135-642: Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East but playing matches in Melbourne CBD, that competes in A-League , the highest division of soccer in Australia , under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). Founded in 2009 as Melbourne Heart , the club competed under that name from its inaugural 2010–11 season until they were rebranded in mid-2014 by
270-563: A goalkeeper is held by Tom Glover , with 79 appearances. Jamie Maclaren is the club's top goalscorer with 109 goals in all competitions from 2019 to the present day, having surpassed Bruno Fornaroli 's total of 57 in May 2021. Maclaren also holds the club record for goals scored in the League, with 97. Melbourne City's record home attendance is 26,759, for an A-League Men match against Melbourne Victory on 23 November 2011 at AAMI Park , for
405-628: 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
540-483: A "one city, one team" policy, announced that the Melbourne Victory had won the licence to be the only Melbourne club to compete in the new national competition, known as the A-League . A 5-year moratorium was also established preventing any other expansion sides from the eight original A-League teams' areas entering the competition until the 2010–11 season, allowing Victory five seasons to establish itself in
675-718: A 3–2 win. Melbourne City's 2016–17 squad was the most expensive team in Australian soccer history, with team wages totalling $ 9.15 million. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Players to have featured in a first-team matchday squad for Melbourne City 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 club's current manager
810-497: A Bachelor of Psychology at Newcastle University. Kantarovski has represented Australia's under-17 team on 12 occasions, scoring 3 times. In 2009, he represented the under-20 team at the Under-20 World Cup as the youngest player in the squad, being a mere 17 years of age, starting in all of their group games, playing as a midfielder in the first game, before being shifted in to the heart of defence. Despite suffering from
945-493: 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
1080-442: 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
1215-489: A change of kit colour to sky blue. An application to trademark the name "Melbourne City Football Club" was lodged on 16 January, and Melbourne Heart's minority shareholders had registered the business name "Melbourne City FC" with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). However, there was no official statement from the club for some months, leaving fans in limbo as to the future identity of
1350-574: 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
1485-505: 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
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#17327916233971620-400: 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
1755-588: A knee injury that would eventually sideline him for 6 months, Kantarovski played for Young Socceroos throughout their World Cup campaign, and was a clear standout, named by many as the Socceroo's top player. Kantarovski was called up by Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek into the Socceroos squad to play Kuwait in the AFC Asian Cup qualifying game against Kuwait, as well as inviting Ben to a training camp with
1890-640: 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
2025-529: 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
2160-506: A partnership with the local educational body. The site was chosen due to its ability to house both the administrative and training arms of the club as well as provide ample access to various support services, including conditioning and medical facilities. The club's training facilities were notably low quality and rudimentary, with players responsible for carting goal nets from one side of the La Trobe University playing fields to
2295-426: 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
2430-512: A protest with IP Australia in January 2010. The club's badge was lodged to IP Australia the same month by the FFA, and on 2 February 2010, the name of the club was announced as Melbourne Heart FC. Initially, a colour scheme of either black and white, or red and white were the two options for the club. The eventual choice for the home kit was a red and white striped jersey with red shorts and red socks,
2565-486: A red and white sash on a grey jersey. The 2012–13 winning third kit design had a black and charcoal hoops jersey with red sleeves. The 2013–14 winning third kit design had a red and white chequered jersey with red sleeves. After the announcement in January 2014 of a takeover of Melbourne Heart by the City Football Group , there was much speculation in the media about a potential re-brand of the club including
2700-416: 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
2835-576: 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
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#17327916233972970-464: A statement shortly after confirming they were in discussions with Football Federation Australia on a range of matters relating to its future plans including its playing strips, indicating the matter was not settled. The club was formally unveiled as Melbourne City FC on 5 June 2014. Talks between Melbourne City and the FFA resumed in early 2016, and continued for a number of months—but finally, in June,
