Football, explained.
Association football from the Premier League down: tactics, transfer economics, competition formats and the data behind them.
73 articlesExplainerGuideAnalysisTacticsEconomics
- ExplainerYellow and red card rules in football, fully explained20 minThe cautionable and sending-off offence lists, what DOGSO means, the triple punishment reform, second yellows, suspensions, and how VAR now reviews cards.
- ExplainerWork permit rules in football: the GBE points system19 minHow English football work permits actually work: the auto pass, the fifteen point threshold, the six scoring criteria, the Exceptions Panel and the ESC route.
- GuideSerie A structure explained: stadiums, ladder, finance18 minHow Serie A works: the 38-round season, why clubs do not own their grounds, the Serie B playoff, points deductions and the Italian licensing rules.
- GuideSaudi Pro League explained: format, money and quotas17 minThe Saudi Pro League as a competition: eighteen clubs, the sovereign fund ownership of the big four, the foreign player quota, the spending record and the objections.
- AnalysisProgressive passes explained: what each provider counts18 minThree data providers count progressive passes three different ways. What each threshold means, what the filter throws away, and how the number gets inflated.
- TacticsPressing triggers in football: the five cues that start it18 minThe specific moments that launch a co-ordinated press, what each one gives away behind the ball, and how rest defence decides which triggers a side can afford.
- ExplainerPenalty shootout rules explained: Law 10 step by step18 minThe full procedure for a penalty shoot-out under IFAB Law 10, from the two coin tosses to sudden death, plus encroachment, double touches and competition variations.
- AnalysisPacking metric football: counting the opponents you bypass18 minPacking counts how many opponents an action takes out of the game. What qualifies as bypassed, why weightings differ, and the four ways the number misleads.
- GuideNations League explained: format, leagues and play-offs17 minHow the UEFA Nations League works: the four leagues, the group phase, promotion and relegation, the quarter-finals and what the trophy is actually worth.
- EconomicsMulti-club ownership in football and the UEFA rules19 minHow UEFA Article 5 restricts two clubs from one ownership group entering the same competition, the remedies groups use, the player-trading logic and the objections.
- GuideMLS salary cap explained: budget charges and DP rules18 minHow MLS roster rules really work: the salary budget charge, Designated Players, allocation money, the U22 Initiative, homegrown slots and why the cap is soft.
- GuideMLS format explained: conferences, playoffs and the Shield18 minHow Major League Soccer is structured: thirty clubs in two conferences, an unbalanced 34-game schedule, a best-of-three playoff round and the 2027 calendar switch.
- GuideLa Liga structure explained: format, money and the ladder18 minHow La Liga actually works: the 38-round season, the squad cost limit, the centralised television sale, the Segunda playoff and the head-to-head rule.
- AnalysisHow football scouting works, from data screen to signing18 minHow football scouting works inside a modern club: the data screen, live viewings, the scout report, video work, recruitment analysts, and why signings fail.
- ExplainerHomegrown player rules in football: the squad arithmetic18 minThe Premier League and UEFA define a homegrown player differently. Here is each test, the club-trained split, and how the two quotas shrink a squad list.
- TacticsThe high line offside trap explained: risk and reward18 minHow a high defensive line and an offside trap work, what triggers the step, which passes beat them, and what a side gives up to compress the pitch.
- AnalysisSweeper keeper role explained: defending the space behind18 minHow a sweeper keeper covers the ground behind a defensive line, what the decision outside the box actually involves, and why it is a separate selection call.
- AnalysisGoalkeeper distribution analysis: reading a keeper's feet18 minWhat goalkeeper distribution analysis measures, why pass completion misleads, how launch rate and pressure interact, and how clubs test a keeper's passing in recruitment.
- ExplainerGoal line technology explained: the one second verdict18 minWhat goal-line technology is allowed to decide, how camera and magnetic systems reach an answer inside a second, and why it is nothing like a video review.
- EconomicsFootball wage structure explained: how club pay is built19 minBasic pay, appearance money, bonus schedules, signing-on fees, loyalty payments, image rights and relegation clauses, and how a squad wage bill meets cost-control rules.
- AnalysisFootball tracking data explained: how the pipeline works18 minHow football tracking data is captured by camera arrays and wearable pods, joined to event data, converted into physical metrics, and reused for offside calls.
- ExplainerFootball substitution rules: five subs, three windows18 minHow many substitutes a team may use, why the three-opportunity limit matters more than the number, the concussion protocol, and what changed for 2026/27.
- EconomicsFootball stadium naming rights: why some grounds sell18 minWho owns a stadium name, how the deals are structured, why a brand new ground sells its name easily and an old one with a famous name almost never does.
- EconomicsFootball sponsorship shirt deals: how they are built18 minA plain guide to how football shirt sponsorship contracts are structured, why the sleeve and training kit are sold separately, and what the announced number leaves out.
