Soccer Kick-Offs Navigation Page

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Note the following about Kick-Offs:

There is a kick-off to start each half and extra period. Just before the start of the game, the referee will call for the Captains of each team to come onto the field. The referee will then toss a coin to decide which team kicks off first and which goal each team will attack during the first half of the game. The winner of the toss gets to choose which goal it will attack and the other team takes the kick-off. The teams will then take the field and referee will ask if they're ready to start the match, and will signal for play to start, at which time the kick-off will occur. To start the second half, the team that won the toss takes the kick-off and the teams attack the opposite goal (so they switch sides of the field).

There is also a kick-off after every goal. Each time a goal is scored, the team that didn't score gets to kick off.

Kick-off Rules. At each kick-off, the ball is placed in the center of the "Center Mark" (on the half-way line) & both teams must be on their own half of the field (although it is usually okay to be standing on the halfway line) and the receiving team must stay outside the Center Circle until the ball is "kicked". Moving the ball any constitutes a "kick-off", even if it only goes an inch. The ball can go in any direction on the "kick-off" (forward, backward or sideways). The "kicker" may not touch the ball again until someone else (on either team) has touched it. If the kicker touches the ball a second time before it touches another player, the opposing team is awarded an "indirect free kick". For any other violation of the kick-off law, the kick is retaken (the most common violation is a player on either team crossing the halfway line or the receiving team going into the Center Circle before the kick).

A goal may be scored on a direct kick off (i.e., another player is not required to touch it first), but it is better to not just kick the ball to the opposing goalkeeper because it will usually be easily picked up.

For the official rules, go to www.fifa.com, to "Regulations", then to "Laws of the Game".

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