191-634: Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster , South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two , the fourth level of the English football league system . The club play their home games at the Eco-Power Stadium , having moved from Belle Vue in 2007. Their home strip consists of red and white hoops, which has been the main design of
382-519: A Manchester United XI in front of a crowd of 13,080. United won the game 2–0 with Anderson making his debut for them. On 19 June 2012 it was confirmed that Doncaster Rovers had secured a 99-year operating lease from the council to lead the management of the Keepmoat stadium with a view to improving operating results. The change placed the club back in charge of its home stadium after the period of renting since its move from Belle Vue (also leased from
573-669: A fitter at Doncaster's Great Northern Railway works. He gathered together some friends to play a match against the Yorkshire Institute for the Deaf in September 1879. The institute side took a 4–0 lead but the game ended as a 4–4 draw. On walking back from the game, the team took a rest at the Hall Cross, and had a discussion in which they decided to play more and called themselves Doncaster Rovers. The first match under
764-456: A foul in the build-up to the goal. Depending on the format of the competition, an equal number of goals scored may result in a draw being declared with 1 point awarded to each team, or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shoot-out . Internationally, association football is governed by FIFA . Under FIFA, there are six continental confederations: AFC , CAF , CONCACAF , CONMEBOL , OFC , and UEFA . Of these confederations, CONMEBOL
955-450: 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 game of association football
1146-609: A rugby league side. The Football League saw the invitation as a chance to promote association football in the rugby league-dominated county of the West Riding of Yorkshire . It duly elected the new club into the Second Division , in place of Doncaster Rovers . Four days later, at the 23rd annual meeting of Manningham FC, the committee decided to change codes from rugby league to association football. Bradford City Association Football Club were formed without having played
1337-628: A stele of c. 375–400 BCE in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship trophy. Athenaeus , writing in 228 CE, mentions the Roman ball game harpastum . Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence. They all appear to have resembled rugby football , wrestling , and volleyball more than what
1528-406: A Division Three (North) cup tie. The match was deadlocked at 2–2 at 90 minutes, and after two 10-minute periods of extra time there was no further score. The rule at that time was that the game would carry on until one team scored. However, after 203 minutes, and with darkness closing in, the game was finally stopped. Fans were said to have left the game, gone home for their tea, and come back to watch
1719-493: A French XI team in 1920, and also made up most of the England team against a Scottish Ladies XI in the same year, winning 22–0. Despite being more popular than some men's football events, with one match seeing a 53,000 strong crowd in 1920, women's football in England suffered a blow in 1921 when The Football Association outlawed the playing of the game on association members' pitches, stating that "the game of football
1910-450: A brilliant finish from Paul Heffernan put Rovers 2–0 up within the first 5 minutes. However, after a brave fight back from Bristol Rovers, the game finished 2–2, so it went to extra time. In the second half of extra time a Sean Thornton corner was headed home by skipper Graeme Lee who had come forward from his central defensive position. Doncaster held on to claim their first major trophy. [REDACTED] 2007–08 proved to be one of
2101-442: A caution ( yellow card ) or dismissal ( red card ). A second yellow card in the same game leads to a red card, which results in a dismissal. A player given a yellow card is said to have been "booked", the referee writing the player's name in their official notebook. If a player has been dismissed, no substitute can be brought on in their place and the player may not participate in further play. Misconduct may occur at any time, and while
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#17327757150282292-404: A club record-equalling run of 10 successive wins to climb into the top seven in the final week of the 2023–24 season , though the club lost on penalties to Crewe Alexandra at the play-off semi-final stage . Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The youth system currently has Category 3 status with
2483-505: A deadlock; some competitions may invoke replays . A game tied at the end of regulation time may go into extra time, which consists of two further 15-minute periods. If the score is still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the use of penalty shoot-outs (known officially in the Laws of the Game as "kicks from the penalty mark") to determine which team will progress to the next stage of
2674-576: A field was found on the south side of Bennetthorpe for which they were given a two-year lease. On the first day of the second season (1921–22) there, in the Midland League, the Bennetthorpe Ground saw 7,219 people watch Rovers against Gainsborough Trinity . The ground consisted of a small stand on one side and small organised terraces around the pitch. Some of the fencing/gates on Town Moor Avenue remain. With council restrictions on
2865-590: A game, taking over Manningham's colours of claret and amber, and their Valley Parade ground. Robert Campbell was appointed the club's first manager and with the help of the new committee, he assembled a playing squad at the cost of £ 917 10 s 0 d . City's first game was a 2–0 defeat at Grimsby Town on 1 September 1903, six days before their first home game attracted 11,000 fans. The club finished 10th in their first season. Peter O'Rourke took over as manager in November 1905, and he led City to
3056-400: A goal has been scored or not; this was brought in to prevent controversy. Video assistant referees (VAR) have also been increasingly introduced in high-level matches to assist officials through video replays to correct clear and obvious mistakes. There are four types of calls that can be reviewed: mistaken identity in awarding a red or yellow card, goals and whether there was a violation during
3247-410: A ground with a capacity of 20,000, club facilities and levelling the land. When Bradford City were formed in 1903, they took over the ground at Valley Parade, which was also at this time the headquarters of The 2nd West Riding Brigade Royal Field Artillery (Territorial Force) , playing their first home game on 5 September 1903 against Gainsborough Trinity , drawing a crowd of 11,000. Five years later,
3438-628: A heart attack in training, City returned to the Third Division after getting promoted in 1968–69 . City's stay in the Third Division lasted just three years, when they finished bottom in 1971–72 . Promotion via fourth spot was won again in 1976–77 but it was instantly followed by a relegation season. City failed to win promotion for three successive seasons, until the board appointed former England centre back Roy McFarland as manager in May 1981. McFarland won promotion in his first season, but
3629-640: A latex bladder for pressurisation, but modern balls at all levels of the game are now synthetic. As the Laws were formulated in England, and were initially administered solely by the four British football associations within IFAB , the standard dimensions of a football pitch were originally expressed in imperial units . The Laws now express dimensions with approximate metric equivalents (followed by traditional units in brackets), though use of imperial units remains popular in English-speaking countries with
3820-529: A meeting attended by representatives from Eton , Harrow , Rugby , Winchester and Shrewsbury schools. They were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world to play various forms of football. Some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club , formed by former public school pupils in 1857, which led to
4011-513: A mix of basketball, and volleyball. This is the earliest form of a kicking game for which there is historical evidence. The game was first recorded as in exercise in the Zhan Guo Ce , a military history from the Han dynasty . Cuju players would pass the ball around, having to avoid it touching the ground at any point. It was then passed to a designated player, who attempted to kick it through
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#17327757150284202-491: A non-executive chairman and he took over at the end of this season. Having aspirations of returning it to the second tier where he had seen them when he was a boy, he stated he would build a new stadium within ten years, both of which he went on to achieve within the ten years. Doncaster found their best form in 50 years in the 2000s. After five seasons in the Conference League, under the helm of manager Dave Penney
4393-504: A penalty against the crossbar. If Brentford had won, they would have been promoted and Doncaster would have to compete in the play-offs. As it was, the goal put Doncaster one point above Bournemouth as champions. Following promotion to the Championship for the 2013–14 season , Brian Flynn was moved to become Director of Football and overseeing the newly formed development squad which would be playing competitive games. Paul Dickov
4584-426: A penalty kick. Other markings define the position of the ball or players at kick-offs , goal kicks, penalty kicks and corner kicks. A standard adult football match consists of two halves of 45 minutes each. Each half runs continuously, meaning that the clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play. There is usually a 15-minute half-time break between halves. The end of the match is known as full-time. The referee
4775-529: A place in the second tier for the first time since 1958. They spent four of the next five seasons in the Championship , winning the League One title in 2012–13, though were relegated out of the Championship in 2012 and 2014. Relegated into League Two in 2016, they won an immediate promotion in 2016–17 and remained in League One until relegation in 2022. The club was formed in 1879 by Albert Jenkins ,
