law 17, what the 9.15-metre distance covers, and why a goal scored straight from the corner is called an Olympic goal.

Updated 26d ago

Direct vs Indirect Free Kick: The Key Differences Explained

One can be shot straight into the net, the other cannot. A clear guide to direct and indirect free kicks, the offences behind each and the myths that persist.

Updated 26d ago

Fair Play in Football: Why the Ball Is Returned After an Injury

Kicking the ball out for an injured opponent and throwing it back is football's most famous unwritten rule. Here is how it works and why it exists.

Updated 26d ago

Why Football Matches Last 90 Minutes: The Origin of the Clock

Football is played in two halves of 45 minutes because of a Victorian compromise. Here is how Law 7 works, why the clock never stops and what added time really means.

Updated 26d ago

Handball rule in football: when it is an offence and when it is not

Not every touch on the arm is handball. IFAB Law 12 lists three offences, defines an unnaturally bigger body and sets out when it is a penalty, a yellow or a red.

37d ago

Domestic leagues

Bundesliga explained: the format and why no German club can be bought

Eighteen clubs, a relegation play-off and the rule that stops any investor taking control. A guide to the German league.

Updated 5d ago

How LaLiga works: format, relegation and European places

Twenty clubs, 38 rounds, financial controls and the Pichichi. The complete guide to reading the Spanish league table without getting lost.

Updated 5d ago

How Ligue 1 works: format, tie-breakers and relegation

A quick guide to the French top flight: 18 clubs, 34 rounds, the eight tie-breakers, the play-off against Ligue 2 and seven European places.

Updated 7d ago

Promotion and Relegation Explained: How Football's Pyramid Works

How teams go up and down between divisions, why play-offs exist, and the licensing rules that can send a club down without a ball being kicked.

Updated 8d ago

Premier League explained: format, points, relegation and Europe

Twenty clubs, 38 matches, three points for a win: how the Premier League decides its champion, the relegated clubs and its European places.

Updated 8d ago

Brasileirão explained: format, relegation and continental spots

Twenty clubs playing home and away, a tiebreaker that starts with wins, and a promotion playoff in Série B: the guide to Brazil's national league under the 2026 regulations.

Updated 12d ago

Eredivisie explained: how the Dutch top flight works

How many clubs, how many matchdays, who goes up, who goes down, what the table is worth in Europe, and why two knockout play-offs settle what the standings leave open.

Updated 17d ago

MLS explained: salary cap, SuperDraft and playoffs guide

Salary budget, Designated Players, the SuperDraft and a knockout postseason: how Major League Soccer works, and why nobody gets relegated.

Updated 26d ago

Same points, different champion: eight tiebreakers compared

Eight rulebooks, eight tiebreaking orders: why the same level finish hands the title to one club in England and to another in Italy.

30d ago

Championship: how English football's second tier works

Twenty-four clubs, 46 rounds and three tickets to the Premier League: the format, the play-off widened to eighth place, and why the table offers no European spot.

31d ago

Primeira Liga explained: how Portugal's top flight works

Eighteen clubs, thirty-four matchdays, head-to-head before goal difference and a two-legged play-off for one place in the division: the Portuguese league from scratch.

31d ago

How Serie A works: format, relegation and European spots

Twenty clubs, 38 rounds and very Italian rules, from head-to-head records to the scudetto. The complete guide to reading the Serie A table.

Updated 38d ago

European competitions

Champions League draw explained: how pots and seeding work

A clear guide to the Champions League draw: how UEFA builds the four pots, why the club coefficient decides seeding, and which rules limit who can face whom.

Updated 10d ago

Champions League format explained: how the competition works

From the summer qualifiers to the single-match final, a clear guide to the Champions League format: the league phase, the knockout rounds and how clubs qualify.

Updated 10d ago

Europa League and Conference League: how the formats work

A guide to UEFA's second and third competitions: league phase, knockout play-off, qualification routes and what each trophy is actually worth.

Updated 10d ago

UEFA coefficient: how each country's number of places is decided

A guide to the UEFA coefficient: why there are two numbers and not one, how dividing by the clubs entered rewards depth, and what each of them decides.

Updated 17d ago

Champions League knockout: play-off, bracket and away goals

The top eight go straight to the last 16, a play-off settles the rest, and the bracket to the final is drawn before a ball is kicked.

Updated 17d ago

How you get into the Champions League: the two paths explained

A guide to Champions League access: why champions and non-champions run on separate tracks, who enters in July and who enters in September.

Updated 23d ago

Euros explained: the format, the groups and the knockout rounds

The complete guide to the Euros: why it does not work like the World Cup, how the Nations League became a way in, and why the third-placed teams decide it.

Updated 23d ago

Champions League tie-breakers: the order that settles the single table

Thirty-six clubs share one table and almost nobody plays everybody. The order of the ten criteria that separate clubs level on points.

Updated 23d ago

The Champions League calendar: what happens in each month

Qualifying in July, the draw in late August, eight matchdays to January and a Saturday final: why each stage of the season falls where it does.

