Association football pitch

An association football pitch (also known as a football pitch, football field or soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".

Since 2007, in order to standardize the size of the football pitch for international matches, the IFAB has decided to set a fixed size of 105 metres long and 68 metres wide, 7140 m² — instead of a minimum and maximum length, from 100m to 110m, and a minimum and a maximum width, from 64m to 75m, in the old and more flexible standards.. In 2008, the average English Premiership pitch measured 114 x 74 yards, with an average area of 8414 square yards (104 x 68 m, area of 7036 m²).

All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define. For example, a ball on or above the touchline is still on the field of play; a ball on the line of the goal area is in the goal area; and a foul committed over the 16.5 metres (18-yard) line has occurred in the penalty area. Therefore a ball must completely cross the touchline to be out of play, and a ball must wholly cross the goal line (between the goal posts) before a goal is scored; if any part of the ball is still on or above the line, the ball is still in play.

The field descriptions that apply to adult matches are described below. Note that due to the original...
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