Football pitch facts for kids

A standard football pitch showing its main parts.

An early football pitch from 1898.

A football pitch (also called a soccer field) is the special playing area for the game of association football. Its size and all the lines on it are set out in Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, which are the official rules of football.

Most football pitches are made of natural grass, called turf. Some are made of artificial turf, which is a fake grass surface. These artificial pitches must always be green. Sometimes, for fun games, people play on dirt fields.

Every line on the pitch is part of the area it marks. For example, if a ball is right on the touchline, it's still in play! For a goal to count, the ball must completely cross the goal line between the goal posts. If even a tiny bit of the ball is still on the line, it's not a goal yet.

The sizes for adult football pitches were first measured in old English units like yards. Now, the rules prefer metric units like metres, but you'll still hear the old measurements, especially in the United Kingdom.

Pitch Boundaries: Where the Game Happens

The goal line at Old Trafford stadium in 1992.

A football pitch is shaped like a rectangle. The two longer sides are called touchlines, and the two shorter sides are called the goal lines.

• The goal lines are usually between 45 and 90 metres (50 and 100 yards) wide. Both goal lines must be the same length.
• The touchlines are usually between 90 and 120 metres (100 and 130 yards) long. Both touchlines must also be the same length.
• All the lines on the pitch must be the same width, and they can't be wider than 12 centimetres (5 inches).
• The corners of the pitch are marked with special flags called corner flags.

For big international matches, the pitch sizes are a bit stricter. Goal lines are between 64 and 75 metres (70 and 82 yards) wide, and touchlines are between 100 and 110 metres (110 and 120 yards) long. Many professional pitches are about 103 to 105 metres (112 to 115 yards) long and 64 to 69 metres (70 to 75 yards) wide.

The "goal line" actually means the whole line at each end of the pitch, from one corner flag to the other. Sometimes, people use the word "byline" to talk about the part of the goal line that is outside the goalposts.

Goals: Where You Score!

A football goal.

The goals are placed in the middle of each goal line. Each goal has two upright posts and a horizontal bar called a crossbar connecting them at the top.

• The inside edges of the posts are 7.32 metres (8 yards) apart.
• The bottom edge of the crossbar is 2.44 metres (8 feet) above the ground.
• This means the area players shoot at is about 17.86 square metres (192 square feet).
• Nets are usually put behind the goals to catch the ball, but the rules don't say they have to be there.

Goalposts and crossbars must be white. They can be made of wood, metal, or other approved materials. They also need to be shaped in a way that doesn't hurt players.

A goal is scored when the ball completely crosses the goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar. This is true even if a defending player accidentally touches the ball last (which is called an own goal). However, a goal might not count if a player on the scoring team breaks a rule just before the goal is scored.

For junior matches, the goals are usually about half the size of adult goals.

History of Football Goals and Nets

People started talking about "goals" in football-like games in England in the late 1500s and early 1600s. Early descriptions talk about two bushes stuck in the ground as goalposts. The first time someone wrote about "scoring a goal" was around the year 1600.

Solid crossbars were first used in the "Sheffield Rules" of football. Football nets were invented by an engineer from Liverpool named John Alexander Brodie in 1891. Nets were very helpful because they made it much clearer whether a goal had actually been scored or not!

Penalty and Goal Areas: Special Zones

The large rectangle is the penalty area. Inside it, the smaller rectangle is the goal area. The curved line outside the penalty area is the penalty arc.

There are two rectangular boxes marked on the pitch in front of each goal.

The Goal Area

This is the smaller box, sometimes called the "six-yard box." It's formed by the goal line and two lines that start 5.5 metres (6 yards) from each goalpost and go 5.5 metres (6 yards) into the pitch. A line then connects these two lines.

• When the defending team gets a free kick or a goal kick, they can take it from anywhere inside this goal area.
• If the attacking team gets an indirect free kick inside the opponent's goal area, they take it from the closest point on the line that runs parallel to the goal line.

The Penalty Area

This is the larger box, often called the "18-yard box" or just "the box." It's similar to the goal area but much bigger. Its lines start 16.5 metres (18 yards) from each goalpost and go 16.5 metres (18 yards) into the field.

This area is very important for a few reasons:

• It's the only place where the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball with their hands.
• If a defending player commits a foul inside this area that would normally result in a direct free kick, it becomes a penalty kick instead.
• Before 1902, both the goal and penalty areas were shaped like semicircles.

The Penalty Mark and Arc

• The penalty mark (or "penalty spot") is a small spot 11 metres (12 yards) directly in front of the centre of the goal. This is where penalty kicks are taken from.
• The penalty arc (or "the D") is a curved line marked outside the penalty area, 9.15 metres (10 yards) from the penalty mark. During a penalty kick, all players except the kicker and the goalkeeper must stay outside this arc and the penalty area.

Other Markings on the Pitch

• The centre circle is marked 9.15 metres (10 yards) from the centre mark, which is right in the middle of the pitch. This circle shows how far opposing players must stay away during a kick-off. The ball is placed on the centre mark. During penalty shootouts, most players must stay inside this circle.
• The half-way line divides the pitch into two equal halves. The half a team is defending is called their own half. Players cannot be called offside in their own half. Sometimes, flags are used to mark where the half-way line meets the touchlines.
• The small arcs in the corners show the area (within 1 yard of the corner flag) where the ball must be placed for corner kicks. Opposing players must stay 9.15 metres (10 yards) away during a corner kick. Sometimes, extra lines are marked off the pitch to help measure this distance.

Turf: What the Pitch is Made Of

Most football pitches are made of natural grass. However, artificial turf (fake grass) is sometimes used, especially in places where it's hard to keep real grass healthy. This can be in very wet areas where grass gets ruined quickly, or very dry areas where it dies. Artificial turf is also common in cold places like the Nordic countries because of the snow and harsh winters.

Modern artificial surfaces often use rubber crumbs to make them feel more like real grass. Some leagues don't allow artificial surfaces because they worry about player injuries. All artificial turf must be green and meet special quality rules set by FIFA.

Football can also be played on dirt or gravel fields, but usually, these are only for casual games. In some cold places, football pitches can even be filled with water and frozen to create an ice rink for a game called bandy, which is similar to ice hockey.

See also

In Spanish: Línea de meta (futbol) para niños

• Football field (for other types of football)
• Turf management
• Groundskeeping