4966-554: A possible buyout. The offer was rejected. On 24 February 2022, Mark Hughes was appointed manager of the club on a contract until the summer of 2024. He was sacked on 4 October 2023, with player Kevin McDonald becoming player-caretaker manager. Later that month, assistant manager Mark Trueman replaced McDonald as caretaker manager. Bradford City is the only professional football club in England to wear claret and amber. The club colours were inherited from Manningham FC , when
5157-408: A promotion challenge the following season. City went top of the table in September 1987, but fell away during Christmas and missed out on promotion on the final day of the season. Instead, they entered the play-offs but were defeated in the semi-finals by Middlesbrough . Two years later City were relegated back to the Third Division. For three seasons, City finished mid-table in the third tier, which
5348-454: A proposed takeover bid by a hedge-fund consortium led by Sequentia Capital. On 3 May 2014, Doncaster were relegated back to League One after just one season following a 1–0 defeat to Leicester City on the final day of the season. Rovers finished the 2014–15 season in 13th place, before being relegated to League Two after finishing 21st in 2015–16 with new manager Darren Ferguson . The 2016–17 season saw them being promoted back to League One at
5539-416: A relatively recent history of metrication (or only partial metrication), such as Britain. The length of the pitch, or field, for international adult matches is in the range of 100–110 m (110–120 yd) and the width is in the range of 64–75 m (70–80 yd). Fields for non-international matches may be 90–120 m (100–130 yd) in length and 45–90 m (50–100 yd) in width, provided
5730-544: A result of Manningham's claret and amber hoops. Other nicknames have been the Citizens or Paraders, but the club is better known as the Bantams. Valley Parade was the site of a quarry on the hillside below Manningham, Bradford , owned by Midland Railway Company, in 1886, when Manningham RFC bought one-third of the land and leased the remainder, because they had been forced to find a new home. They spent £ 1,400 erecting
5921-734: A return to Odsal. The club and Bradford Bulls would share the new £50m complex, which would also feature cricket , cycling and athletics facilities. Valley Parade has had several other names under sponsorship naming deals. In July 2016 it became the Northern Commercials Stadium, and in July 2019 it became the Utilita Energy Stadium. This partnership came to an end in July 2022. The University of Bradford subsequently became title sponsor of Valley Parade. The club spearheaded an initiative in 2007 to slash
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6112-545: A second relegation to the Third Division (North) in 1926–27 . Two seasons later, O'Rourke, who had initially retired in 1921 following the death of his son, returned and guided City to promotion with a record haul of 128 goals. O'Rourke left for a second time after one more season, and although City spent a total of eight seasons back in the Second Division, they rarely looked like earning promotion back to
6303-440: A sheltered stand at the "Town End". The "Popular Side" was extended in 1927 and concreted in 1928. Turnstiles , gates and fencing were added in 1935, and in 1938 the "Popular Side" stand roof was replaced and put further back increasing the capacity of Belle Vue to 40,000. In 1947 the stadium recorded its highest attendance of 37,099 against Hull City , although apocryphal accounts refute this and claim that many more gained entry to
6494-528: A similar ancient game ( cuju , or tsu chu ) was played by women during the Han dynasty (25–220 CE), as female figures are depicted in frescoes of the period playing tsu chu . There are also reports of annual football matches played by women in Midlothian , Scotland, during the 1790s. Association football, the modern game, has documented early involvement of women. In 1863, football governing bodies introduced standardised rules to prohibit violence on
6685-564: A truce to the nation's civil war in 2006 and it helped further reduce tensions between government and rebel forces in 2007 by playing a match in the rebel capital of Bouaké , an occasion that brought both armies together peacefully for the first time. By contrast, football is widely considered to have been the final proximate cause for the Football War in June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras . The sport also exacerbated tensions at
6876-535: A two-tier 7,500-seat capacity stand. A corner stand between the Kop and main stand was opened in December 2000, taking the capacity to 20,000 for the first time since 1970. The following summer, the main stand was also converted into a two-tier stand, taking the capacity to 24,840. Further projects were planned until the club went into administration in May 2002 so none have taken place. The following year, Valley Parade
7067-432: A variety of positions in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws. The basic equipment or kit players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards . An athletic supporter and protective cup is highly recommended for male players by medical experts and professionals. Headgear
7258-479: A year to join Luton Town but his successor, Chris Kamara , took City to the play-offs and their first game at Wembley Stadium . They defeated Notts County 2–0 in the final to earn promotion to Division One. City avoided relegation the following season by winning their last two league games, 1–0 against Charlton Athletic and then beating Queens Park Rangers 3–0 on the final day of the season, but Kamara
7449-408: Is erroneously believed that Motherwell chose the claret and amber colours because they were the racing colours of Lord Hamilton; it is more likely that Motherwell were influenced by Bradford City's English FA cup win in 1911. The club's crest combines a series of logos from over the years. In 1974, City adopted a contemporary style crest incorporating the club's initials, with a B-C logo. At the time,
7640-451: Is in play, the players mainly use their feet, but may also use any other part of their body, such as their head, chest and thighs, except for their hands or arms, to control, strike, or pass the ball. Only the goalkeepers may use their hands and arms, and that only within the penalty area . The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner. There are situations where a goal can be disallowed, such as an offside call or
7831-410: Is marked by the goal line, two lines starting on the goal line 16.5 m (18 yd) from the goalposts and extending 16.5 m (18 yd) into the pitch perpendicular to the goal line, and a line joining them. This area has a number of functions, the most prominent being to mark where the goalkeeper may handle the ball and where a penalty foul by a member of the defending team becomes punishable by
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8022-438: Is not a required piece of basic equipment, but players today may choose to wear it to protect themselves from head injury. Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player, such as jewellery or watches. The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials. A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during
8213-406: Is not documented but the colours were the same as those of The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment , which was based at Belle Vue Barracks on nearby Manningham Lane. Both Manningham, from 1886, and Bradford City, from 1903 to 1908, used the barracks as changing and club rooms. Bradford City has worn claret and amber, with either white or black, since it was founded. Since the fire in 1985,
8404-454: Is played in accordance with the Laws of the Game , a set of rules that has been in effect since 1863 and maintained by the IFAB since 1886. The game is played with a football that is 68–70 cm (27–28 in) in circumference . The two teams compete to score goals by getting the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts, under the bar, and fully across the goal line). When the ball
8595-405: Is positioned on each goal line, midway between the two touchlines. The inner edges of the vertical goal posts must be 7.32 m (24 ft) apart, and the lower edge of the horizontal crossbar supported by the goal posts must be 2.44 m (8 ft) above the ground. Nets are usually placed behind the goal, but are not required by the Laws. In front of the goal is the penalty area. This area
8786-816: Is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged." Players and football writers have argued that this ban was, in fact, due to envy of the large crowds that women's matches attracted, and because the FA had no control over the money made from the women's game. The FA ban led to the formation of the short-lived English Ladies Football Association and play moved to rugby grounds. Women's football also faced bans in several other countries , notably in Brazil from 1941 to 1979, in France from 1941 to 1970, and in Germany from 1955 to 1970. Restrictions began to be reduced in
8977-506: Is recognisable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football , the antecedent of all modern football codes , these three games involved more handling the ball than kicking it. Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other ball games played around the world, FIFA has described that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The history of football in England dates back to at least
9168-477: Is the 24,840-capacity Valley Parade , which was the site of the Bradford City stadium fire on 11 May 1985, which took the lives of 56 supporters. They are the only professional football club in England to wear claret and amber , and have worn these colours throughout their history. They have though been known by various nicknames, with the " Bantams " being the most commonly used nickname as it appears on
9359-593: Is the dominant region in women's football, with the United States winning the most FIFA Women's World Cups and Olympic tournaments. Europe and Asia come second and third in terms of international success, and the women's game has been improving in South America. Association football is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game . The game is played using a spherical ball of 68–70 cm (27–28 in) circumference, known as