3105-475: A three-year agreement believed to be worth close to $ 2 million, which allowed the institution's logo to be present on home and away Heart kits. Drake International, Public Transport Victoria and BDO were the other major sponsors of the club. The club signed a two-year deal with kit supplier Kappa in May 2012. MatchWorks (Away) MatchWorks (Away) Melbourne City's home ground is Melbourne Rectangular Stadium . Melbourne City's largest average season attendance
3240-527: 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 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
3375-513: 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
3510-432: 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
3645-457: Is Aurelio Vidmar . The club's previous manager was Rado Vidošić , who departed the club in 2023. There have been seven permanent managers of Melbourne City since the appointment of the club's first professional manager, John van 't Schip in 2009. The club's longest-serving manager, in terms of both length of tenure and number of games overseen, is John van't Schip , who managed the club between 2013 and 2017. Ref. Ref. Melbourne City Women
3780-403: Is 11,047 (achieved in the 2015–16 season ), while the largest ever attendance for a single home match is 26,457 against Melbourne Victory in round 12 of the 2012–13 A-League season . Current defender Curtis Good holds the record for Melbourne City appearances, having played 162 first-team matches. Scott Jamieson comes second, having played 161 times between 2017 and 2021. The record for
3915-415: Is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each, who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch . The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for
4050-468: Is governed by FIFA . Under FIFA, there are six continental confederations: AFC , CAF , CONCACAF , CONMEBOL , OFC , and UEFA . Of these confederations, CONMEBOL 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
4185-410: 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
Melbourne City FC - Misplaced Pages Continue
4320-438: 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
4455-405: 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
4590-816: 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
4725-506: 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
4860-777: Is run from the City Football Academy , a facility located within the Casey Fields sports precinct, in the south-east Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East . The club plays home matches at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium , commercially known as AAMI Park, a 30,050 seat multi-use venue in Melbourne's City Centre . The club also has an affiliated youth team which competes in both the A-Leagues Youth (league has not been held since 2019) and in VPL1 , which serves as
4995-593: 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
5130-455: 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
5265-625: Is the women's soccer club affiliated to Melbourne City. The club holds the only record for most consecutive championships by club. Melbourne City Women are one of the most successful teams in the A-League Women . Since their debut in the W-League, they won a record-breaking three consecutive championships in 2016 , 2017 and 2018 , and won a fourth in 2020 . For the first five years of their existence, Melbourne City trained on borrowed accommodation at La Trobe University , operating under
5400-435: Is thought to have been borrowed from the slang of Rugby School . Initially spelt assoccer (a shortening of "association"), it 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
5535-404: 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
Melbourne City FC - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-421: 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
5805-607: The 2008–09 season against the Central Coast Mariners playing as a defender. He was only 16 years and 208 days old making him at the time, the youngest player in A-League history. Kantarovski has since played in many different positions for the Newcastle Jets, including all positions across the defence, and all positions across the midfield, most commonly his preferred holding midfielder role. Kantarovski
5940-555: The 2016 FFA Cup Final . Despite this success, City continued to fall short in knockout finals matches, losing at the elimination or semi-finals stage of the series over successive seasons. van 't Schip left the club mid-way through the 2016/17 season to be with his terminally ill father and under the temporary stewardship of Michael Valkanis the season ended with another early finals exit. Following van 't Schip's departure, City management signed former Manchester United Reserves and Wigan Athletic coach Warren Joyce as manager ahead of
6075-514: The 2017/18 season . Despite overseeing improvements in the team's defensive capabilities, Joyce was unable to bring any silverware to the club. He left the club at the end of the 2018/19 season , in which the club again failed to reach the Grand Final , though with a respectable winning percentage. Fairfax soccer journalist Michael Lynch reported that, despite shoring up the team defensively, Joyce's "two years in charge will be remembered for
6210-527: 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
