| Handling | Intentionally playing the ball with one's hand or any part of the arm. | Law 12 |
| Head ball | See header. | |
| Header | Passing, clearing, controlling or shooting the ball with one's head. | |
| Heel | Also called backheel. To pass the ball directly behind oneself by using either the heel or sole of the foot. The term can also be used by a player to indicate that he is ready to accept a back pass. | |
| Holding | Intentionally closing one's hand on an opposing player or any part of his equipment in an attempt to interfere with his progress. | Law 12 |
| Hole player | See window player. | |
TOP A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| IFK | Abbreviation for "indirect free kick". | Law 13 |
| Indirect free kick | A method of restarting play, in which the ball must be touched by another player after it is kicked in order for a goal to be scored. Signaled by the referee holding one arm extended above his head until the ball has been touched by another player. | Law 13 |
| Injury time | See time lost. | Law 7 |
| Inside | 1. Refers to the part of the field closer to the mid-line, as opposed to the touchline. 2. Inside of the foot: the big toe side of the foot near the arch. | |
| Instep | The top part of the foot corresponding to the lower part of the laces portion of the boot. | |
| Into touch | When the ball goes into the area outside of the field of play, beyond the touch lines. | |
| Jersey | The team uniform that distinguishes the teams as different. Also, the goal keeper must have a shirt that distinguishes himself different than his team and the opponent. | Law 4 |
| Jockey | 1. To delay the forward progress of an opponent with the ball by holding a position close to and goal side of the opponent so that he or she can be tackled once support arrives. 2. An instruction to a player to tell him or her not to tackle but to jockey an opponent. | |
| Juggling | A training exercise in which the ball is kept in the air, using any legal part of the body, by one player. | |
| Jumping | Intentionally jumping at an opponent. | Law 12 |
TOP A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| Keepaway | A small-sided game in which the object is for one side to retain possession rather than to score goals. | |
| Keeper | See goal keeper. | |
| Kicking | Intentionally kicking or trying to kick an opponent. | Law 12 |
| Kick-off | A method of starting and restarting play. A game is started with a kick-off and a kick-off is performed following a goal that has been scored. The restart kick-off is performed by the team that did not score. | Law 8 |
| Lay off | To play the ball to one side for a teammate, normally when one has one's back to the opponents' goal. | |
| Libero | Position name given to a player playing in one of the positions normally associated with a stopper, a defensive screen or sweeper. Unlike these players, however, the libero frequently comes forward to join the attack. . | |
| Linesman | See assistant referee. | Law 6 |
| Man on | A term used for communicating that the ball carrier or the player about to receive the ball is going to be under pressure from a defender. | |
| Man-to-man defense | A defensive system in which a player (usually a marking back) will be assigned responsibility to mark a specific individual opponent. Often used to neutralize a particularly dangerous and mobile attacking player; if the strategy is effective, the neutralized player is said to have been "marked out of the game". See zone defense. | |
| Mark | 1. A defender who is guarding an opponent is said to be marking him or her; 2. A player guarded by another player (as in "Who's your mark?"). | |
| Mark up | Used to instruct players to guard an opponent so that all attacking players are marked. | |
| Marking back | A fullback with primary responsibility for marking one of the opposing forwards. | |
| Match | A game of soccer. In Britain, a regularly scheduled league meeting between two teams is frequently referred to as a "fixture", while a match in the context of a Cup competition is often called a "tie". | |
| Micro-soccer | Any one of a number of small-sided formats (frequently 3, 4 or 5 players a side) used with very young players. | |
| Middle third | See attacking third. | |
| Midfielder | Player occupying a position between the forwards and fullbacks. | |
| Misconduct | An offense that is a serious breach of the spirit of the game and results in either a caution or an ejection | |
| Movement | 1. A player moving with the ball. 2. Players moving, who are not carrying the ball, in an attempt to move to an unoccupied area to bring defenders with them or create an area where they can receive a pass. | |
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| Near post | The goalpost that is nearest to the ball. | |
| Nets | Netting that is attached to the goalposts, crossbar and the ground, to ensure (barring any gaping holes or loose fittings) that a goal has indeed gone through the opening created by the goalposts and crossbar. | Law 1 |
| Nutmeg | Describing the action of putting a ball through the space created when a defender has his legs spread. A player is said to have been "nutmegged" or "megged." | |
| Obstruction | "Impeding a player's progress." Playing the player, not the ball. A player uses his body as an impediment or an obstruction merely to prevent a play on the ball. | Law 12 |
| Offside | See offside position and offside infraction. | Law 11 |
| Offside infraction | A player in an offside position while his team has the ball becomes involved in active play, such as by being the recipient of a pass. | Law 11 |