9550-695: Is the most-viewed sporting event in the world, surpassing the Olympic Games . The two most prestigious competitions in club football are the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Women's Champions League , which attract an extensive television audience worldwide. The final of the men's tournament is the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. Association football is one of a family of football codes that emerged from various ball games played worldwide since antiquity. Within
9741-455: Is the official timekeeper for the match, and may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages. This added time is called "additional time" in FIFA documents, but is most commonly referred to as stoppage time or injury time , while lost time can also be used as a synonym. The duration of stoppage time is at the sole discretion of
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#17327757150289932-577: Is the oldest one, being founded in 1916. National associations (e.g. The FA in England) are responsible for managing the game in their own countries both professionally and at an amateur level, and coordinating competitions in accordance with the Laws of the Game. The most prestigious senior international competitions are the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women's World Cup . The men's World Cup
10123-404: Is to score goals; defenders , who specialise in preventing their opponents from scoring; and midfielders , who dispossess the opposition and keep possession of the ball to pass it to the forwards on their team. Players in these positions are referred to as outfield players, to distinguish them from the goalkeeper. These positions are further subdivided according to the area of the field in which
10314-421: The football (or soccer ball ). Two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into the other team's goal (between the posts and under the bar), thereby scoring a goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals then the game is a draw. Each team is led by a captain who has only one official responsibility as mandated by
10505-552: The 2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup . Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The following is a list of the officially appointed captains of the Bradford City first-team. In 2007 former Telegraph & Argus sports journalist David Markham released
10696-713: The 2011–12 season; seven games into the season, Rovers had failed to win a game ( no wins, one draw, six losses). This led to the sacking of manager Sean O'Driscoll and assistant manager Richard O'Kelly . On 23 September 2011, Dean Saunders was unveiled as the new boss, leaving Wrexham . His reign started unbeaten in three games. With the controversial help of football agent Willie McKay , Rovers brought in several players on loans and short-term contracts, and on low wages, including El Hadji Diouf , Pascal Chimbonda , Herita Ilunga , Carl Ikeme , Frédéric Piquionne , and Habib Beye . However, Doncaster were relegated to League One with three games still to play. Many supporters blamed
10887-614: The Bradford derby with city rivals Bradford Park Avenue . The West Yorkshire derby is held between City and local rivals Leeds United and Huddersfield Town . A "friendly" rivalry also existed with now-defunct club Halifax Town . According to a survey conducted in August 2019, Bradford City fans also see Burnley , Barnsley and Oldham Athletic as rivals. Bradford City's only participation in European football to date came in
11078-527: The Caribbean and Oceania regions (except Australia ) have yet to make a mark in international football. When it comes to men's national teams, Europeans and South Americans continue to dominate the FIFA World Cup, as no team from any other region has managed to even reach the final. These regional trends do not hold true for the women's game, as the United States women's national team has won
11269-664: The Football League Second Division ). They only lasted two seasons in the league before being voted out in favour of local rivals Bradford City , having finished the 1902 season in the bottom three. They spent the following season in the Midland League, only managing 11th place out of 18 but were elected back to Division 2. This time, in 1904–05 , Doncaster finished bottom with W3 D2 L29, adrift by 12 points, gaining only 8 points – an unfortunate still standing record. They were voted out once again. The following several seasons saw them finish lower midtable of
11460-473: The Fourth Division . Billy Bremner , who achieved fame for his playing career with Leeds United and Scotland , managed Doncaster twice, his final spell ending in November 1991 – six years before his death. During the early 1990s, Ken Richardson, who was later described by detectives as "the type that would trample a two-year-old child to pick up a 2p bit", took over as the majority shareholder of
11651-608: The Munich air disaster and was a regular goalkeeper for Northern Ireland . Another player, lesser known outside Doncaster, was Alick Jeffrey . Matt Busby , manager of Manchester United , had lined him up to be bought, however in October 1956 Jeffrey badly broke his leg playing for England under-23s. This ended his move and any chance of what was seen to be an almost certain glittering international career to come. Doncaster suffered two consecutive relegations in 1958 and 1959 to drop to
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#173277571502811842-478: The North London side went on to win on penalties. Penney left in August 2006 feeling he had taken the club as far as he could and was swiftly replaced with former AFC Bournemouth manager Sean O'Driscoll, with Richard O'Kelly as assistant manager. A new stadium was completed in December 2006. Doncaster's first game at the new Keepmoat Stadium was against Huddersfield Town on New Year's Day , 2007 and
12033-673: The Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Challenge Cup , beating Sheffield United 2–1 at Bramall Lane to win the final. That same season, they also moved up to the Midland League , becoming Champions in 1896–97 and 1898–99 . They were first elected to the Football League in 1901 , as a replacement for New Brighton Tower . Their first season in the League was in fact the one when Doncaster achieved their highest position ever (7th in
12224-545: The Third Division title in 1984–85, though they were relegated out of the Second Division in 1990. Bradford were promoted back into the second tier via the play-offs in 1996 , before securing another promotion in 1998–99 to reach the Premier League , marking a return to the top-flight after a 77-year absence. They entered Europe and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2000–01 but ended
12415-539: The Third Division North in 1934–35. The club won two further Third Division North titles in 1946–47 and 1949–50, having been relegated from the Second Division in 1937 and 1948. Doncaster found themselves in the Fourth Division after suffering consecutive relegations in 1958 and 1959, though would go on to win the Fourth Division title in 1965–66 and 1968–69. The club continued to move between
12606-591: The Third Division North title in 1928–29. Another relegation in 1937 did allow the club to go on to win the Third Division North Cup in 1939, however a further relegation followed in 1962 to leave the club in the newly created Fourth Division . They secured promotions back into the third tier in 1969 and 1977, but were relegated in 1972 and 1978. They found success in the 1980s under the stewardship of first Roy McFarland and then Trevor Cherry , winning promotion in 1981–82 and following this up with
12797-688: The fengliu yan , a circular goal atop 10–11 meter poles. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), cuju games were standardised and rules were established. The Silk Road facilitated the transmission of cuju outside of China, especially the form of the game popular in the Tang dynasty , the period when the inflatable ball was invented and replaced the stuffed ball. Other East Asian games include kemari in Japan and chuk-guk in Korea, both influenced by cuju . Kemari originated after
12988-408: The official receivers . The club was saved by former chairman Stafford Heginbotham and former board member Jack Tordoff, but to ensure the club could start the new season, prize asset, striker Bobby Campbell was sold to Derby. City struggled but so did Campbell, and when he returned, the club went on a record run of ten successive victories. Although they missed out on promotion, City won the league
13179-635: The 1960s and 1970s. The Italian women's football league was established in 1968. In December 1969, the Women's Football Association was formed in England, with the sport eventually becoming the most prominent team sport for women in the United Kingdom. Two unofficial women's World Cups were organised by the FIEFF in 1970 and in 1971 . Also in 1971, UEFA members voted to officially recognise women's football, while The Football Association rescinded
13370-681: The 1997/98 season complete with coffin along Carr House Road. Just weeks after Rovers were relegated, Richardson was found guilty of trying to set fire to the Rovers ground, apparently hoping to pay off the club's debts with the insurance money. The Westferry Consortium took over the club just before the beginning of the 1998–99 season with a commitment to invest heavily in the club. The details of this season are collected in Ian McMahon's book The Only Way Is Up . They also brought in John Ryan as
13561-521: The 21st century, under the influence of international television, "football" has been gaining prevalence, despite the dominance of other codes of football, namely rugby union and rugby league . The term soccer comes from Oxford "-er" slang, which was prevalent at the University of Oxford in England from about 1875, and is thought to have been borrowed from the slang of Rugby School . Initially spelt assoccer (a shortening of "association"), it
