Football field - All factors at a glance

For international football matches, FIFA specifies standard sizes. However, the world governing body also allows the clubs a certain amount of leeway in the size of the football pitch. The international dimensions of a football pitch are 100 to 105 metres in length and 64 to 68 metres in width. Due to the international guidelines, a standard size of 105 metres by 68 metres has been established in Germany and also in Europe. By way of comparison, this is the size of nine handball courts or 28 tennis courts. In the Bundesliga, most clubs play on an international standard pitch size. Especially clubs that regularly hold international matches play on a football field 105 metres long and 68 metres wide. There are also clear regulations from the association side for World and European Championships: The football fields must be between 100 and 110 metres long and between 64 and 75 metres wide for the popular tournament competitions.

The most important playing areas on a football pitch are marked with white lines. They serve to demarcate the playing field and help the referees make the right decisions. For example, the so-called "sixteenth" is marked on the football field because a foul play within this field results in a penalty kick. If the ball leaves the marked sidelines, the other team is awarded a throw-in. If the ball leaves the field of play behind the marked goal line, the referee decides on a corner kick or a goal kick - depending on which team touches the ball last. All lines on the football field must have the same width. The maximum width of the lines is 12 cm. The following markings are to be found on the football field:

• two sidelines
• two goal lines
• two goal area markings
• two penalty markings
• two semicircles at the penalty area
• two penalty markings or penalty points
• a kick-off circle
• a centre line
• a centre point or point of impact
• four corner quarter circles or corner ball markings

Outer line and goal line

The outer lines delimit the pitch in width and are considered the oldest markings in football. The length of the two lines depends on the chosen pitch size.

Centre line

The centre line divides the football field into two equal halves. Exactly in the middle of the centre line is the kick-off point. At the start of the match, at the second half and after every goal scored, play is restarted at the kick-off point. The radius of the kick-off circle is 9.15 m. When the kick-off is taken, the opposing team must be outside the kick-off circle, i.e. at a distance of 9.15 m from it.

Penalty area

The penalty area is marked by a rectangle along the goal line. The dimensions of the penalty area are identical on all football pitches: the penalty area is 16.5 m long and 40.32 m wide. The width is measured from the inner edges of the goalposts and is 16.5 m to the left and right edges of the penalty area. By the way: Until 1896, the penalty area had a round shape. Only then did the penalty area become rectangular.

Goal area

The goal area is also called the five-metre area and is located inside the penalty area. It protrudes 5.5 m into the pitch and is 18.32 m wide.

The penalty spot

In football, the penalty kick is taken from the penalty spot after a foul in the penalty area. This mark therefore has a very special significance in football. In Ireland, it was decided in 1891 that a penalty kick must be taken 12 yards from the goal line. 12 yards is exactly 10.973 metres. For the geometric derivation, the goal area is mentally extended over the unmarked football field parallel to the side line to the penalty area boundary. Then two diagonals are drawn to the other corner of the goal area. At the point where the two diagonals meet is the penalty point. The distance between the penalty point and the goal area is 5.50 m.

The corner quarter circles

The corner markings determine from which area a corner kick may be taken. There is a quarter circle with a radius of one metre on each football field. The cue ball does not have to be inside the quarter circle when the corner is taken. It is sufficient if the cue ball touches a part of the quadrant mark.

It is not only tactics and technique that have changed in football over the past decades, but also the markings and dimensions of the football pitch. The game of football did not adopt uniform regulations until the middle of the 19th century when "The Football Association" (FA) was founded in England in 1863. Before football developed into a popular and recognised team sport, "kicking" was a rough competition between two villages. Two goals were marked on any given area to compete against each other. The size of the "football field" did not matter. At the beginning of the 19th century, some English universities and public schools established football in the classroom - however, almost all educational institutions had their own rules of the game, so that inter-regional football matches could not be implemented. Only after the founding of the FA was there a uniform set of rules. Among other things, the FA stipulated that a football pitch could have a maximum of 200 by 100 yards (182.88 by 91.44 metres).

The development of markings on the football pitch

The game of football originated in public parks. At best, players marked out the pitch at four corners and marked the goals vertically in the ground with anchored posts. The crossbar was not introduced until 1875 - it took another 15 years before goal nets were introduced. Before 1875, there were no height limits on the goals. Players helped themselves with home-made ribbons and bows to mark height and pitch boundaries. In the course of time, lime markings found favour in the football world as a substitute for different ribbons. Fun Fact: In Germany, it was not until 1896 that the so-called "Jena Rules" were enacted. These stipulate that a football pitch must be "free of trees". The well-maintained lawns of today are clearly due to modern football. In the past, teams used to play on pitches with obstacles such as bushes and shrubs - or even trees.