| Offside position | The situation where an attacking player, on the offensive half of the field, has put himself in a position where there are fewer than two opponents between him and the goal. This positioning does not constitute a foul, until he becomes involved in the play. | Law 11 |
| Offside trap | The act of the defenders moving forward in unison to place an opponent in an offside position, thereby creating an offside infraction. | Law 11 |
| On goal | A shot which will enter the goal if nothing stops it is said to be "on goal", "on frame" or "on target". | |
| One-touch play | When a player redirects a moving ball with the first touch, either as a pass to another player or as a shot, without using the first touch to control the ball. See two-touch play. | |
| Onside | Not being offside. | Law 11 |
| Open up | 1. To turn slightly away from the direction of an approaching ball which one is about to receive in order to improve one's vision of the field of play by having more of the field in view. 2. Issued as an instruction to a player to tell him or her to open up. | |
| Out | Or "get out". See push. | |
| Over the top | To play "over the top" is to send long high balls forward into the attacking third so that they drop behind the fullbacks, with the intention of creating attacking opportunities for strikers or wing forwards. | |
| Overlap | A tactic used by the attacking team. One player will run past the ball carrier in order to put himself in a better position to receive the ball. | |
| Overtime | If the score is tied after regulation and the rules call for more time to be played, then two periods of equal and predetermined time must be played, team changing ends after each period. Normally, the periods must be played in their entirety, regardless of the score. In some cases, provisions are made for a sudden death type overtime where the game is over once there is a score. See golden goal. | Law 7 |
| Own goal | A goal scored by a player into his own team's net. If a shot is taken and the ball deflects off a defender for a goal, the goal is considered to have been scored by the player taking the shot, and is not an own goal. | |
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| Parry | A controlled and deliberate deflection by the goalkeeper using the hands. The goalkeeper is considered to have been in possession of the ball at the time it touched the hands. | |
| Pass | To transfer possession of the ball to a teammate. | |
| Penalty | A synonym for penalty kick. Also for calling a foul that will result in a penalty kick. | |
| Penalty arc | The arc that is present on the line, parallel to the goal line, that defines the penalty area. This arc has a 10 yard radius from the penalty mark. Also called "the D." | Law 1 |
| Penalty area | The box that is formed when a line is drawn 18 yards out from each goalpost, along the goal line. The lines extend 18 yards into the field of play and are connected with a line that is parallel to the goal line. | Law 1 Law 14 |
| Penalty kick | A direct kick, taken by a player, from the penalty mark as a result of a foul committed by the defensive team in their penalty area. All players except the goal keeper and the player taking the kick must be outside the penalty area and 10 yards from the ball. | Law 14 |
| Penalty mark | Also called the penalty spot. A circular mark 9" in diameter made 12 yards out from the center of the goal, where the ball is placed when a penalty kick is to be taken. | Law 1 Law 14 |
| Pitch | See field of play. | |
| PK | See penalty kick. | Law 14 |
| Play in | To play a teammate in is to play a through ball for him to run on to. | |
| Player | Each of the 11 (or fewer) members of a team who is legally on the field of play and taking part in the match. See substitute. | |
| Position | 1. Any one of the names which describes where a player plays and what his or her role is; see goal keeper, fullback, sweeper, stopper, screen, wheel man, libero, midfielder, forward, wingback, striker, window player, hole player, wing. 2. Defensive position: placing oneself in a proper position to defend against attack. | |
| Possession | Having control of the ball. For a goal keeper, control (possession) is having any part of the hand or arm touching the ball. | |
| Possession play | An attacking system in which a team tries to retain possession of the ball while advancing toward the attacking third and while in the attacking third, with the object of trying to create scoring opportunities. Frequently contrasted with direct play. | |
| Pressure | 1. A tactic used to attempt to dispossess an opponent of the ball. Generally refers to the close proximity of the defender. 2. Used as an instruction to tell a player to apply pressure to an opponent who has possession of the ball. | |
| Pull | See push. | |
| Punt | A method of kicking that goal keepers use to clear the ball upfield, wherein the ball is dropped from the hand and kicked before touching the ground or as a half-volley. | |
| Push | A coaching instruction used to tell players to move forward, towards the opponents' goal, in order to put opponents in an offside position, as in "push up" or "push out. "Also "out", "step", "step up" and "pull". | |
| Pushing | Intentionally pushing an opposing player. | Law 12 |
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| Recovery | The act of defenders to get back into a defensive position. | |
