A football player, footballer is a sportsperson that plays one of the different types of football

Football

Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...

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The main types of football that are played include American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, Association football (soccer), Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

, Canadian football

Canadian football

Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...

, Gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

, Rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

, Rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

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It has been estimated that there are 250 million soccer players in the world alone, and many play the other forms of football.

Career

Football players generally begin as amateurs and the best players progress to become professional players, such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Normally you start at a youth team (any local team) and from there, if you're any good scouts will actually offer you a contract and if you want to sign it, you do so. Then, you learn to play better football and if you're even better you go up to the senior/professional team.

Psychological aspects of performance

Research shows that football players that take less than 200ms after the referee blows their whistle for a penalty kick are significantly more likely to miss scoring than those that take over a second.

Head

American football players are prone to head injuries. This may make them prone to Alzheimers.

Knee

Anterior cruciate ligament

Anterior cruciate ligament

The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...

s are particularly vulnerable in most types of football due to injuries that can be sustained during tackles

Tackle (football move)

Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....

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Lists of players

• Lists of association football players
• List of American football players
• List of Australian Rules footballers
• List of footballers (Gaelic football)
• :Category:Lists of rugby league footballers