13752-529: The Bradford End for the 2009–10 season would be available for just £99 and £138 for the rest of the ground if bought in December 2008. For the 2015–16 season, the club announced its latest season ticket scheme aimed at continuing to make football affordable for fans. Season ticket prices were set at £149 for adults, senior citizens and students, while admission for under-11s was free when purchased with an adult ticket. An initial campaign target of 15,000
13943-576: The Bradford end of the ground was the next to be redeveloped and was converted into a two-tier stand with a scoreboard. In 1996, following City's promotion to Division One , club chairman Geoffrey Richmond announced the construction of a 4,500 seater stand on the Midland Road side. Ahead of promotion to the Premiership in 1999, Richmond spent another £6.5 million to convert the Kop into
14134-402: The Championship comfortably in 14th position, finishing above 8 former Premier League teams, including Charlton Athletic , Southampton , Crystal Palace and Derby County. The survival was also a major feat, as before the start of that season, they were tipped by many as strong favourites for relegation. Doncaster finished the 2009–10 season marginally better than their first season back in
14325-484: The Championship despite a promising start with an away win over newly relegated Derby County . A long run of bad results saw them bottom of the Championship on 20 December 2008 following a narrow 1–0 defeat to Wolves at home. Rovers managed to turn things around soon after and enjoyed an undefeated run of 8 Championship games, starting with a thrilling 4–2 win at relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day. The win against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday 14 February
14516-412: The Championship, in 12th and earning two more points than the previous season with 60 points. This was despite a promising period towards the end of the season which saw Doncaster close to the play-off places, thanks in part to Sheffield United loanee Billy Sharp who scored 15 goals during his stay. The 2009–10 season's success became a football league record. Having become the first team to be bottom of
14707-542: The English-speaking world, the sport is now usually called "football" in Great Britain and most of Ulster in the north of Ireland, whereas people usually call it "soccer" in regions and countries where other codes of football are prevalent, such as Australia, Canada, South Africa, most of Ireland (excluding Ulster), and the United States. A notable exception is New Zealand, where in the first two decades of
14898-576: The FIFA Women's World Cup four times, more than any other women's team. Football is played at a professional level all over the world. Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favourite teams, while billions more watch the game on television or on the internet. A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in 2001, over 240 million people from more than 200 countries regularly play football. Football has
15089-910: The Football Association, the Scottish Football Association , the Football Association of Wales , and the Irish Football Association . FIFA , the international football body, was formed in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would adhere to the Laws of the Game of the Football Association. The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the IFAB in 1913. The board consists of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of
15280-487: The Football League was a 0–0 draw against Wigan Borough at Belle Vue on 25 August 1923, with Rovers playing in red tops with white shorts. One of the players in that first match was Rovers legend Tom Keetley who went on to become the club's highest scorer with 186 goals in 241 appearances. Doncaster ended the season in 9th place. The next few seasons saw them rise towards the top of the table, then decline towards
15471-467: The Game while the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball deliberately, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of "penal fouls", punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick . The referee may punish a player's or substitute's misconduct by
15662-475: The IFAB Laws. Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes ), one of whom must be the goalkeeper . Competition rules may state a minimum number of players required to constitute a team, which is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, provided they do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. Though there are
15853-430: The Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose decisions are final. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees . In many high-level games there is also a fourth official who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise. Goal line technology is used to measure if the whole ball has crossed the goal-line thereby determining whether
16044-479: The Laws of the Game: to represent their team in the coin toss before kick-off or penalty kicks . The primary law is that players other than goalkeepers may not deliberately handle the ball with their hands or arms during play, though they must use both their hands during a throw-in restart. Although players usually use their feet to move the ball around, they may use any part of their body (notably, "heading" with
16235-488: The Midland League, till between 1910 and 1913 they had greater success. The last few years before the war mediocrity returned, and in August 1914 debts run up over the years led to voluntary liquidation. However, a new club was formed in time for the 1914–15 season and was accepted into the Midland League to continue where the old club had left off. The outbreak of the First World War meant the club closed down, and
16426-649: The Perform Best Fan Marketing campaign category in The Football League Awards for the scheme and earned them an invitation to the Houses of Parliament . The club aimed to attract 20,000 fans for the 2008–09 by offering a free season ticket to anyone buying a season ticket as long as 9,000 adults sign up, but they fell 704 short of the target. Joint-chairman Mark Lawn announced in November 2008 that season tickets in
16617-628: The Second Division title in 1907–08 and with it promotion to the First Division . Having narrowly avoided relegation in their first season in the top flight, City recorded their highest finish of 5th in 1910–11 . The same season they won the FA Cup , when a goal from captain Jimmy Speirs won the final replay against Newcastle United . City's defence of the cup, which included the first Bradford derby against Bradford Park Avenue ,
16808-476: The Third Division North again. This time they stayed in the Second Division for eight seasons, their most successful period to date. During this time, several high class players were with Doncaster including Harry Gregg who kept goal, and was sold to Manchester United in December 1957 for £ 23,500. At the time, he was the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. He went on to help save lives in
16999-670: The U18 academy team playing in the EFL Youth Alliance North East Conference league. For the first six years the club began playing their games wherever they could, on playing fields at Town Moor and the Racecourse. They gained a permanent ground in 1885 when they started playing their games near the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and so was known as the Deaf and Dumb Ground. A year later the stadium
17190-539: The army took over its ground using it as a depot. The club re-formed as a limited company after the war in 1919, rejoining the Midland League a year later playing at their new temporary Bennetthorpe Ground. The first two seasons Rovers finished lower-mid table. The third season they moved to Belle Vue , finished runners up and were accepted into the Football League Division 3 North for 1923–24 to replace Stalybridge Celtic . The first match back in
17381-460: The ban that prohibited women from playing on association members' pitches in England. Women's football still faces many struggles, but its worldwide growth has seen major competitions being launched at both the national and international levels, mirroring the men's competitions. The FIFA Women's World Cup was inaugurated in 1991: the first tournament was held in China, featuring 12 teams from
17572-410: The beginning of each playing period with a kick-off until the end of the playing period, the ball is in play at all times, except when either the ball leaves the field of play, or play is stopped by the referee. When the ball becomes out of play, play is restarted by one of eight restart methods depending on how it went out of play: A foul occurs when a player commits an offence listed in the Laws of
17763-485: The beginning of the Croatian War of Independence of the 1990s, when a match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade degenerated into rioting in May 1990. Women's association football has historically seen opposition, with national associations severely curbing its development and several outlawing it completely. Women may have been playing football for as long as the game has existed. Evidence shows that
17954-507: The bottom half of the Third Division (North) table until 1955–56 . After three successive top half finishes, City were placed in the new national Third Division in 1958–59 . Bradford spent just three seasons in the Third Division, but during their relegation season in 1960–61 , they upset First Division side Manchester United in the inaugural season of the League Cup . With 34 goals from David Layne , City nearly earned promotion
18145-615: The bottom, before in the early 1930s finishing consistently near the top and finally becoming Champions in 1934–35 . Rovers spent two seasons in Division 2 , relegated in 1936–37 . However, they did well in the following two seasons before the outbreak of war, being runners up in Division 3 North, with only the champions being promoted at that time. Doncaster Rovers were involved in the longest ever competitive football match, against Stockport County at Edgeley Park on 30 March 1946, in
18336-404: The buildup, direct red card decisions, and penalty decisions. The ball is spherical with a circumference of between 68 and 70 cm (27 and 28 in), a weight in the range of 410 to 450 g (14 to 16 oz), and a pressure between 0.6 and 1.1 standard atmospheres (8.5 and 15.6 pounds per square inch ) at sea level. In the past the ball was made up of leather panels sewn together, with