- AnalysisFootball set piece xG: why restarts need their own model18 minWhy set piece xG models are trained apart from open play, what a corner is worth in expected value, how second-phase shots are attributed, and how to read the numbers.
- AnalysisFootball set piece routines: how each one is designed18 minHow corner, free kick and throw-in routines are engineered: target zones, delivery types, legal blocking, near and back post patterns, short corners and second balls.
- EconomicsFootball relegation cost explained: the drop and the bill18 minWhat relegation really costs a club: parachute payments, wage clauses, cost-control limits, forced sales and the amortisation that carries on regardless.
- ExplainerFootball referee signals explained, from flag to card18 minWhat every arm, flag and card signal means in football, including advantage, direct and indirect free kicks, the offside flag heights and the VAR review rectangle.
- AnalysisFootball possession statistics explained: what 62% means18 minPossession is calculated three different ways and the methods disagree. What pass share, stopwatch time and sequence counting each measure, and how each is gamed.
- ExplainerFootball pitch dimensions and the rules that set them18 minWhat the Laws of the Game permit, what UEFA and domestic competitions demand, every fixed marking on the field, the surface rules, and how pitch size shapes play.
- EconomicsFootball matchday revenue explained: where the money comes from18 minA breakdown of football matchday revenue: season tickets, walk-up sales, hospitality, memberships and cup gate splits, and why the biggest clubs need it least.
- ExplainerFootball loan rules explained: FIFA limits and clauses18 minHow football loans work under FIFA rules: the cap on international loans, buy options against buy obligations, wage splits, recall clauses and the parent club bar.
- ExplainerFootball injury time stoppages: where the minutes go18 minWhich events actually take play out of a football match, why the ball is in play for well under an hour, how sides waste time and what the countermeasures changed.
- EconomicsFootball club ownership models: who really owns a club18 minThe six ownership forms in European football, what each one lets an owner do, how money legally enters a club, and the tests a new buyer now has to pass.
- EconomicsFootball agent fees explained: who pays and how much18 minWho actually pays a football agent, how the FIFA cap was written and then suspended, what the 2026 Court of Justice ruling changed, and where the fee lands.
- EconomicsFootball academy economics: what a youth system costs18 minHow football academies are funded and graded, what a club is paid when a young player leaves, and why a homegrown sale lands in the books as almost pure profit.
- GuideFA Cup format explained: rounds, entry and the draw17 minHow the FA Cup works from the extra preliminary round to Wembley: who enters at which round, how the draw is made, why replays went, and what each round pays.
- ExplainerExtra time football rules: what happens after 90 minutes17 minThe thirty minutes explained: Law 7 and Law 10, the five-minute break, the extra substitute, and why the golden goal and silver goal were both scrapped.
- GuideEuros format explained: qualifying, groups and play-offs18 minHow the European Championship is built: twelve qualifying groups, the Nations League play-off route, the 24-team finals and the third-placed maths nobody follows.
- GuideEuropa League format explained: the new 36-team season18 minHow the Europa League format works: eight league phase fixtures, four seeding pots, one table of 36, the play-off round, the access list and the qualifying paths.
- TacticsCounter-attacking football explained: space and timing18 minHow counter-attacking football works: the seconds after a turnover, where the first pass goes, who runs, and what deliberately conceding territory costs a side.
- GuideConference League explained: entry, format and purpose18 minWho the UEFA Conference League was built for, how its 36 league phase places are filled by the access list, and how the table, play-offs and prize work.
- GuideClub World Cup format explained: 32 teams, one summer18 minHow the expanded Club World Cup works: the 32-team draw, confederation slots, both qualification pathways, the prize money pillars and the calendar objections.
- GuideCarabao Cup format explained: byes, rounds and seeding17 minWhy nine clubs skip two rounds, where the preliminary round came from, how the seeded third round dodges European weeks, and when extra time is actually played.
- ExplainerCaptain armband role in football: what the law says17 minThe captain's armband carries one legal duty, two coin-toss choices and a growing referee protocol. Here is what the Laws grant a captain and what they refuse.
- GuideBundesliga 50+1 rule explained: German club ownership18 minWhat the Bundesliga 50+1 rule actually says, how the licence enforces it, why Leverkusen and Wolfsburg are exempt, and how it survived the competition ruling.
- ExplainerAway goals rule abolished: which competitions dropped it17 minUEFA scrapped away goals in 2021, but not everyone followed. Which competitions dropped the rule, when they did it, and how level ties are settled now.
- ExplainerAdded time calculation football: how referees work it out18 minHow the fourth official's number is built, what Law 7 says must be added, why the board shows a minimum rather than a total, and what changed for 2026/27.