6345-470: The City Football Group (CFG), in partnership with Holding M.S. Australia. In August 2015, City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group , bought out the Holding M.S. Australia consortium to have 100% ownership of the club. Since forming in 2009, Melbourne City has claimed three A-League Men premierships and one championship, as well as one Australia Cup title (in 2016 ). Melbourne City
6480-509: The Eureka Stockade , the closest Australia had come to revolution. The name of the new club was to be announced before the end of 2009, but was delayed until early 2010 due to Melbourne Football Club objections to the use of the words Melbourne , Football and Club in the name. The Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation expressed concern that the name Melbourne Heart was too similar to its annual Heart of Melbourne Appeal, and lodged
6615-558: The Golden Boot award with 22 goals and the club qualified for its first ever Grand Final by defeating local rivals Western United , though were defeated 1–0 by the home team Sydney FC in extra time. Mombaerts left the club in September 2020 and was replaced by his former assistant, Patrick Kisnorbo . Under Kisnorbo, City had a record-breaking 2020–21 season by claiming the club's first A-League premiership, three games out from
6750-433: The 'City Blue' colours." Melbourne City's current home kit, in use since the 2017/18 season, is all-sky blue (officially referred to by the club as "city blue"). The home kit shorts and socks are the same colour, though in the past these have been white. For many years the club utilised a red and white striped design for their away kit, though this was altered to a white zebra-shaped design with black shorts and socks ahead of
6885-635: 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
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#17327916233977020-531: The 2009–10 season. Buckley also revealed the existence of a third Melbourne bid tentatively known as 'Melbourne Heart' backed by Peter Sidwell, to compete with the two other bids of Southern Cross FC and Melbourne City. On 25 July 2008, the Melbourne City bid dropped out of the bidding process leaving the Melbourne Heart and Southern Cross FC bids as the last two bids standing. By September 2008,
7155-482: The 2012/13 season. The first match between the two clubs saw Melbourne City (known at the time as Melbourne Heart) win 2–1 in front of a sold out AAMI Park crowd of over 25,000 spectators. The derby match between the two Melbourne clubs is often marked as an "annual spectacle" both on and off the pitch, attracting large crowds and frequently producing "enthralling" results and encounters. Soccer Association football , more commonly known as football or soccer ,
7290-401: The 2019/20 season. The red and white-striped design is currently the club's Away kit in the 22-23Season . City wore an all-black third kit in the 2018/19 season. Between 2014 and 2016, Melbourne City wore a mostly all-white home kit, which featured a vertical light and navy blue strip running down the right side of the kit. In the 2016/17 season, the home kit was again predominately white though
7425-531: The A-League for Bayern once he reached the age of 18, FIFA 's minimum age for a football player to play for a foreign club. After turning 18, Kantarovski opted to turn down an offer to join Bayern Munich's youth system. He did so after receiving the Kimon Taliadoros scholarship for his educational achievements. On 12 November 2010, Kantarovski signed a 3-year contract extension keeping him at
7560-475: The City Football Group. Upon the takeover by CFG, the club's kits were supplied by Nike and it was sponsored by Abu Dhabi -based airline Etihad Airways . The Etihad sponsorship has remained though in 2019 the club's kit suppliers changed to German-based brand Puma , a deal in place for five years. In the pre-CFG days, Melbourne Heart's foundation sponsor was financial institution Westpac for
7695-400: The City Football Group. Villa was expected to play in the A-League until New York City entered Major League Soccer in 2015. Villa played only four of an expected ten matches, scoring twice, before being recalled by New York City. Although none of the matches were won, coach John van 't Schip credited Villa with bringing attention to the new team, and it was estimated that his presence trebled
7830-558: The FFA announced an upcoming overhaul of the league's branding in the 2017–18 season, a commitment which allowed Melbourne City to update its brand and true primary colours by the start of the 2017–18 season. The changes will "allow for the full integration of the City Football Group’s playing strip colours" in the home kit, with the FFA Board saying "Sydney FC will retain exclusivity of its 'Sky Blue' brand as Melbourne City adopts
7965-576: 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
8100-910: 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
8235-467: 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
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#17327916233978370-475: 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
8505-509: The Jets until the end of the 2013. He scored his first goal for the club with a header against Brisbane Roar in a 1–1 at EnergyAustralia Stadium on 17 November 2010. Although Kantarovski was contracted at the Jets undtil June 2022, Kantarovski did not feature for the Jets in the A-league after the 2019/2020 season due to ongoing injury. During this extended injury period, Kantarovski studied