18527-544: The campaign with relegation from the Premier League. A succession of financial crises followed as the club entered administration twice in two years and further relegations followed in 2004 and 2007 to leave the club back in the fourth tier. They found success under the management of Phil Parkinson by reaching the 2013 League Cup final and then going on to win that year's League Two play-off final but were relegated from League One in 2019. The club's home ground
18718-498: The capacity to fall to 7,294. When the Westferry Consortium took over the club in 1998 one of the first guarantees was to help establish a new stadium for the club. Belle Vue had never been upgraded heavily since 1938 and despite minor cosmetic changes and the addition of some seating was really showing its age by the time Westferry took over. Despite this, some improvements were made in the last few years of its use as
18909-419: The centre-left. City scarves have also sold in large numbers in recent years to fans of Harry Potter , because the colours are the same as Harry's house scarf at Hogwarts School . A number of other clubs across the world wear claret and amber. They include Scottish club Motherwell , who originally wore blue and white until they wore claret and amber for the first time on 23 August 1913, against Celtic. It
19100-750: The champions of these two club competitions would contest the Intercontinental Cup to prove which team was the best in the world. In the 21st century, South America has continued to produce some of the best footballers in the world, but its clubs have fallen behind the still dominant European clubs, which often sign the best players from Latin America and elsewhere. Meanwhile, football has improved in Africa , Asia and North America , and nowadays, these regions are at least on equal grounds with South America in club football, although countries in
19291-459: The club converted to football upon Bradford City's foundation in 1903. However, whereas Manningham played in hoops, the new football club adopted claret and amber stripes. Manningham RFC adopted the colours in 1884 before the move to Valley Parade in 1886. Having originally worn black shirts with white shorts, the club's first game in claret and amber was against Hull on 20 September 1884, at Carlisle Road. The reason Manningham chose claret and amber
19482-404: The club has used black on the kit as a memorial to the 56 supporters who died. The club's away shirt has traditionally been white and to a lesser extent also blue, but there has been a profusion of other colours and designs particularly in more recent years. The away kit for the 2008–09 season was all white. For the 2009–10 season, the away kit was all black with a thin claret and amber stripe down
19673-603: The club returned to Wembley where they defeated Northampton Town 3–0 in the League Two play-off final to secure a place in League One for 2013–14. On 24 January 2015, Bradford City caused an upset by beating Premiership leaders Chelsea 4–2 away in the FA Cup. The victory sent Bradford through to the fifth round for the first time in eighteen years. They beat Sunderland , another Premier League club, 2–0 at home in
19864-439: The club returned to the fourth tier (known at the time as Division Three) after winning the 2003 Conference play-off final , in the only sudden death goal (also known as a "Golden Goal" and officially known as "Promotion Goal" in this game) in history of English football promotion play-offs. In 2003–04 , the first season they were back in the Football League, Rovers achieved promotion to the third tier as champions. Doncaster were
20055-590: The club rose out of the conference, through Division 3 and into League 1. The Town End terracing was made safe and usable with portacabins added as executive stands behind it. The Rossington End was also extended and updated, with the capacity in its final years rising to around 11,500. In 2003 it was renamed the Earth Stadium after Earth Finance started sponsoring the ground. Belle Vue was Doncaster's home for 84 years. A new 15,231 all-seated stadium owned by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council and rented by
20246-467: The club was closed down and the ground turned into an Army depot. When the club was re-formed after the war in the summer of 1919, the Army were still occupying the old Intake Ground as a depot. They had wanted to move to Low Pastures but restrictions set by the local council meant this was not a viable option. The Club did not join the Midland League until 1920–21, by which time and as a temporary solution,
20437-614: The club won promotion to the First Division , and so commissioned football architect Archibald Leitch to redevelop the ground. The capacity was increased to 40,000 by December 1908 with a 5,300-seater main stand, a terraced paddock in front, a Spion Kop , and an 8,000-capacity Midland Road stand. Its first game against Bristol City on Christmas Day attracted a crowd of 36,000. On 11 March 1911, Valley Parade attracted its highest attendance 39,146, for an FA Cup game between Bradford City and Burnley during Bradford's FA Cup winning run . Until 1952, by which time Bradford City had bought
20628-508: The club's home shirt since 2001 through different variations. The club was founded in 1879 and turned professional six years later, moving to the Intake Ground . They entered the Midland League in 1891 and were elected into the Football League in 1901. The club lost re-election votes in 1903 and 1905 and so returned to the Midland League. They were admitted into the Football League for a third and final time in 1923 and went on to win
20819-491: The club, was completed in December 2006. The first game at the new Keepmoat Stadium was against Huddersfield Town on New Year's Day , 2007. The game also saw the first three red cards in the new stadium. Doncaster Rovers' centre forward Mark McCammon was the first player ever to score on the new pitch in a football match. The official opening of the Keepmoat Stadium was on 3 August 2007, with Doncaster Rovers playing
21010-408: The club. He ploughed a lot of money into Doncaster Rovers with one thing on his mind, a new stadium. When he was refused a new stadium by the council he soon lost interest. Richardson hired three men to torch Belle Vue and planned to sell the ground to developers. The attempt put Richardson in jail for four years, ruined Belle Vue and Rovers were edging closer to relegation. In 1998 Rovers dropped out of
21201-494: The club. It surpassed the previous fourth-tier season-ticket sales record of 13,614 in 2019–20. On 4 March 2023, Bradford City set a new attendance record for Football League Two at a 2–0 victory against Colchester United , with an attendance of 20,383, including 345 away fans. The Bantams then broke this record again in a home fixture on 8 May 2023 against Leyton Orient , with 22,576 supporters in attendance, including 1,902 Leyton Orient fans. Bradford City have participated in
21392-548: The council) in 2007. On 11 August 2012, the stadium was officially handed over to chairman John Ryan in a presentation before the League Cup tie with York City . On 27 December 2021, the stadium underwent a name change in line with the sponsorship rights being handed over from Keepmoat Homes to the Eco-Power Group. Doncaster train at Cantley Park which has been their main training facility since June 2000. The site
21583-425: The course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in most competitive international and domestic league games is five in 90 minutes, with each team being allowed one more if the game should go into extra-time; the permitted number may vary in other competitions or in friendly matches . Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or timewasting at
21774-502: The current club crest. Supporters hold West Yorkshire derby rivalries with Huddersfield Town and Leeds United , as well as a historic Bradford derby rivalry with the now non-league side Bradford (Park Avenue) . Bradford City were formed in 1903 as a result of a series of meetings called by James Whyte, a sub-editor of the Bradford Observer , with Football Association representatives and officials at Manningham F.C. ,
21965-453: The eighth century. The modern rules of association football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England. The Cambridge rules , first drawn up at the University of Cambridge in 1848, were particularly influential in the development of subsequent codes, including association football. The Cambridge rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge , at
22156-420: The end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in a match. IFAB recommends "that a match should not continue if there are fewer than seven players in either team". Any decision regarding points awarded for abandoned games is left to the individual football associations. A game is officiated by a referee , who has "full authority to enforce
22347-508: The end of the first season back in Division One, City were placed in administration with debts of nearly £13 million. Two years later, the club suffered a second spell in administration and a second relegation. Two top-half finishes followed, but the club were relegated for a third time in seven seasons in 2006–07 meaning the following season would be their first in the bottom tier for 26 seasons. Former player Stuart McCall
22538-425: The end of the game. The replay, at Doncaster, was won by Rovers 4–0, goals coming from Steven Bain, Billy Mortimer and a late double from Graeme Dunne. In 1946–47 Doncaster set a record for the most games won in a league season (33), when they won the Third Division North title. The following season saw them relegated from the Second Division , but two years later with Peter Doherty as player-manager, they won
22729-466: The failure to stay in the Championship on McKay's involvement, others felt it was worth the try. At the end of the 2011–12 season, chairman John Ryan deemed the McKay "experiment" over as it "didn't work" and "wouldn't work in the third tier" anyway. The squad was rebuilt for the 2012–13 season with 19 players leaving. Expectations were low, but after an average start, Saunders' team ended up firmly in