Updated 23d ago

Nations League explained: how it works and what it decides

A guide to the Nations League: the four divisions with promotion and relegation, why a June fixture became a ticket to the Euros, and what League A plays for.

Updated 23d ago

Champions League prize money: what each club earns and how UEFA splits it

UEFA does not pay one prize to the winner. The money comes from five separate sources, and one of them is settled before a ball is kicked.

27d ago

Cups & national teams

The international break: why the league stops and clubs must release

FIFA's calendar, not the league, forces clubs to release players, and since 2026 September and October are one window. Days, matches, who pays.

Updated 5d ago

Club World Cup: how the 32-team format works and what it pays

Eight groups, a billion dollars in prize money and four Brazilian clubs at the first edition. A guide to the tournament FIFA rebuilt.

Updated 7d ago

Switching national teams: when a player can change country

FIFA changed the rule on 18 September 2020. A player can now switch national teams even after a senior cap, under exact conditions.

Updated 8d ago

Copa Libertadores Explained: What It Is and How It Works

Who qualifies, how the rounds and tie-breakers work, what the title is worth and who has won it most: a guide to the Copa Libertadores based on the 2026 regulations and CONMEBOL's records from 1960 to 2025.

Updated 12d ago

How the World Cup Works: Format, Qualifying and Knockouts

A complete guide to how the FIFA World Cup works: qualifying by confederation, the group stage, the knockout bracket and the rules that decide the final.

Updated 18d ago

Copa América: how it works, who gets in and why the calendar moves

CONMEBOL has ten national teams, and everything follows from that: the invited guests, the irregular calendar and a qualifying competition where everyone plays everyone.

Updated 23d ago

Copa Sudamericana: how it works, who enters and what the winner gets

The Sudamericana is called South America's second competition, and the label hides the point: its winner enters the Libertadores and plays the Recopa.

25d ago

Copa do Brasil Explained: Format, Rounds and Prize Money

How Brazil's national knockout cup works: who qualifies, how the rounds are drawn, why the prize money matters and what the winner actually gets.

Updated 26d ago

Transfers & money

Release clause explained: how football buyout clauses work

What a release clause is, how buyout clauses work in Spain and elsewhere, why the figures are so large and what paying one actually does.

Updated 8d ago

Bosman and the expiring contract: how a player leaves for free

A 1995 European ruling took away the club's right to charge for a player whose contract has run out, and one FIFA article explains why he can sign elsewhere six months early.

Updated 8d ago

Loan with option to buy: what it really means in the transfer window

Option to buy, obligation to buy, release clause and buy-back: what FIFA sets for 2026/27, how many loans each country allows and the banned clause.

Updated 10d ago

Financial Fair Play Explained: How UEFA's Money Rules Work

Financial Fair Play in 2026/27: UEFA's three rules, the 70% squad cost cap, the 2025 and 2026 fines and domestic league rules.

Updated 13d ago

Footballers' Salaries Explained: How Players Really Get Paid

How much does a footballer earn? A clear guide to base wages, bonuses, image rights, signing-on fees, taxes and the rules that shape pay across the game.

Updated 23d ago

UEFA squad lists: why a new signing is not allowed to play

The 25 places on List A carry a locally trained quota and a hard deadline. Miss it and the signing sits out the entire league phase.

Updated 23d ago

Transfer Windows in Football: How the Rules Really Work

A clear guide to football transfer windows: what they are, why they exist, how registration periods work and the details that confuse most supporters.

Updated 26d ago

SAF in Brazilian football: what it is and how the model works

A plain guide to Brazil's Sociedade Anonima do Futebol: how a club becomes a company, what happens to old debts and what really changes for members.

Updated 26d ago

Tactics & positions

Tiki-Taka Explained: How the Short-Passing Style Works

A clear guide to tiki-taka: what the term means, how the short-passing game is built on the pitch, where it came from and why it is so often misunderstood.

Updated 5d ago

Catenaccio Explained: The Italian System That Changed Defending

A clear guide to catenaccio: the sweeper, man-marking and lightning counters that made Italian football feared, and what still survives of it today.

Updated 5d ago

Football positions explained: goalkeeper to the number 10

A clear guide to every football position: what defenders, midfielders, wingers and the number 10 actually do, where the names come from and how roles evolved.

Updated 8d ago

xG in football: what expected goals are and how they are calculated

xG scores every chance between zero and one, and it does not predict the match. What the model looks at, what a penalty is worth and why two sites show different numbers.

Updated 23d ago

Terms, awards & culture

Clean sheet: what it means and why goalkeepers live for it

Clean sheet explained: what it means, how it is credited to a goalkeeper, when it does not count and why keepers treasure it above every save.

Updated 5d ago

Boxing Day Football: Why England Plays Over Christmas

Boxing Day is 26 December and English football's most cherished ritual. Here is how the festive fixture programme works, where it came from and why it survives.

Updated 5d ago

Community Shield explained: what super cups are and why they exist

What the Community Shield is, who plays it, what happens after a Double and why almost every country stages a one-off match between its champions.