- Tactics4-2-3-1 formation explained: the double pivot's job18 minWhat makes the 4-2-3-1 work: why two holding midfielders change the shape, where the number ten stands, and the trade-offs the structure forces on a squad.
- Tactics3-4-3 formation explained: wing-backs, gaps and cover18 minHow the 3-4-3 works in possession and out of it, why the wing-backs carry the shape, where the two central midfielders get exposed and how sides break it.
- ExplainerWorld Cup qualifying explained: six contests, one name18 minHow World Cup qualifying actually works, confederation by confederation: slot allocation, the European groups, the South American league and the play-offs.
- GuideWomen's Super League explained: licences, tiers and money20 minHow the Women's Super League works: the two professional tiers, why a licence and not just the table decides who goes up, and what club ownership changed.
- AnalysisExpected goals explained: what xG actually measures20 minExpected goals explained without the folklore: what an xG number really is, why providers disagree, what it cannot do, and how to read a match graphic.
- ExplainerThe offside rule explained: position, involvement, sanction21 minLaw 11 in full: why an offside position is not an offence, what involvement means, which body parts are measured, and where the deliberate-play line falls.
- TacticsSet piece coaching in football: the one rehearsed moment22 minWhy set piece coaching in football exists: marking systems, blocking, delivery types, the second phase, short corners, long throws and how clubs value it.
- EconomicsHow Premier League TV money distribution actually works22 minThe 50:25:25 domestic split, the overseas merit change, the 1.8:1 cap, parachute payments and why the Premier League's central pot is unusually flat.
- AnalysisPPDA explained: what passes per defensive action shows21 minWhat PPDA really measures: the formula, the pitch zone, why a lower number means more pressing, and the five ways the metric misleads people who quote it.
- TacticsOverload football tactics: manufacturing a spare man21 minHow an overload actually changes a defender's job, why sides load one flank to attack the other, the third-man run, and how to spot one being built.
- TacticsMan marking vs zonal marking: why zonal takes the blame20 minHow man marking and zonal marking differ in open play and at set pieces, the hybrid almost every team uses, and why zonal is blamed for goals it did not cause
- TacticsLow block football explained: trading territory for space22 minHow a low block actually works: the shape and the distances, why compactness beats block height, the pocket and the cutback, and the counter exit.
- TacticsInverted full-back explained: what it actually solves21 minThe inverted full-back explained: the midfield overload, the passing angles, the rest defence nobody mentions, and how opponents attack the space behind.
- ExplainerHow VAR works in football, and what it cannot review20 minThe video assistant referee explained properly: the four reviewable categories, what clear and obvious really means, and how semi-automated offside works.
- EconomicsUEFA Financial Fair Play explained: the rules that replaced it22 minHow UEFA's financial rules actually work: the old break-even test, the three pillars that replaced it, the squad cost ratio, and how sanctions are set.
- EconomicsHow does the transfer window work? The rules, not the rumours21 minThe transfer window as a legal object: registration periods, what a fee actually buys, Bosman, loans, add-ons, deadline paperwork and who pays the agent.
- ExplainerChampions League new format explained: one table, 36 clubs21 minHow the Champions League league phase works: the pots, the computerised draw, the tiebreakers, the three bands of the table and the play-off round that follows.
- ExplainerHow promotion and relegation works, and what it costs21 minHow promotion and relegation works: the pyramid, the tiebreakers, the play-offs, ground grading, and why the drop costs a club far more than a place.
- EconomicsPremier League PSR explained: the rule, and the workarounds20 minHow Premier League PSR really works: the rolling three-year test, the costs excluded from it, the equity condition, and what a points deduction follows from.
- TacticsGegenpressing explained: the bet on the next five seconds21 minHow gegenpressing actually works: why the seconds after a turnover are worth so much, the distances and rest defence it needs, and how good teams break it.
- ExplainerThe football handball rule explained: every test in Law 1222 minWhat handball actually means in law: the deliberate act, the unnaturally bigger body, the armpit line, accidental goals, deflections and the goalkeeper's own offences.
- TacticsFalse nine explained: the question a centre-back cannot answer22 minHow the false nine actually works: the choice it forces on a centre-back, why both answers open something up, and what the role needs around it to pay.
- GuideEFL Championship explained: football's most dangerous league22 minThe EFL Championship explained: the 46-game season, the new six-club play-off, parachute payments, squad cost rules, and why clubs overspend to escape.
- TacticsBuild-up play from the back: why the risk is the point22 minPlaying out from the back explained properly: the spare man, the shapes that create one, the third-man escape, and how to judge whether a side does it well.
- EconomicsAmortisation in football transfers explained, from fee to sale22 minA transfer fee is not an expense, it is the purchase of an asset. How amortisation works in football, from capitalised cost to profit on disposal.