How many players on a soccer pitch

After watching many World Cup games, have you ever thought about this question: Why are there 11 players on each side of the field instead of 10 or 12?

This is related to the development history of modern football. Now the origin of football comes from England. In the mid-19th century, football games became popular in schools and colleges. Games on campus were often played in dormitories. At that time, each dormitory usually had 10 students and 1 administrator. Slowly, the game evolved into a model of 10 players and 1 goalkeeper.

But this raises a question, is such a personnel arrangement really reasonable?

The number of players on the field is closely related to the size of the stadium.
Because of the "restriction" of 11 people per side, the British really planned the stadium and finally determined a unified length and width standard for the stadium.
In this way, the "standard" of 11 players per side in football matches was determined.
Interestingly, due to historical reasons, although the British have determined the length and width of the stadium, the length and width of the Premier League's stadium are not exactly the same. Selhurst Park and Anfield are the two oldest stadiums in the Premier League, built in 1924 and 1884 respectively. The stadiums are so small that fans on the sidelines can even feel the breathing of the players on the field.

How big should the football field be designed?

In the early days of football, the size of football pitches depended on how much space people could find. Later it was realized that a football pitch had to be big enough to at least ensure that a goal could not be scored from anywhere.
Later, football added commercial elements, which required the stadium to accommodate enough spectators while ensuring that every spectator could see the game clearly. The final standard football field was designed to be a rectangle with a length of approximately 100 meters and a width of approximately 70 meters.

How to determine the number of participants?

For a football game to be exciting, it requires pressure on the players. Players must immediately know how to handle the ball after receiving the ball. That is, the typical time an opposing player runs towards the player with the ball must be close to the time the player with the ball subsequently controls and moves the football. If there are too few players and the distance is too far, the game will not be tense enough; if there are too many players and the distance is too close and the players have no time to think, the football game will be like a game of marbles.
Suppose the area of the football field is S and each team has N players. On average, the area occupied by each player is S/N.
Assuming that this area is a rectangle, then the side length of the rectangle is the average distance of the players d = square root (S/N). Now that an offensive player has the ball, the average distance between him and the defensive player is close to D/2. If the player's speed is V, then the approximate time it takes for the opposing player to run to him is td/2v. If the average speed of a football player running is V=5m/s. We also know that the area of the football field is approximately 7,000 square meters. We can simplify the entire formula to T=8.4/square root n.
Draw the image and you will find that as the number of players N in each team increases, the time t left for players to control the ball becomes smaller and smaller. When each team has 11 people, the time left for each player The reaction time is about 2.5 seconds. He can stop the ball in one second, control the ball in one second, observe the surrounding environment and think, and start dribbling or passing the ball in the next second.
This kind of game is both rhythmic and exciting. 11 players per team is a reasonable result.

Extended information:

There can be a maximum of 22 people on the field at the same time, and each side has 1 goalkeeper and 10 players. The positions in football include center forward, double forward, winger, attacking midfielder, midfielder, full midfielder, defensive midfielder, full-back, centre-back, sweeper and goalkeeper.

Football rules regarding the number of players:

1. Each of the two teams playing a match shall have no more than 11 players, including a goalkeeper.
2. Each team can have 1-2 substitutes during the game.

Football rules regarding substitutes:

1. With the consent of the referee, a substitute player may replace a player when the game is suspended.
2. In each game, the head coach of each team can freely adjust the players on and off the field, but a team only has 3 substitution opportunities in a single game, and the replaced players cannot play again.
3. A substitute can only come on after being taken off the field.

4. No player may come on or off the field without the consent of the referee.

More football product recommendations