Updated 7d ago

Golden Boot explained: how top scorer awards really work

From the World Cup Golden Boot to the European Golden Shoe and the Pichichi, a clear guide to who wins top scorer prizes and how ties are settled.

Updated 7d ago

Preseason football explained: what it is and how the calendar works

What preseason is for, why super cups like the Community Shield exist and how the football calendar is built between one season and the next.

Updated 8d ago

Hat-trick, Poker and Football's Most Famous Terms Explained

From hat-trick to poker, brace to clean sheet: what football's best-known scoring terms really mean, where they came from and why usage differs by country.

Updated 9d ago

Ballon d'Or: how football's biggest individual award works

A clear guide to the Ballon d'Or: who votes, which criteria count, how eligibility changed over time and the myths that still confuse fans.

Updated 10d ago

12 facts about the 2026 World Cup you need to know

The 2026 World Cup was the biggest in history, with 48 national teams, 104 matches and three host countries

Updated 18d ago

Derby and Clasico in Football: Meaning and the Biggest Rivalries

A derby is about geography, a clasico about prestige. Where both words come from, how they really differ and which rivalries define world football.

Updated 26d ago

Brazil's five stars: the World Cup titles behind the shirt

Five stars, five World Cups: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. How the tradition works, what it excludes and why Brazil wears more than anyone.

Updated 26d ago

More guides

World Cup 2030: FIFA chose six countries across three continents

World Cup 2030: the hosts FIFA chose in 2024, the dates the press published, the 48 versus 64 teams debate and the 1930 centenary.

3d ago

Does the first goal decide the match?

We measured the response to the first goal across 25 competitions and 168,249 matches. Coming back to win is identical in leagues and cups. What changes is the draw, and part of that is not football at all.

5d ago

Women's Champions League format explained: 18 clubs, one table

The league phase of the 2026/27 Women's Champions League began on 22 September 2026. This guide explains the 18-club format: qualification, pots, six matches, the ten tie-breakers, play-offs, the fixed bracket, the Warsaw final, the prize money and all 25 finals.

5d ago

Conference League: nobody enters directly, and a third of the league phase arrived by losing

In the Champions League, 29 clubs enter with no qualifying tie. In the Conference, none do. But not all 36 climbed: 24 won the play-off and 12 lost the Europa League one.

6d ago

Brazil's Série B: how promotion works and what the playoff changed

The top two go up automatically. The other two places come out of 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th over two legs. What that does to a 38-round season, and why Série C is about to grow.

6d ago

UEFA Super Cup: how the most one-sided match on the calendar became the tightest

Across 51 editions the Super Cup went from two-legged rout to a single match settled on detail: 62.5% end by one goal or level, and four of the last eight went to penalties.

7d ago

Which league has the most cards: 22 competitions ranked by disorder

Spain's second tier shows 5.80 cards a match; the Coupe de France, 2.54. Liga MX sends someone off every two and a half games. And in the Copa Libertadores, whoever scores first almost never loses: 6% comebacks against the Bundesliga's 22%. Six thousand matches, 22 competitions in order.

7d ago

FIFA Intercontinental Cup: how it works and where the Libertadores champion comes in

The 2026 edition began on 26 August and has five matches between the champions of the six confederations; the Libertadores winner, to be decided in the final scheduled for 28 November, is due to face Toluca.

Updated 7d ago

The Africa Cup of Nations: how it works, and why the 2025 title ended up at CAS

24 nations, six groups, and a Rabat final that CAF overturned months later. The full guide to the tournament, a blow-by-blow of the Morocco-Senegal decider, and the legal precedent taken to CAS's trial, set for October 2026.

Updated 7d ago

FA Cup: how the qualifying rounds and the replay rule work

In the 2026/27 season, 743 clubs enter the FA Cup, but only in the qualifying phase, running between August and October 2026, does a draw still turn into a replay. The official rules, the full calendar and how much every round pays, from the Extra Preliminary Round to the final at Wembley.

7d ago

The FIFA ranking: how the points are worked out and what each fixture is worth

In the edition of 20 July 2026, 0.93 of a point separated Brazil from Morocco. By FIFA's own formula, on the points from that edition, a draw with Australia would cost 2.0 points.

Updated 8d ago

What minute do goals go in: football's clock, block by block

The second half has 55.3% of the goals, but what inflates the end of the game is stoppage time: one goal in every 14 comes after minute 90. The numbers from 8,478 matches across 11 competitions, block by block, with the match ruler to explore each league.

8d ago

FIFA's solidarity mechanism: how the club that trained you gets paid on every transfer

Every time a player moves countries for a fee, 5% of that money is split among everyone who trained him between the ages of 12 and 23, even an amateur club, decades earlier. How the rule works, with real payment examples.

8d ago

Coppa Italia 2026/27: the 44-club bracket and home advantage by number

In the 2026/27 edition no tie is drawn: every club was given a position from 1 to 44 that decides when it enters, where it plays and who can cross its path.

Updated 17d ago