8640-430: 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
8775-748: 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 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
8910-479: 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
9045-554: The Melbourne Heart bid was awarded exclusive negotiating rights for the league's 11th licence, beating out the South Melbourne-backed Southern Cross FC bid. Negotiations continued until Sidwell's group was awarded the licence to join the A-League's 2010–11 season by the FFA on 12 June 2009. Heart started its inaugural season against Central Coast Mariners on 5 August 2010, at their home ground AAMI Park , losing 1–0. The club's first ever goal
9180-532: The Melbourne market. On 1 March 2008, former Carlton Football Club vice-president and businessman Colin DeLutis expressed his interest in a second Melbourne A-League side, with an approach to the FFA to become sole owner of the second licence with the bid name of 'Melbourne City'. FFA chief executive Ben Buckley raised the possibility of expanding the A-League from eight to 12 teams in May 2008, in readiness for
9315-581: The Newcastle Jets as a midfielder . Ben is the older brother of former Newcastle Jets FC player Michael Kantarovski . Kantarovski was signed to a four-year contract by the Newcastle Jets in January 2008 while attending Lambton High School at only 15 years of age, making him the youngest player in A-League history to sign a full-time A-League contract, and one of the youngest players in world football to do so. He made his A-League debut in Round 1 of
9450-557: The Socceroos squad. Kantarovski was selected by Young Socceroos coach Jan Verslejen to captain the Young Socceroos despite being one of the youngest players in the squad. Verslejen cited Kantarovski's A-League and AFC Champions League experience, as well as being a member of the Young Socceroos Under-20 World Cup campaign as three big reasons for his appointment as captain. He also captained
9585-543: The United States. A notable exception is New Zealand, where in the first two decades of 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
9720-482: The Young Socceroos to victory in the 2010 Asean Football Federation Under-19 Championship, after their 1–0 win in the final against Thailand. On 27 January 2012 he was selected to play for the Australia Olympic football team against Uzbekistan national under-23 football team and United Arab Emirates national under-23 football team . Kantarovski made his debut for the Australia Olympic football team in
9855-458: The away kit was a red sash on white jersey, with white shorts and socks. For the 2011–12 season Melbourne Heart introduced a third kit which would be worn for one match per season. The design of the kit for each season was determined via a fan-designed competition. All fans could enter a design submission with the final design being decided by a club panel. The winner for the 2011–12 season was Red and White Unite co-founder Steven Forbes and featured
9990-452: The ball into the other team's goal (between the posts, under the bar, and fully across the goal line). When the ball 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
10125-460: 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
10260-410: 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
10395-485: 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
10530-404: 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
10665-750: 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
10800-518: The club failed to finish above the bottom two places and claimed the wooden spoon in 2013/14. [REDACTED] It was announced on 23 January 2014 that the City Football Group had acquired Melbourne Heart for $ 12 million. The deal involved CFG acquiring 80% of Heart, the other 20% to be held by a consortium of businessmen allied to Rugby league club Melbourne Storm . On 5 June 2014, the team obtained Spanish World Cup-winning striker David Villa on loan from New York City FC , another team owned by
10935-503: The club's attendance. Ahead of the 2015–16 season , City Football Group announced it had bought out the remaining 20% share of the club held by a consortium for a $ 2.25 million fee, thus acquiring 100% ownership of Melbourne City Football Club. Under manager John van 't Schip , the club developed a reputation for attacking and high-scoring soccer, with the 2015/16 season characterised as the club's most sustained period of on-field success. The signing of Uruguayan striker Bruno Fornaroli
11070-532: The club's traditional red and white colours. Some of the concerns were abated by the inclusion of red in the Supporters Scarves for the 2015–16 A-League season, and through the design of the club's away kits, which in most seasons since the CFG takeover have commemorated the club's traditional colours, red and white. Melbourne City's branding and sponsorship arrangements usually tie in with sister clubs in
11205-425: The club. In April 2014, media outlets reported that Melbourne Heart had lodged an application with Football Federation Australia (FFA) to rebrand the club similar to that of Manchester City , including a change of their playing strip from red and white to sky blue. It was reported that Sydney FC had lodged a formal complaint with FFA to block the proposed colour change. Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow commented on
