A match is played in two 45 minute halves, by two teams of eleven players each. The game begins with the toss of a coin, and the winning captain decides which goal to defend or to take the first kick off.
All players must use their feet head or chest to play the ball. Only the goalkeeper is allowed to use their hands, and only within their designated goal area. The aim of the game is to score a goal, which is achieved by kicking or heading the ball into the opposition team's goal.
If the ball touches or crosses the side line, it is thrown back in by the team that was not the last to touch the ball.
The game is controlled by a central referee, and two linesmen. They award free kicks and penalties when rules are broken. For continual breaking of rules or for a bad foul, the player may be sent off.
During a game, players are only allowed to wear soccer equipment and are prohibited to wear anything that may harm him as well as the other. This includes any kind of jewelry and other accessories. The basic soccer equipment of a player include a jersey or shirt with their distinctive soccer patches; shorts, if thermal under shorts are worn, it has to be the same main color as the shorts; stockings; and footwear, soccer shoes, boots, cleats.

There are instances that players may use extra equipments such as shin guards and headgears. The shin guards protect the leg below the knee and are completely covered by the stockings. These are either made of rubber, plastic, or similar substances. While the head gear are available to protect younger players when heading the ball. For goalkeepers, they must wear a color that separates him from the other goalkeeper, players, the referee and the assistant referees.

There are four important details that one should know about the game before he is ready to play soccer. The first is that only the goalkeeper is allowed to use his hands, and this is only within the confines of the marked-off area surrounding the goal. When a player uses their hands on a ball, the opposing team gets a free kick from the spot of the violation.

The second vital information that you should remember about the game is that players are generally penalized for rough or unfair play with the use of cards. A yellow card is considered a stern warning, while a red card signifies a serious violation. Once a player receives a red card it means that he had been ejected from the game and cannot be replaced and that leaves the player's team with less players. Meanwhile receiving two yellow cards will equal to a red card, meaning the player will receive the