Football

Football (English football), a team ball game, one of the most popular sports in the world. In the USSR, various forms of the game have developed, but the specific Football (foot-ball) and only in the very last years is the so-called football-rugby (European form) gaining some popularity. In Football, two teams of 11 players participate; the task of each is to score the ball into the opponents' goal as many times as possible during the game. The game is played on a field (105x75 m). The ball is leather, round. The normal duration of the game is 90 min. (2 halves - "halftimes" - of 45 min.). In Football, catching and even touching the ball with hands is not allowed (except for the goalkeeper), grabbing and holding an opponent with hands, pushing from behind, making trips, jumping on a player, and generally applying techniques that could cause him physical harm. The basis of correct game tactics lies in the precise passing of the ball from one player to another, bypassing opponents. In rugby, teams of 15 players participate, the ball can be passed with hands and feet (passing with hands only backward), grabbing (not above the waist) and knocking down an opponent carrying the ball is allowed. The game lasts 60 min. (30 + 30). The ball is leather, oval in shape, which makes playing with the foot difficult. The forms of the game accepted in the USA (the so-called American Football, American rugby, etc.) are distinguished by particular sharpness and danger. As a team sport, Football cultivates a sense of collectivism, coordination in actions, discipline, initiative, composure, the ability to orient oneself, decisiveness, boldness, quick reaction, and other qualities. The main movements in Football are running with and without the ball (mainly "sprints" of 10-50 m, interspersed with some periods of relative rest), jumps, kicks with the foot and head, accompanied by various movements of the trunk (sudden stops, turns, "holding back", "blocking" an opponent, etc.), which determine good development of the musculature of the lower extremities, abdomen, back, neck, with some lag in the development of the upper extremities (Kohlrausch, Bunkin, Dreving, Ionin, etc.). Rugby has obvious advantages over Football in this respect. The harmful influence, often attributed to Football in relation to the development of stoop, O-shaped legs, flat feet, widening of the inguinal rings, etc., is not confirmed by the examination of physical culture specialists with great football experience (Bunkin, etc.). Due to the great load on the lower extremities of footballers, cases of vein widening (mainly of the shin) are noted. Data from examinations of the influence of individual matches (Klochkov, etc.) indicate a significant load in Football: a drop in weight of up to 2.5%, excitement of the pulse to 80-90 per minute, a drop in the amplitude of blood pressure, cases of the appearance of protein in the urine, etc. The magnitude of the physiological load is in close dependence on the general and special training of the players, on the one hand, and on the other on the intensity of the game, its tempo. As a rule, the latter increases with the improvement of technique. Football places high demands on the endurance of the organism, and improper training often manifests first in disturbances of the normal activity of the cardiovascular system (mainly functional disorders). Cases of increased heart size in footballers, according to data from Deutsch and Kauf, occur significantly less often than in representatives of other sports (2.7%). In Football, trauma is significant, which is, on the one hand, connected with the presence in it of an element of cultivating qualities such as boldness, decisiveness, etc. (hence the element of a certain risk in the game), and on the other with the great emotional saturation of the game, passion, often passing into gambling. The most frequent traumas are injuries of the lower extremities (according to individual authors - up to 75% of all cases), mainly of the ligamentous-articular apparatus of the knee and ankle joints. The most effective measures against traumatic injuries in Football, which are most often associated with a lack of technique, its replacement by rough force, and general indiscipline of the players, are the improvement of the players' sports-technical qualification, educational work among them, as well as the increase of the authority of referees. In the line of sanitary supervision, special attention must be paid to the condition of the fields (seeding with grass, watering, removal of stones, glass, and other objects), to the clothing (exclusion of metal objects that could serve as a cause of injuries) and the players' shoes (obligatoriness of studs on boots, especially on slippery ground, exclusion of protruding metal nails), etc. It is very important to have a medical point at football matches, as well as acquainting players and referees with first aid and self-help techniques in case of accidents. The psycho-physical qualities developed by Football determine the value of the game as a means of physical culture in the system of work among adults from 17 to 38-40 years old and adolescents. Among the latter, it is necessary to conduct the game by age groups (12-14 years and 15-16 years) with obligatory medical and especially pedagogical control. The load is reduced by reducing the duration of the game (25-25 min. or introducing additional breaks for rest), reducing the size of the field (up to 70x50 m), the size of the goals, the weight of the ball. Due to the general load, the special intensity of movements, and the sharp work of the lower extremities, Football among women is inadvisable and is not practiced in the USSR. The elements of special gymnastics (in particular stretching exercises), light athletics (sprints, cross-country running, jumps) must enter into the system of correct training of a footballist in addition to teaching ball-handling techniques, mastering game tactics, etc.