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Football, explained.
The rules, the tactics, the data and the business of the game — sourced and in plain English.
- 20explainers
- 7tracks
- 150glossary terms
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- Basics & the Laws
The 17 Laws in plain English
Understand who writes football’s rules, what each of the 17 Laws covers, and what changed in 2025/26 and 2026/27.
- Basics & the Laws
Offside, explained
Learn the difference between being in an offside position and committing an offside offence, and how technology now helps draw the line.
- Data & Analytics
Expected goals (xG), without the maths
Understand what an xG number means, what goes into it, how it compares with goals over a season, and where it misleads.
How a match works, from the 17 Laws of the Game to offside and VAR, explained in plain English.
The 17 Laws in plain English
Understand who writes football’s rules, what each of the 17 Laws covers, and what changed in 2025/26 and 2026/27.
Offside, explained
Learn the difference between being in an offside position and committing an offside offence, and how technology now helps draw the line.
VAR, explained
Understand what the video assistant referee can and cannot review, how a check becomes a review, and how decisions are explained to the crowd.
What each position does and how teams organise themselves with and without the ball.
Football positions, explained
Understand what each player on a football team is there to do, from the goalkeeper to the false nine, and why a role matters more than a position.
Formations, explained
Learn to read a formation such as 4-3-3 or 3-5-2, see how teams change shape with and without the ball, and compare the five most common systems.
Positional play, explained
Understand juego de posición, the attacking approach built on five vertical lanes, the half-spaces, three kinds of superiority, third-man runs and building from the back.
Pressing, explained
Understand how teams defend at different heights, what sets off a press, what counter-pressing and rest defence are, and how analysts measure pressing with PPDA.
The numbers behind the game, what they measure and how clubs and media use them.
Expected goals (xG), without the maths
Understand what an xG number means, what goes into it, how it compares with goals over a season, and where it misleads.
Football data: events, tracking and physical
Tell the main kinds of football data apart, know who supplies them, read per-90 figures and percentiles, and find free data to practise on.
Where football’s money comes from and where it goes, from TV rights and transfers to financial rules.
How football clubs make money
Learn the three main income streams of a football club, why player sales are counted apart, how the Deloitte Football Money League ranks clubs, and what the wages-to-revenue ratio tells you.
Football agents and FIFA’s agent rules
Understand what football agents do, how FIFA licenses them, who pays them and how much, and where the legal challenges to FIFA’s rules stand.
Football’s spending rules, explained
Understand how UEFA, the Premier League and LaLiga limit what clubs spend on their squads, and why the rules now tie spending to income.
How football transfers work
Follow a transfer from window to registration, and understand fees, loans, release clauses, free transfers and the money owed to the clubs that trained a player.
TV rights, explained
Learn how football’s broadcast rights are sold, how the money is shared between clubs, and why piracy matters to the whole system.
Who owns football clubs
Understand the main ways clubs are owned, from members’ associations to investment funds, and the rules that govern each model, including multi-club ownership.
How clubs, leagues and brands understand supporters and build audiences, sponsorships and communities.
How coaches plan sessions, develop players and prepare teams, from grassroots to the professional game.
How leagues, cups and tournaments are organised, from promotion and relegation to the World Cup.
How the Champions League works
Understand the 36-team league phase used since 2024/25, how clubs reach the knockout rounds, and how coefficients decide seeding and the number of places each country gets.
Promotion and relegation, explained
See how league pyramids move clubs up and down each season, how Spain, England and Germany do it differently, and how a closed league such as MLS compares.
World Cup formats, explained
Understand how the 48-team World Cup works since 2026, how the 32-team Club World Cup works since 2025, and how the 2030 World Cup is shared across three continents.