I have played various games during the last five years but no game has provided me so much pleasure as the game of football. I have played hockey and cricket. I adjudge hockey as a risky game and consider cricket as a dull game.
Similarly, volleyball and basketball don’t arouse interest in one though these too are excellent games. I am a boy of short height and do not find it advantageous to play basketball. Cricket is a costly game and a poor boy like me cannot afford it.
On the other hand, the game of football is thought to be the best of all by me. Its rules are ‘easy to understand and do not take too long a period of time to finish like cricket. Football is neither an expensive game nor it is unsuitable like cricket. I adjudge the game of football the best because it gives me sufficient exercise and it develops all the muscles of the mind.
Lawn Tennis is expensive and I consider badminton as a lady’s game. The struggle of sticks in hockey leads to quarrels among boys. I find great enthusiasm, pleasure, and recreation in the game of football. We don’t get disheartened. Our regular practice makes us good players.
In football, there is a need for the spirit of co-operation among the players. If the teams are organized orderly a feeling of brotherhood is restored. In no other game speed, pluck tactics, and presence of mind are required, as it is found in the game of football. Further for playing football we do not need an expert. It is neither complicated too. What we need for football are a ball and plain ground.
The game of football is played between two teams, each team consisting of eleven players. All the players obey strictly the whistle of the referee and the flag of the linesmen. They get themselves accustomed to strict discipline.
Each team consists of one goal-keeper, three half-backs, two fullbacks, and five forwards. The players are allowed to kick the ball with any part of the body except their hands. The only player that uses his hands and feet for kicking the ball is the goalkeeper. The joy of the game is intensified as the ball is netted and when medals and trophies are given as a result of this. The game excites the spirit of the spectators when the players of one team put the ball into the goal of the opponents.
The game has one drawback as accidents take place on account of unfair pushing and foul play. But playing in this way is not conducive to sporting like spirit. If it is played in true spirit the accidents are bound to be reduced. If the instructions of the referee are violated, the game is called a foul one.
Football nourishes our minds and body. The game teaches us discipline and co-operation. It is very popular in India, Holland, Russia, and America as well. It teaches us to face the challenge of life with fortitude, confidence, and courage. The sufficient exercise to our limbs given by football helps us to grow well.