Rules & Awards Quiz Questions & Answers
97 Rules & Awards football trivia questions, each with the verified answer and explanation. Tap any question for the full breakdown, or play the live quiz.
How many players are allowed on the field for each team?
Answer: 11
What is the standard length of a football match?
Answer: 90 mins
In what year was VAR (Video Assistant Referee) first used at the FIFA World Cup?
Answer: 2018
How far is the penalty spot from the goal line?
Answer: 12 yards
What is the standard width of a football goal?
Answer: 8 yards
In what year were goal-line technology systems approved by FIFA?
Answer: 2012
When was the offside law significantly amended to the two-defender rule?
Answer: 1925
How many panels does a traditional 32-panel football have?
Answer: 32
In what year was the backpass rule (goalkeeper cannot pick up with hands) introduced?
Answer: 1992
What is the FIFA Puskás Award given for?
Answer: Best goal of the year
Who won the first Ballon d'Or in 1956?
Answer: Stanley Matthews
What is a 'panenka' in football?
Answer: A chipped penalty down the middle
In which match was the first official 'golden goal' scored at a major tournament?
Answer: Euro 1996, Germany vs Czech Republic
How many substitutes are permitted per team in standard FIFA competitive matches?
Answer: 5
In which year was the FIFA World Player of the Year award first presented?
Answer: 1991
How long is each period of extra time in knockout football?
Answer: 15 minutes
What is a 'golden goal' in football?
Answer: A goal ending a match in extra time
When was the 'golden goal' rule officially abolished by FIFA?
Answer: 2004
What is the minimum length of a standard football pitch?
Answer: 90 metres
What is the diameter of a standard football goal post?
Answer: 12 cm
In which year did FIFA introduce the 3 points for a win system globally?
Answer: 1994
Football's most prestigious individual award for the best player in the world was branded jointly with football's world governing body from 2010 to 2016, before the partnership ended. Which organization presents it independently today?
Answer: France Football magazine
What colour card results in a temporary suspension in some football competitions?
Answer: Blue card
How many seconds does a goalkeeper have to release the ball in UEFA competitions?
Answer: 6 seconds
What is the FIFA Fair Play Award given for?
Answer: Best sportsmanship
How far is the penalty arc (D) from the penalty spot?
Answer: 9.15 metres
In what year was the 'professional foul' law introduced as a red card offence?
Answer: 1990
What is the UEFA Golden Shoe (Boot) awarded for?
Answer: European league top scorer
Which player has won the European Golden Shoe the most times?
Answer: Lionel Messi
In which year did the Champions League final move from a single home-and-away format to a single neutral venue match?
Answer: 1989
What is the standard air pressure of a football at the start of a match?
Answer: 0.6–1.1 atm
What is the circumference of a standard match football?
Answer: 68-70 cm
How many yellow cards does it take to result in a one-match suspension in the Premier League (group stage)?
Answer: 5
What is the distance of the semi-circle (arc) in front of the penalty area?
Answer: 9.15 metres
In what year did FIFA introduce goal-line technology in the World Cup?
Answer: 2014
Who won the Ballon d'Or in 2016?
Answer: Ronaldo
Who won the Ballon d'Or in 1995?
Answer: Weah
What is the UEFA Champions League trophy also commonly known as?
Answer: Big Ears
Who won the Ballon d'Or in 1974?
Answer: Franz Beckenbauer
What is a brace in football?
Answer: Scoring twice in one match
How many Ballon d'Or awards has George Weah won?
Answer: 1
In which year was the away goals rule in European competition abolished?
Answer: 2021
In which year did FIFA approve 5 substitutions per team in competitive matches?
Answer: 2020
In which year was the Ballon d'Or not awarded for the first time in its history, due to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Answer: 2020
Who won the 2021 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first player to win the award a record seven times?
Answer: Lionel Messi
Under the IFAB Laws of the Game, a match cannot start or continue if either team has fewer than how many players?
Answer: 7
In which year was 'The Best FIFA Men's Player' award first presented, after FIFA ended its Ballon d'Or partnership with France Football?
Answer: 2016
At a corner kick, opposing players must retreat a minimum distance of how many yards from the corner arc until the ball is in play?
Answer: 10 yards
Under the Laws of the Game, how long is a standard football pitch permitted to be at maximum, in metres?
Answer: 120 metres
Under the Laws of the Game, what is the standard duration of a football match, excluding stoppage time and extra time?
Answer: 90 minutes
Under the Laws of the Game, how many players are permitted per team on the pitch at the start of a match?
Answer: 11
Under the Laws of the Game, what is the minimum number of players a team must have on the pitch for a match to continue?
Answer: 7
Under the offside law, a player is in an offside position if any part of their body (except hands and arms) is nearer to the opponents' goal line than which two things?
Answer: Both the ball and the second-last opponent
Under the Laws of the Game, is a player in an offside position automatically penalized?
Answer: No — they are only penalized if they become involved in active play
Under the Laws of the Game, can a player be offside directly from a throw-in?