22920-511: The first attempt in 3rd position, missing out on the title on the final day of the season. Darren Ferguson left his post in June 2018 and was replaced by another former Peterborough boss in Grant McCann ahead of the 2018–19 season. Under McCann, Rovers finished sixth in League One, qualifying for the end of season play-offs where they faced Charlton Athletic over two legs. A 2–1 defeat in the first leg and an early Krystian Bielik goal in
23111-605: The first goal scored at the Stadium was by Mark McCammon . On 1 April 2007, Doncaster Rovers travelled with their new manager to the Millennium Stadium , Cardiff to play Bristol Rovers in the Football League Trophy final. Playing in front of over 59,000 people, this was Rovers' first major cup final in the club's history. They got off to the perfect start when a tap in from Jonathan Forte and
23302-579: The first team to win the Fourth Division/Third Division (fourth level) Championship three times, 1966, 1969, and 2004. Football League rules state that any team who wins a trophy three times can keep it. When Rovers tried to retain ownership of the actual Third Division trophy, the Football League claimed that Rovers could not keep the trophy because the league names had changed from Fourth to Third Division, and so they had not won that particular league three times. Doncaster were
23493-522: The following season 1961–62 , but did also suffer a record 9–1 defeat to Colchester United . Layne left for Sheffield Wednesday , and without him City finished second from bottom of the league and had to apply for re-election. Bradford City just failed to win promotion in 1963–64 , winning more games than any other team in the division that season, twenty five, with Rodney Green top scoring with 29 league goals. There followed three difficult seasons during which time manager Grenville Hair died following
23684-477: The following season 1984–85 , to return to the second tier of the Football League. However, City's triumph was overshadowed when the main stand at Valley Parade caught fire during the final game of the season, killing 56 people. City played games away from Valley Parade for 19 months. But just ten days after the new £2.6 million ground was opened, Cherry was sacked. His replacement, Terry Dolan , steered City away from possible relegation, before he mounted
23875-420: The forehead) other than their hands or arms. Within normal play, all players are free to play the ball in any direction and move throughout the pitch, though players may not pass to teammates who are in an offside position. During gameplay, players attempt to create goal-scoring opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling , passing the ball to a teammate, and by taking shots at
24066-528: The formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules. These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association (The FA) in 1863, which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street , London. The only school to be represented on this occasion
24257-531: The four British associations. For most of the 20th century, Europe and South America were the dominant regions in association football. The FIFA World Cup , inaugurated in 1930 , became the main stage for players of both continents to show their worth and the strength of their national teams. In the second half of the century, the European Cup and the Copa Libertadores were created, and
24448-399: The fourth tier of English football since Rochdale in 1962 to reach the League Cup final, and the first fourth tier club ever to reach a major Wembley Cup final. They defeated three Premier League sides en route to the final – Wigan Athletic 4–2 on penalties in the fourth round, Arsenal 3–2 on penalties in the quarter-finals and Aston Villa 4–3 on aggregate over the two legs of
24639-434: The fourth tier of the English football league system , and is managed by Graham Alexander . The club was founded in 1903 and immediately elected into the Football League Second Division . Promotion to the top tier followed as they won the 1907–08 Second Division title and then they went on to win the 1911 FA Cup final , which remains the club's only major honour. They were relegated in 1922 and again in 1927, before winning
24830-695: The game in a specific position, there are few restrictions on player movement, and players can switch positions at any time. The layout of a team's players is known as a formation . Defining the team's formation and tactics is usually the prerogative of the team's manager . There are 17 laws in the official Laws of the Game, each containing a collection of stipulations and guidelines. The same laws are designed to apply to all levels of football for both sexes, although certain modifications for groups such as juniors, seniors and people with physical disabilities are permitted. The laws are often framed in broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on
25021-425: The goal, which is guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to regain control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the opponent in possession of the ball; however, physical contact between opponents is restricted. Football is generally a free-flowing game, with play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play or when play is stopped by the referee for an infringement of
25212-490: The ground by climbing over walls and thus avoided having to pay. Following the Bradford City stadium fire disaster , in 1985 the wooden "Cow Shed", as the old Bennetthorpe stand was known, had to be removed for safety reasons. Mining subsidence in 1987 meant much of the "Pop Side" was removed, drastically reducing the grounds capacity to around 10,000. Further safety conditions imposed after the Hillsborough disaster led
25403-404: The highest global television audience in sport. In many parts of the world, football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans , local communities, and even nations. Ryszard Kapuściński says that Europeans who are polite, modest, or humble fall easily into rage when playing or watching football games. The Ivory Coast national football team helped secure
25594-687: The instigation of Alcock. England is also home to the world's first football league , which was founded in Birmingham in 1888 by Aston Villa director William McGregor . The original format contained 12 clubs from the Midlands and Northern England . Laws of the Game are determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The board was formed in 1886 after a meeting in Manchester of
25785-707: The lack of a crossbar, rules which made it remarkably similar to Victorian rules football being developed at that time in Australia. The Sheffield FA played by its own rules until the 1870s, with the FA absorbing some of its rules until there was little difference between the games. The world's oldest football competition is the FA Cup , which was founded by the footballer and cricketer Charles W. Alcock , and has been contested by English teams since 1872. The first official international football match also took place in 1872, between Scotland and England in Glasgow , again at
25976-405: The last day with a 1–0 victory over Liverpool , with a goal from David Wetherall . However, Jewell left shortly afterwards. His assistant Chris Hutchings was promoted to the manager's position, and despite a series of new expensive signings, he was sacked by November 2000, with City second from bottom of the league. Jim Jefferies took over but could not save the club from relegation. At
26167-483: The last team to win Division Three before it was renamed League Two . In 2005–06 , Doncaster beat two Premiership teams in the League Cup – Manchester City and Aston Villa . They reached the quarter finals of the competition where they met Arsenal . They went ahead in normal time and Arsenal equalised, and in extra time Rovers went up for a second time but Gilberto Silva equalised in injury time and
26358-405: The league with a −83 goal difference. He withdrew his financial backing and as a result the club was subject to an administration order. The better players left to ease some of the financial burden but unfortunately, the players who were left at Rovers were just not up to the task. The fans blamed Richardson for effectively destroying Rovers and even a funeral was held at Belle Vue on the last game of
26549-504: The most exciting seasons in Doncaster's history. After a slow start they were in serious contention for a top-six finish for much of the second half of the season. Defeat away at Cheltenham Town on the final day of the season cost them automatic promotion and they finished third, with Nottingham Forest taking 2nd place. After a 0–0 draw away to Southend United in the playoff semifinals first leg, Rovers beat their opponents 5–1 at home in
26740-554: The name was on 3 October 1879, a draw away against Rawmarsh. The club turned professional in 1885. Gradually, they became the main team in the town, and appear to have had their first professional players in 1887–88 . Rovers first entered the FA Cup in 1888–89 , losing 9–1 to Rotherham Town at home. Season 1890–91 was to be a significant move forward. The club were a founder member of the Midland Alliance League and came second. The following season, saw them enter
26931-534: The nature of the game. The Laws of the Game are published by FIFA, but are maintained by the IFAB. In addition to the seventeen laws, numerous IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of association football. Within the United States, Major League Soccer used a distinct ruleset during the 1990s and the National Federation of State High School Associations and NCAA still use rulesets that are comparable to, but different from,
27122-539: The new logo maintained the previous nickname of the Paraders. By December 1981, the club relaunched the Bantams as the official identity with a bantam on the new crest. The crest maintains the club colours and also includes the words The Bantams. Bradford City have had a number of nicknames during their history. In their early years, they were referred to as the Robins or Wasps, taking over the nickname of Manningham FC, as
27313-444: The new stand was itself demolished, and Valley Parade remained a three-sided ground until 1966, when the pitch was moved, and a new stand built. On 11 May 1985, Valley Parade was the scene of a fatal fire , during which 56 supporters were killed and at least 265 were injured. The game was the final match of the 1984–85 season, before which City were presented with the Third Division championship trophy. The fire destroyed
