Football Tactics Rules

What we verified before publishing

Fact-check status: passed

The following claims were verified through Perplexity Sonar before the questions were finalised. The host can reference any of them during play:

• Association football originated in Britain around the eighth century, with no historical connection to games played in antiquity outside Europe[1].
• English public schools were the first to codify football games and devised the first offside rules during the late 18th century[2].
• The rules of football regarding equipment, field of play, conduct, and settling results are built around 17 laws[3].
• In 1866, the offside rule was enforced requiring three defenders (including the goalkeeper) to be behind the receiving player to allow forward passes[5].
• In 1925, the offside rule was altered to require only two opposition players in front for a player to be onside, massively impacting passing tactics[4].
• The WM formation became a popular blueprint from the mid-1920s to the early 1950s specifically to counter the evolving offside rule[4].
• Tactics in association football inform a team's organization and decision-making, primarily through the formation of 11 players on the pitch[5].
• The goalkeeper is the only position with a moderate exception to the fluid nature of player roles, as their position and role are more defined than others[5].
• There are 211 national associations currently included in FIFA, the world governing body of association football[8].
• FIFA has stated that the game was developed in England in the 12th century, with carrying the ball by hands banned in 1863[8].