| Recreational | Less competitive soccer where players have the chance to sign up to play the sport regardless of ability. | |
| Red Card | Disciplinary action of sending a player, or players off the field of play. | Law 12 |
| Referee | The official who have been given full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has be en appointed. FIFA matches will have one referee and two assistant referees. Other leagues may have two referees and no assistants. | Law 5 |
| Restart | The use of a kick, throw or dropped ball to restart play after play has been stopped because the ball goes out of the field of play or the referee stops play for any reason. | Law 8 |
| Reverse field | See switch field. | |
| Save | An action that stops a shot on goal from scoring. | |
| Schemer | See window player. | |
| Scissors kick | See bicycle kick. | |
| Screen | 1. Position name (from 'windscreen wiper'); applied to a defensive midfielder playing in front of the fullbacks with responsibility for collecting loose balls across the width of the field and then distributing them; also called "defensive screen". 2. To block the keeper's view of the ball. | |
| Screw-ins | Shoes with removable (and therefore replaceable) studs (as opposed to permanently fixed molded cleats) designed for use in wet conditions or soft ground. Often called "six-stud cleats" after the number of studs usually found on the sole of each boot. | Law 4 |
| Select | More competitive soccer where players are 'selected' to be on a team following tryouts or some other prearranged qualifying standard. | |
| Set piece | See set play. | |
| Set play | A rehearsed series of actions normally initiated in a dead ball situation to attempt to create or take advantage of a scoring opportunity. These involve misdirecting opponents, usually on free kicks, or taking advantage of positions of vulnerability, for example on corner kicks. | |
| Shape | Refers to the characteristic placement of players in a given formation. If players wander a way from their assigned roles and are not replaced by teammates, a team may be said to have "lost its shape". | |
| Shielding | The tactic of a ball carrier putting his body between the ball and the defender. | |
| Shinguards | Protective equipment worn by players to aid in prevention of injuries to the shin. | Law 4 |
| Shootout | A tie-breaking device that pits one player against the goalkeeper in either penalty kicks or a breakaway type run from 35 yards away. In both cases, the winner is determined after a best of five chances alternating with each team. If tied after five, the contest continues with different players until one team scores and the other team doesn't. | |
| Shot | An attempt to score into the opponents goal. | |
| Sideways-on | The body position of a player, normally on defense, such that the player is turned so the hips face one touchline or the other more than either goal line. The purpose is to allow the player to react quicker in the direction of either goal line. | |
| Six-stud cleats | See screw-ins. | Law 4 |
| Sliding tackle | Executing a baseball type slide in an attempt to dispossess the ball from a ball carrier. | |
| Small-sided game | Any one of numerous types of exercise or competition in which the number of players involved is less than (usually much less than) the "normal" 11 a side. Many different small-sided games are frequently used as training exercises with older players and as the normal competition format with younger players. See micro-soccer. | |
| Space | Used to define an area on the field that is free from opponents and pressure. The ball can be passed into space for a player to run on to. A player can run into space to get open for a pass or to bring defenders with him to rid the area under attack of defenders (see dummy run). | |
| Square | 1. A player situated at any point on a line parallel to the goal line with respect to a teammate is said to be in a "square" position. 2. A term used to communicate to a player that a teammate is supporting him in a square position . | |
| Square ball | A pass played "square", in other words parallel to the goal line or perpendicular to the touch line. | |
| Step | Or "step up". See push. | |
| Stockings | Socks that cover the shinguards. | Law 4 |
| Stoppage time | See time lost. | Law 7 |
| Stopper | Name of a position; usually applied to a single central defender playing in front of a sweeper. | |
| Striker | A position name given to a player in a central attacking position. | |
| Striking | Intentional or intent to strike an opponent. | Law 12 |
| Studs | See cleats. | Law 4 |
| Substitute | Any one of a team's idle players, on the bench, waiting to enter the field of play as players. | Law 3 |
| Support | A player on the ball is said to have support when he has one or more teammates in position and ready to receive a pass. A defending player, challenging the player on the ball, is said to have support when a teammate is ready to cover if he is beaten by the attacker. | |
| Sweeper | Position name; usually applied to a central defender playing behind the stopper and wing fullbacks with responsibility for "sweeping up" loose through balls which are played in behind the other defenders. | |
| Switch | 1. Word used to notify a player that another player has left his position, requiring that the open area needs to be filled. 2. Instruction to a player on the ball to switch the point of attack to another area of the field. 3. Instruction to a teammate to trade positions. | |