27504-495: The next round on 15 February 2015. In the quarter-finals, the Bantams faced Reading at home, in a game that ended in a goalless draw. The replay was played on 16 March 2015 at the Madejski Stadium, where Reading won 3–0. The club was relegated to League Two at the end of the 2018–19 season. In December 2021, the club was approached by American investors known as WAGMI United (who use cryptocurrency and NFTs) about
27695-436: The next stoppage of play. The referee's decision in all on-pitch matters is considered final. The score of a match cannot be altered after the game, even if later evidence shows that decisions (including awards/non-awards of goals) were incorrect. Bradford City F.C. Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford , West Yorkshire . The team competes in League Two ,
27886-426: The offences that constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. In particular, the offence of "unsporting behaviour" may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences. A referee can show a yellow or red card to a player, substitute, substituted player, and to non-players such as managers and support staff. Rather than stopping play,
28077-470: The original thirteen laws of the game. The sticking point was hacking, which a twelfth club at the meeting, Blackheath FC , had wanted to keep, resulting in them withdrawing from the FA. Other English rugby clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA, and instead in 1871, along with Blackheath, formed the Rugby Football Union . The FA rules included handling of the ball by "marks" and
28268-432: The pitch does not become square. In 2008, the IFAB initially approved a fixed size of 105 m (115 yd) long and 68 m (74 yd) wide as a standard pitch dimension for international matches; however, this decision was later put on hold and was never actually implemented. The longer boundary lines are touchlines , while the shorter boundaries (on which the goals are placed) are goal lines . A rectangular goal
28459-437: The pitch, making it more socially acceptable for women to play. The first match recorded by the Scottish Football Association took place in 1892 in Glasgow . In England, the first recorded game of football between women took place in 1895. Women's football has traditionally been associated with charity games and physical exercise, particularly in the United Kingdom. Association football continued to be played by women since
28650-437: The player spends the most time. For example, there are central defenders and left and right midfielders. The ten outfield players may be arranged in any combination. The number of players in each position determines the style of the team's play; more forwards and fewer defenders creates a more aggressive and offensive-minded game, while the reverse creates a slower, more defensive style of play. While players typically spend most of
28841-400: The players and spectators by holding up a board showing this number. The signalled stoppage time may be further extended by the referee. Added time was introduced because of an incident which happened in 1891 during a match between Stoke and Aston Villa . Trailing 1–0 with two minutes remaining, Stoke were awarded a penalty kick. Villa's goalkeeper deliberately kicked the ball out of play; by
29032-474: The price of watching professional football for the 2007–08 season. As a result, season tickets to watch Bradford City were the cheapest in England at £138, the equivalent of £6 per match. When the offer finished, the club confirmed the amount of season tickets sold was 12,019. The scheme enabled the club to top the average league attendances for Football League Two during the 2007–08 season, attracting more than three times more than any other club. The club won
29223-529: The promotion positions by the end of 2012. On 7 January, Saunders filled the vacant managers position at Wolves and on 17 January caretaker manager Brian Flynn was given the permanent managers job till the end of the season with Rob Jones as player coach. In an incredible finale to the season at Griffin Park , they beat Brentford 0–1 when James Coppinger scored in the last seconds of 5 minutes of added time, only seconds after Brentford's Marcello Trotta had hit
29414-416: The referee may allow play to continue if doing so will benefit the team against which an offence has been committed. This is known as "playing an advantage". The referee may "call back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within "a few seconds". Even if an offence is not penalised due to advantage being played, the offender may still be sanctioned for misconduct at
29605-419: The referee. Stoppage time does not fully compensate for the time in which the ball is out of play , and a 90-minute game typically involves about an hour of "effective playing time". The referee alone signals the end of the match. In matches where a fourth official is appointed, towards the end of the half, the referee signals how many minutes of stoppage time they intend to add. The fourth official then informs
29796-467: The remaining two-thirds of the ground to own it outright, the ground remained virtually unchanged. However, twice during the next decade, the club's Midland Road stand had to be demolished. Club officials first closed part of the stand in 1952, as a result of the Burnden Park disaster six years earlier. Its frame was sold to Berwick Rangers and a replacement stand built in 1954. Six years later,
29987-440: The respective six confederations. The World Cup has been held every four years since; by 2019 , it had expanded to 24 national teams, and 1.12 billion viewers watched the competition. Four years later , FIFA targeted the 32-team 2023 Women's World Cup at an audience of 2 billion, while about 1.4 million tickets were sold, setting a Women's World Cup record. Women's football has been an Olympic event since 1996 . North America
30178-544: The rules. After a stoppage, play recommences with a specified restart. At a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For example, the 2022–23 season of the English Premier League produced an average of 2.85 goals per match. The Laws of the Game do not specify any player positions other than goalkeeper, but a number of specialised roles have evolved. Broadly, these include three main categories: strikers , or forwards, whose main task
30369-403: The season in 14th place in League One. For the 2021–22 season, former trophy winning Doncaster Rovers player Richie Wellens was installed as first team manager, with Noel Hunt as assistant manager. Wellens was relieved of his duties as Doncaster Rovers manager on 2 December 2021. Doncaster appointed then under-18s manager Gary McSheffrey as the interim manager, later deciding that McSheffrey
30560-540: The second left Rovers with a mountain to climb at The Valley , but goals from captain Tommy Rowe and Andy Butler forced extra time. John Marquis put Rovers ahead for the first time in extra time, only for Darren Pratley to equalise a minute later. Rovers lost the penalty shoot-out 4–3 with misses coming from Rowe and Marquis as they fell just short of making the Wembley Stadium showdown. McCann left in
30751-438: The second leg including a James Coppinger hat-trick to advance to the League One play-off final at Wembley on Sunday 25 May 2008 where they beat Leeds United 1–0 to move into Football League Championship after a half century absence. A James Hayter headed goal in the 47th minute was enough to secure victory in front of over 75,000 fans at Wembley. The first half of the 2008–09 season saw Doncaster struggling to adapt to
30942-399: The semi-final. They met Premier League side Swansea City in the final at Wembley but lost 5–0. The run to the final is thought to have been worth at least £1.3 million to the club, with joint chairman Mark Lawn stating that the final itself could be worth an additional £1 million, taking the club's total earnings to £2.3 million during their cup campaign . On 18 May 2013,
31133-554: The sexes are so widely divided are all on the side of emancipation , and I look forward to the time when ladies may sit in Parliament and have a voice in the direction of affairs, especially those which concern them most." Honeyball and those like her paved the way for women's football. However, the women's game was frowned upon by the British football associations and continued without their support. It has been suggested that this
31324-464: The six acre Low Pastures site having been satisfactorily negotiated, the club moved there for the beginning of the 1922–23 season. Large amounts of ash from nearby coal tips was laid as a base for the pitch, serving it well throughout its years of use with superb drainage. Initially, there was a stand for 4,000 seated fans with terracing in front for another 3,000. The ground had a unique feature in that home and away teams had separate entrances. The stadium
31515-402: The summer for Championship side Hull City and was replaced by former defender Darren Moore ahead of the 2019–20 campaign. With the club sitting around the play-offs in December, the club's season looked to be going well. However, Moore moved to struggling Sheffield Wednesday on 1 March 2021, and Andy Butler was appointed as interim manager for the remainder of the season. Doncaster finished
31706-449: The table at Christmas, but still managed to survive the drop. The 2010–11 season proved to be Doncaster's most trying season in the Championship thus far. Despite a club record signing of £1.15 million for Billy Sharp, the season was plagued by injuries to key players, as well as poor form. They finished in 21st place, 6 points clear of relegated local rivals Sheffield United and Scunthorpe United . [REDACTED] Rovers struggled in
31897-468: The team's decision to adopt red and white as their colours. The club stopped using Doncaster's coat of arms in 1972 when the Viking crest was introduced. Association football 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
32088-427: The third and fourth tiers, winning promotions in 1980–81 and 1983–84 and relegations in 1983 and 1988, before suffering relegation into non-League football in 1998. Doncaster regained their Football League status after winning the 2003 Conference play-offs and then went on to win the Third Division title in 2003–04. They won the Football League Trophy in 2007 and the next year won the League One play-offs to secure
