Sports Lines World Cup – Boundary Lines on the Soccer Field

Sports Lines World Cup

Boundary lines are critical to any sport, since defining the pitch or field of play is critical to the game. Association football is no exception and Law 1 of the Laws of the Game defines the Field of Play, which includes lines and markings on the field.

One of the fundamental stipulations of Law 1 is that the field of play must be rectangular and marked with lines. Since the field must be rectangular, there must be two longer and two shorter lines. The soccer field has four major boundary lines – two goal lines and two touchlines; the touchlines are the two longer touchlines. However, other lines are critical to the field of play. These include the halfway line and boundary lines for the penalty area. No soccer game can be played properly without these. Sports Lines World Cup

Another stipulation of Law 1 is that the boundary lines belong to the area of which they are boundaries. Therefore, the touchlines and goal lines are part of the field of play. A ball must wholly cross the touchline or goal line to be out of play. This also means that the boundary lines for the penalty area are part of the penalty area – including the part of the goal line that bounds the area. If a player commits an offence against an opponent, that punishable by a direct free kick, in his own penalty area, the referee should award a penalty kick.

For a standard soccer field, the touchlines must be between 90 and 120 metres long, while the goal lines must be between 45 and 90 metres long. Law 1 specifies that boundary lines must be visible and all lines must be the same width (not to exceed five inches). Apart from the boundary lines being the same width, they should also be the same width of the goalposts and crossbar by extension. This is to facilitate proper judgement of whether a goal is scored or not.

Symmetry is important on the soccer field, so each half must have identical measurements. Other parts of the field demarcated by boundary lines include the centre circle and corner arcs and penalty arcs. The Laws of the Game also prohibits unauthorised markings and advertising (even virtual projections) on the field of play. Law 1 also specifies that advertising and advertising boards should remain at least one yard or metre from the boundaries once teams enter the field of play. Sports Lines World Cup