Soccer
Where can I find information about soccer?
(Years 5-8)
Image: White soccer ball by Aphiwat chuangchoem on Pexels.
Entry last updated: 12/12/24
Introduction
Soccer (also called Football) is a team sport of 11 players each trying to score points by moving a ball into a goal using their feet.
History and rules
Ball games similar to soccer have been played for thousands of years but soccer as we know it started from the early 1600s. Some variations evolved into games like rugby. There are some great websites to find out about the history and rules of soccer.
This is one of the EPIC resources, which is a collection of reliable databases covering lots of different topics. It’s put together for New Zealand school students and helps to answer questions like this.
Choose the Middle level.
Enter the keyword 'soccer' in the search box at the top of the page.
Go to the article soccer (sport) for a brief introduction to the history of the game and how the game is played.
Tips: To get to the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian first. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6 pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.
This is a great website to find information on soccer as well as its rules and history. The information is written by a group of people who want to explore the history of soccer.
Read down the page for the history of the game.
Or choose an article to read from the Popular Articles heading.
For example The development of football rules is about how the rules for football came about.
Tips: If you check the bottom of the page you can find a list of references used to make the information on this site. These a sign that the information is reliable. They are also useful to read for your own research. It's always good to compare information with other sites.
A simple to understand website that has the basic rules for various sports like soccer, football, cricket and netball.
Look down the page to find the Football (Soccer) link.
Read about rules, scoring, the Offside Rule and more.
Tips: You may see a message about cookies on this website. Cookies are a kind of data collector that is used by some websites to collect information about their users.
Soccer in New Zealand
Soccer was introduced to New Zealand in the mid-19th century with the first official game organized in April 1882. These websites have some interesting information on the history of soccer in New Zealand.
Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all research on Aotearoa New Zealand and covers many subjects.
Go down the page and look under Daily life, sports and recreation.
Choose Sports and then select Football.
Tips: A website’s address (URL) can give you a hint about how reliable it is. Look for addresses in the results that include .govt or .edu in the URL. These are quality sites from overseas government or educational organisations.
This is the official website of the New Zealand Football organisation, with soccer news and information on current games in New Zealand.
In the top menu, select the International option.
Then choose All Whites to find news on one of the more well known New Zealand soccer teams.
This is an great website to use for questions about New Zealand history. It has lots of information about the history of soccer in New Zealand.
Search for 'Football'.
Select the button with the word Football to bring up articles, events in history, and a Women's football timeline.
Soccer leagues and cups
There are lots of different soccer competitions where teams play against each other to see who wins. These range from local club and league tournaments to international tournaments, like the FIFA World Cup.
Goal.com is an international news website all about soccer. It's an excellent place to find current news and information about any soccer games or league competitions.
Go to the Competitions menu.
Under the Leagues and Cups heading choose one to find out about eg Bundesliga.
Or you could choose a country or player you're interested in.
This is the official website of the Federation Internationale de Football Association, the largest soccer organisation in the world. It includes official news and updates about the FIFA World Cup.
Select News to find out the latest news.
Select Tournaments and then a tournament to find out more eg FIFA Women's World Cup 2027.
Or go to Overview to find out about Recent Tournaments & Events.
Tips: Sites with .com or .co in the address can have useful information but we need to check how reliable it is. Look at the About us page, if you can find them. That can tell you who is running the site and what their mission and values are.
The New Zealand Football site also has information and news about local leagues and cups.
Go to the Competitions tab.
Under Football choose a competition eg National League Championship or the Kate Sheppard Cup.
Books
Your school library or public library will have lots of books on soccer.
Here are some suggested titles:
Soccer around the world by Dale E Howard
Ultimate soccer by Ivor Baddiel
Soccer Rules! by Megan Cooley Peterson.
SCIS no. 5402605
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