Answer: No, the offside law does not apply directly from a throw-in
Under the Laws of the Game, can a player be offside directly from a corner kick?
Answer: No, the offside law does not apply directly from a corner kick
Under the Laws of the Game, what colour card does a referee show to caution a player without sending them off?
Answer: Yellow
Under the Laws of the Game, how many yellow cards in a single match result in a player being sent off?
Answer: Two
In which year were red and yellow cards first introduced to football, debuting at that year's World Cup?
Answer: 1970
Which English referee is credited with inventing the concept of yellow and red cards, reportedly inspired by a traffic light while driving?
Answer: Ken Aston
Under the Laws of the Game, what happens when a match ends level after normal time in a knockout competition that requires a winner?
Answer: Extra time is played, typically two 15-minute periods
Under the Laws of the Game, from what distance is a penalty kick taken?
Answer: 12 yards (11 metres) from the goal line
Under the Laws of the Game, what is the minimum distance defending players must stand from the ball at a direct or indirect free kick?
Answer: 9.15 metres (10 yards)
Under the Laws of the Game, what is the standard circumference of a football (soccer ball) used in professional matches?
Answer: Between 68 and 70 cm
Under the Laws of the Game, what is the standard weight range of a football (soccer ball) used in professional matches?
Answer: 410 to 450 grams
Under the Laws of the Game, what are the standard dimensions of a football goal, in terms of width between the posts?
Answer: 7.32 metres (8 yards)
Under the Laws of the Game, what is the standard height of a football goal, from the ground to the crossbar?
Answer: 2.44 metres (8 feet)
Under the Laws of the Game, how many substitutions are permitted per team in a standard domestic league match, following the change introduced after the COVID-19 pandemic?
Answer: Five
Before the five-substitution rule was widely adopted, how many substitutions were teams typically permitted per match in most competitions?
Answer: Three
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system was first used at a major FIFA tournament in which year?
Answer: 2018 (the World Cup in Russia)
Goal-line technology was first used at a major FIFA tournament at which World Cup?
Answer: 2014 (Brazil)
The Ballon d'Or, awarded annually to the world's best player, was first presented in which year?
Answer: 1956
Which player won the very first Ballon d'Or in 1956?
Answer: Stanley Matthews
Until which year was the Ballon d'Or restricted to European players only, before being opened up to all nationalities?
Answer: 1994
The FIFA World Player of the Year award, later merged with the Ballon d'Or before splitting again, was first presented in which year?
Answer: 1991
FIFA's annual award for the best goal of the year, first given in 2009, is named after which Hungarian football legend?
Answer: Ferenc Puskas
In which year was the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year first presented?
Answer: 2009
The Golden Boot (or Golden Shoe) award for Europe's top league goalscorer each season uses a points-weighting system based on what factor?
Answer: The perceived strength of each league (a coefficient multiplier)
Which award is given annually to the best young player (under 21) at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, first presented in 2018?
Answer: The Kopa Trophy
Which award, introduced in 2019, is given annually to the best goalkeeper at the Ballon d'Or ceremony, named after a Soviet legend?
Answer: The Yashin Trophy
The Women's Ballon d'Or, awarded to the best female player in the world, was first presented in which year?
Answer: 2018
Which Norwegian forward won the first-ever Women's Ballon d'Or in 2018?
Answer: Ada Hegerberg
Under the Laws of the Game, what is the penalty for a goalkeeper who handles a deliberate back-pass from a teammate's foot?
Answer: An indirect free kick to the opposing team from the spot of the handling
In which year was the back-pass rule introduced, preventing goalkeepers from handling deliberate passes from teammates' feet?
Answer: 1992
Under the Laws of the Game, how many officials typically make up the on-field refereeing team in a top-level match, including the main referee?
Answer: Four (referee, two assistant referees, and a fourth official)
Under the Laws of the Game, what is the term for a foul committed by a defender inside their own penalty area that results in a penalty kick?
Answer: A direct free kick offense committed inside the penalty area
Under the Laws of the Game, what is a 'professional foul', a term commonly used though not an official law phrase, generally referring to?
Answer: A deliberate foul to stop a promising attack or goalscoring opportunity
Under the Laws of the Game, what is denying an opponent an obvious goalscoring opportunity through a foul typically punished with?
Answer: A red card (sending-off)
Under the Laws of the Game, what is the standard number of minutes in each half of extra time, when played?
Answer: 15 minutes
Which manager won the FIFA World Coach of the Year award (or its earlier FIFA equivalent) the most times as of 2020, largely for his work with Barcelona and Bayern Munich?
Answer: Pep Guardiola
How many players does each team have on the pitch in a standard match?
Answer: 11
What does VAR stand for in football?
Answer: Video Assistant Referee
What is the name of the award given to a league's top scorer?
Answer: Golden Boot
Which award goes to the best goalkeeper at a World Cup?
Answer: Golden Glove
What happens when a player receives two yellow cards in the same match?
Answer: They are sent off
What is the oldest national football cup competition in the world?
Answer: The FA Cup
Three goals scored by one player in a single match is called what?
Answer: A hat-trick