11340-425: 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
11475-453: 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
11610-420: 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
11745-405: The end of the game is the winner. There are situations where a goal can be disallowed, such as an offside call or 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
11880-407: The end of the regular season. After winning the club's first A-League Premiership, Kisnorbo then guided a relatively youthful City side through the A-League finals series without several key stars to win the 2020–21 A-League Championship , beating Sydney FC 3–1. The club qualified for its inaugural AFC Champions League appearance in 2022, and despite going undefeated they fell short of qualifying for
12015-463: The facility in 2021, with the entire club to be based at the facility when construction is completed in 2022. Melbourne City's local rivals are Melbourne Victory . Although there were many state or regional rivalries in the A-league, the Melbourne Derby was the first and only intra-city derby in the league until a second Sydney -based club, Western Sydney Wanderers joined the A-League in
12150-643: The feat, and second club for finishing 1st in three consecutive seasons. They lost their fourth grand final to the Central Coast Mariners . In October 2009, an online competition held by Melbourne's Herald Sun gave the public the opportunity to submit their preferences for the name of the new Melbourne team. The preferred names were released on the Herald Sun website on 13 November 2009. The four options were 'Sporting Melbourne FC', 'Melburnians', 'Melbourne Revolution' and 'Melbourne Heart FC'. Some pondered if 'Revolution' had some context considering its intimation to
12285-480: The football facilities at Casey Fields included four floodlit pitches and a one-story administration building. The club announced that, in conjunction with the City of Casey , it would add an elite training tablet pitch, expand the size of the administration building to two storeys and leave space for potential future construction of a 4,000 capacity boutique stadium. The club's youth and women's teams will begin moving into
12420-420: 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
12555-528: 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
12690-531: 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
12825-695: 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
12960-425: 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
13095-404: 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
13230-687: 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
13365-444: The issue, saying "We're extremely concerned about the proposed use of sky blue by Melbourne Heart, and we've made our concerns very clear to the FFA...in a competition with only 10 teams, the idea of two teams wearing sky blue is nonsensical especially when sky blue is so closely associated with NSW". In May 2014, it was reported that FFA had upheld Sydney FC 's objection to a colour change to sky blue. However, Melbourne Heart released
13500-413: The knockout stages. They rebounded to claim its second consecutive league premiership on the final day of the 2021/22 regular season, before being defeated by local rivals Western United in the grand final at AAMI Park. The club several personnel changes for the 2022/23 season and went on to claim its third consecutive premiership, becoming the first club in Australian domestic league history to achieve
13635-702: 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
13770-614: 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 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
13905-534: 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,
14040-492: 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. Ben Kantarovski Benjamin Kantarovski ( Macedonian : Бенјамин Кантаровски ) (born 20 January 1992) is a former Australian professional soccer player who played for
14175-445: The northern Melbourne suburb of Bundoora , designed to a world class level. At the completion of the project, the new centre was dubbed the " City Football Academy " following the naming conventions established at the affiliated Manchester complex . In December 2020, Melbourne City officials announced the club would move its training and administration facilities to Casey Fields , Cranbourne East , in Melbourne's South-East . In 2019
14310-529: The number of high-profile players who departed the club" under his watch, which included a falling-out with star striker Fornaroli, as well as the departures of Neil Kilkenny , Fernando Brandán and Australia's leading goalscorer Tim Cahill . The club appointed Frenchman Erick Mombaerts as manager ahead of the 2019–20 season , and further changes to the playing list occurred. Internationals Florin Berenguer , Adrián Luna and Craig Noone were brought into
14445-426: 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,
14580-470: 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
