Rules and tactics
How football actually works: the laws of the game, how referees and VAR reach decisions, and the tactical ideas, from pressing to formations, that shape a match, shown with real examples.
8 articles on One Life One Team
The Offside Rule Explained, and How VAR Changed It
The offside law in plain English: when a player is offside, when it is an offence, the exceptions, the 1925 and 1990 changes, and what VAR does.
VAR Football Explained: How Video Review Works
VAR football explained: a video team checks goals, penalties, direct red cards and mistaken identity, but cannot overturn yellow cards or most fouls.
Football Rules Explained: A Complete Guide to Soccer
Football rules explained in plain English: the 17 Laws of the Game, match length, offside, cards and restarts, and who sets the rules.
Goal-Line Technology: How Cameras Decide Goals
How goal-line technology tracks the ball, why it only answers one question, and what the rules require before a goal is confirmed.
Football Formations Explained: From the Pyramid to the Press
From the 2-3-5 pyramid to the 4-2-3-1: how football formations are numbered, why they changed, and what the numbers do and do not tell you.
A Fan's Glossary of Football Terms
Assist, brace, clean sheet, false nine, Fergie time, nutmeg and xG: a plain-English glossary of the words commentators use every weekend.
Promotion and Relegation: How Football Leagues Are Built
Why the worst teams drop down and the best move up, where the idea came from in 1892, how parachute payments work, and why American leagues are closed.
Why Penalty Shootouts Feel Unfair (But Aren't)
Introduced in 1970 to replace coin tosses, the shootout is cruel but closer to fair than it feels. What the research says about who wins, and why.