| Switch field | The act of directing the ball from one side of the field to the other (in other words, from an area near one touch line to an area nearer the other touch line). Frequently used as a tactic to catch the defense which has been drawn to one side of the field and lost its shape. | |
| Switch off | To trade marking assignments. | |
| System of play | A term used to describe the specific manner in which a given formation is implemented. For example, a 4-4-2 (four fullbacks, four midfielders and two forwards) may be implemented with two center backs or with a sweeper-stopper combination. The system of play will impose a characteristic shape on a team. | |
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| Tackle | A defensive player's ability to dispossess the opponent of the ball while the ball is being dribbled. | |
| Tactics | A description of 'when' and 'why' some action, or reaction, is occurring. | |
| Takeover | A means of transferring possession of the ball whereby a teammate of the ball carrier runs toward and past him or her; as the teammate passes by, the ball carrier leaves the ball for him or her to take. | |
| Technical area | A defined area in proximity to a team's bench to which the substitutes and coaching staff are normally restricted. | |
| Technique | 'How' an activity is done. | |
| Third strip | See strip. | Law 4 |
| Through ball | Also "through pass". A pass played into the space behind the defenders for a teammate to run on to. | |
| Throw-in | A method of restart which is awarded to the team that did not touch the ball last before it went over the touch line. | Law 9
Law 15 |
| Tie | 1. See draw. 2. See match. | |
| Time | An instruction to tell a player as he receives the ball that he has time to gain control of the ball. | |
| Time added on | See time lost. | Law 7 |
| Time lost | The referee has the ability to add time at the end of either half for time lost because of treatment or removal of injured players, wasted time, substitutions or any other cause. | Law 7 |
| Toe punch | Or, "toe poke." Typically used for tackling, the player is able to touch the ball with his toe, attempting to dispossess the ball carrier. | |
| Touch | 1. Developing a 'feel' for the ball. 2. Defines the number of times a ball is touched: One-touch, two-touch. 3. A call to a teammate who is about to receive the ball to pass the ball on with his or her first touch. | |
| Touch line | The lines forming the long sides of the rectangular field of play. | Law 1 |
| Transition | Going from offensive to defensive play (sometimes called "negative transition") and vice versa (sometimes called "positive transition"). | |
| Tripping | Intentionally causing or attempting to cause an opponent to fall. | Law 12 |
| Turf shoes | Footwear with many small studs designed for use on artificial turf or very hard ground. | |
| Turn | 1. To reverse direction while in possession of the ball, normally in order to go forward or to play a cross or a shot. 2. An instruction to tell a teammate about to receive the ball that he has time and space to turn. 3. To "get turned": for the ball carrier to put himself in a position facing the defender in order to try to beat him. 4. To "turn a defender": to cause him to over-commit to one side so as to dribble the ball behind him. | |
| Two-touch play | When a player first controls a moving ball with one touch and with the next touch, passes to another player or shoots. See one-touch play. | Law 4 |
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| Up | 1. Pass the ball forward, towards the opponents goal. 2. Movement of players towards the opponents goal. | |
| Upper V | Also "upper 90". Refers to the intersection of the crossbar and goalpost. | |
| USSF | United States Soccer Federation. The governing body of soccer in the United States. | |
| USYSA | United States Youth Soccer Association. The youth division of the USSF. | |
| Vision | The ability to see the happenings on the field of play. Players with excellent 'vision' have the ability to see and know where their teammates are located in relation to the defenders. | |
| Volley | A technique used by a player where he is able to strike the ball while it is in the air. | |
| Wall | The players who stand between the ball and their own goal at the time a free kick is going to be taken. These players form a human barrier between the ball and their goal. | Law 13 |
| Wall pass | See give-and-go. | |
| Wheel man | Central midfielder with primary responsibility for distributing the ball when team is on the attack. | |
| Wing | Or "winger". As in "wing forward" or "wing midfielder". A player who normally plays near the touchline, often with an attacking responsibility. | |
| Wingback | A fullback playing in a wide position with responsibility for making attacking overlapping runs down the flank. | |
| Window player | Position name; applied to an attacking midfielder or to a forward who plays behind the striker(s) and takes advantage of balls laid off by them or played back to the top of the penalty area by the wing forwards; also receives penetrating balls from fullbacks or wing midfielders and distributes them Also called "schemer". | |
| Yellow card | A cautionary measure used by the referee to warn a player not to repeat an offense. A second yellow card in a match results in a red card. | Law 12 |
| Zone defense | A defensive system in which players are assigned responsibility for particular areas of the defensive third rather than for individual opponents. See man-to-man defense. | |
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