14715-410: The other, players utilising wheelie bins filled with ice instead of ice baths, and a Portacabin adjacent to the pitches was utilised as a medical and massage room. Following the acquisition of the club by City Football Group , Melbourne City paid $ 15m to construct for themselves a brand new training and administrative facilities on additional land leased adjacent to the La Trobe University precinct in
14850-432: 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
14985-437: 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
15120-437: 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
15255-400: 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
15390-416: 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
15525-419: 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
15660-440: 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
15795-544: 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
15930-578: The second tier of Victorian football, as well as a senior women's team which competes in the A-League Women . After the dissolution of the National Soccer League in 2003, brought about by the Crawford Report , plans were drawn up for a new revamped national competition to begin the following season. Despite the calls for the new competition to feature two clubs from Melbourne, in 2004 Football Federation Australia , opting for
16065-554: 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
16200-414: The squad to add some attacking spark and former Hibernan and Brisbane Roar striker Jamie Maclaren was signed as the club's marquee striker. Under Mombaerts City reached their second FFA Cup Final, though they were convincingly defeated 4–0 by the home team Adelaide United . The team rebounded from that loss to finish the season with its highest ever finish of second place, with 47 points. Maclaren won
16335-447: 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
16470-538: 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
16605-402: The top six teams to reach the finals, despite sitting in sixth position for majority of the season. After a moderately more successful second season, Melbourne Heart finished 6th on the ladder, enough to make the finals. Heart's first finals game was against Perth Glory, where they were defeated 3–0 at nib stadium . Wins over local rivals continued to occur over the following two seasons, though
16740-422: 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
16875-613: 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 the year 600 during the Asuka period . It was a ceremonial rather than
17010-439: 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
17145-486: The vertical strip was removed and was replaced with light blue sleeves and collar. The away kit during the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons used a similar design to the traditional Melbourne Heart kits, with vertical red and white stripes strewn across. It was announced that "the away kit celebrates the club's history, the wishes of its existing fan base and the red and white that remains at the Heart of its identity. The away strip
17280-516: 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
17415-530: Was an own goal scored by Ben Kantarovski in the Heart's second league game, a 1–1 draw against Newcastle Jets . Melbourne Heart's first win was a 1–0 victory over North Queensland Fury , which came in the fifth round of their first A-League season on 4 September 2010. They contested the first ever Melbourne Derby against Melbourne Victory on 8 October 2010, and won 2–1. Heart finished their first season on equal points with Newcastle Jets , but behind on goal difference in eighth position. They failed to make it into
17550-451: Was changed to a horizontal white/red gradient in 2016/17, with the club's statement being "the kit .. displays the Club’s traditional red and white colours – a key feature of the Club’s badge". Despite the unprecedented success City Football Group (CFG) has brought to Melbourne City, many fans were uneasy about the transition from Heart to City in 2014, especially in the perceived abandoning of
17685-533: 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 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
17820-419: 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 a mix of basketball, and volleyball. This is the earliest form of a kicking game for which there is historical evidence. The game
17955-584: Was key to the club becoming the most attacking and (scoring wise) prolific team in the league that season. The senior team finished the regular season a club high fourth on the table whilst the women's team achieved a remarkable feat by winning all 14 of its regular season games on the way to both a maiden premiership and championship in the club's inaugural season in the women's league. The men's team qualified for its first final of any kind in November 2016, and achieved silverware when it defeated Sydney FC 1–0 in
18090-504: 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
18225-674: Was named the Newcastle Jets Player of the Season in his debut year, despite only playing a handful of games. Kantarovski attracted the interest of one of the powerhouses of German powerhouse Bayern Munich . Kantarovski spent a week trialling with the Bundesliga club in April, 2009. At the conclusion of this trial, it appeared Bayern's interest in Kantarovski only grew, making it increasingly likely that Kantarovski would depart
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