32279-447: The time it was recovered, the clock had run out and the game was over, leaving Stoke unable to attempt the penalty. The same law also states that the duration of either half is extended until a penalty kick to be taken or retaken is completed; thus, no game can end with an uncompleted penalty. In league competitions, games may end in a draw. In knockout competitions where a winner is required, various methods may be employed to break such
32470-538: The time of the first recorded women's games in the late 19th century. The best-documented early European team was founded by activist Nettie Honeyball in England in 1894. It was named the British Ladies' Football Club . Honeyball is quoted as, "I founded the association late last year [1894], with the fixed resolve of proving to the world that women are not the 'ornamental and useless' creatures men have pictured. I must confess, my convictions on all matters where
32661-586: The top flight. Instead in 1936–37 , the club were relegated back to the Third Division (North). City won their third piece of silverware two seasons later, when they lifted the Third Division North Challenge Cup , but they were unable to defend the trophy because competitive football was suspended for the Second World War. After the war, City went through two managers in the first two seasons, and were consistently in
32852-422: The tournament or be the champion. Goals scored during extra time periods count towards the final score of the game, but kicks from the penalty mark are only used to decide the team that progresses to the next part of the tournament, with goals scored in a penalty shoot-out not making up part of the final score. In competitions using two-legged matches , each team competes at home once, with an aggregate score from
33043-439: The two matches deciding which team progresses. Where aggregates are equal, the away goals rule may be used to determine the winners, in which case the winner is the team that scored the most goals in the leg they played away from home. If the result is still equal, extra time and potentially a penalty shoot-out are required. Under the Laws, the two basic states of play during a game are ball in play and ball out of play . From
33234-470: The wooden main stand in just nine minutes. The club played its home games at Odsal Stadium , a rugby league ground in Bradford, Elland Road , Leeds, and Leeds Road , the former home of Huddersfield Town, until December 1986, while Valley Parade was redeveloped. The club spent £2.6 million building a new main stand and improving the Kop and reopened the new ground on 14 December 1986 for an exhibition match against an England international XI. In 1991,
33425-697: The year 600 during the Asuka period . It was a ceremonial rather than a competitive game, and involved the kicking of a mari , a ball made of animal skin. In North America, pasuckuakohowog was a ball game played by the Algonquians ; it was described as "almost identical to the kind of folk football being played in Europe at the same time, in which the ball was kicked through goals". Phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on
33616-516: Was Charterhouse . The Freemasons' Tavern was the setting for five more meetings of The FA between October and December 1863; the English FA eventually issued the first comprehensive set of rules named Laws of the Game , forming modern football. The laws included bans on running with the ball in hand and hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding. Eleven clubs, under the charge of FA secretary Ebenezer Cobb Morley , ratified
33807-403: Was a good fit, and gave him the position full-time on 29 December 2021. Doncaster Rovers finished the season in 22nd place, relegating them to League Two . Rovers then finished 18th in League Two in the 2022–2023 season, sacking McSheffrey in October 2022 then his successor Danny Schofield after the season's end, before re-appointing Grant McCann as manager on 12 May 2023. McCann helped Rovers to
33998-408: Was appointed the new manager, and although he said anything less than promotion would be a failure, he finally led the team to a 10th-place finish. McCall eventually left Bradford City on 8 February 2010 following a board meeting after a run of poor results. In September 2011, the club became linked with American amateur side SC United Bantams . In January 2013, City became the first club from
34189-471: Was brought in as manager with Brian Horton as his assistant. To boost support for their chosen charity, Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice, the club signed One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson on a non-contract basis. On 9 November, John Ryan gave an emotional farewell and stepped down as chairman of the club after 15 years, minutes before the kick-off against a championship encounter against Barnsley at Oakwell, amid reports of boardroom disagreements following
34380-535: Was especially memorable considering it was the first time Doncaster had defeated the Owls in any league competition. The streak ended at the hands of Swansea City on Saturday 21 February after a 3–1 defeat at the Liberty Stadium . Doncaster Rovers secured their place in the Championship for the 2009–10 season after an emphatic 3–0 win at Home Park against Plymouth Argyle . Doncaster ended their first season in
34571-595: Was later reduced to the modern spelling. This form of slang also gave rise to rugger for rugby football, fiver and tenner for five pound and ten pound notes , and the now-archaic footer that was also a name for association football. The word soccer arrived at its current form in 1895 and was first recorded in 1889 in the earlier form of socca . Kicking ball games arose independently multiple times across multiple cultures. The Chinese competitive game cuju ( 蹴鞠 , literally "kickball"; also known as tsu chu ) resembles modern association football as well as
34762-440: Was motivated by a perceived threat to the "masculinity" of the game. Women's football became popular on a large scale at the time of the First World War , when female employment in heavy industry spurred the growth of the game, much as it had done for men 50 years earlier. The most successful team of the era was Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. of Preston, England . The team played in one of the first women's international matches against
34953-478: Was officially named as the Intake Ground. A few months after completion, the roof blew off the stand, and the same happened in 1894 on the press and team officials stand after a gale. They played their football there until August 1914 when the club went into liquidation. A new company did take over the club soon after but all English league competition was suspended in 1915 due to the First World War and
35144-490: Was opened in 1922 by Charles Sutcliffe, a representative of the Football League when it was named Belle Vue. The first match there was against Gainsborough Trinity in the Midland League with an attendance of 10,000. After two years, shelter was added for standing spectators on the "Popular Side". A few years later in 1927, the stand from the Bennet Thorpe Ground was jacked up and moved to the new venue providing
35335-400: Was originally leased from Case IH . Like most of the early English football clubs, the original crest adopted by Doncaster Rovers was that of the local coat of arms . The coat of arms of Doncaster at the time was of two lions holding Yorkshire roses in their mouths as well as a red shield depicting the old medieval Doncaster Castle. The coat of arms is primarily red and white which explains
35526-427: Was poached by his former club Derby County just six months later. City won compensation from Derby and installed another England international Trevor Cherry as McFarland's replacement. Cherry, with former teammate Terry Yorath as his assistant manager, failed to win for two months, but eventually the pair guided City to safety from relegation. During the summer, however, the club chairman Bob Martin had to call in
35717-400: Was renamed Division Two following the formation of the Premier League in 1992. In January 1994, Geoffrey Richmond came from Scarborough to take over as chairman, and promised to guide City to the Premier League within five years. He cleared the debts and after four months sacked manager Frank Stapleton to appoint his own manager, Lennie Lawrence . Lawrence left after little more than
35908-501: Was sacked in January 1998. Paul Jewell took over, initially on a temporary basis, before he was given a permanent contract. He bought the club's first £1 million signings and guided the club to the Premier League — the first time they had been in the top flight for 77 years — with a second-place finish. The following season, Jewell continued to defy the critics, who labelled his team Dad's Army , by avoiding relegation again on
36099-420: Was set. On 6 July, the club announced a record-breaking 18,000 tickets had been sold following a successful campaign. The campaign was repeated for the 2016–17 season , where the club sold in excess of 17,000 tickets. Bradford City have one official mascot , Billy Bantam. Bradford City announced 'Own The Moment' 2022–23 season ticket sales of 14,190 in September 2022. The figure was a League Two record for
36290-411: Was sold to Gibb's pension fund for £5 million, with the club's offices, the shop and car park sold to London-based Development Securities for £2.5 million, but these (club offices, shop and car park) were bought back by the club's joint chairmen in the summer of 2011. The club's annual rent and maintenance costs to Gibb's pension fund is £1.2m, and so as of February 2009, the club is considering
36481-472: Was stopped by Barnsley after a run of 12 consecutive clean sheets. City remained in the top flight in the period up to the First World War and for three seasons afterwards, but were relegated in 1921–22 along with Manchester United . Back in the Second Division, attendances dropped and City struggled for form, with five consecutive finishes in the bottom half of the table. They suffered
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