Kick-off (association football)

A kick-off is the method of starting and, in some cases, restarting play in a game of association football.

[1] A kick-off is used to start each half of play, and each period of extra time where applicable.

One of the few things known about the rules of English traditional football is the means by which the matches were started: it appears to have been the custom in several places for the game to start with the ball being "thrown up" in the middle of the field of play by a neutral official.

[4][5][6] The rules of Surrey Football Club, published in 1849, likewise specify that the game is started by the ball being "tossed up in the centre of the ground".

[8] The oldest published laws of football (Rugby School, 1845) specify that the game is to be started with a "kick off" from the middle of the field of play, which must be a place-kick.

The novel Tom Brown's School Days (published in 1857 but based on the author's experiences at Rugby School from 1834 to 1842) gives a detailed description of the kick-off:[14] [H]as'nt old Brooke won the toss, with his lucky halfpenny, and got choice of goals, and kick-off?

The new ball you may see lie there quite by itself, in the middle, pointing towards the school or island goal; in another minute it will be well on its way there [...] [O]ld Brooke takes a half-a-dozen quick steps, and away goes the ball spinning towards the School goal; seventy yards before it touches ground, and at no point above twelve or fifteen feet high, a model kick-off; and the School-house cheer and rush on; the ball is returned, and they meet it and drive it back amongst the masses of the School already in motion.The passage above suggests that the winner of the toss, in the Rugby game, was awarded both kick-off and choice of goals.

In 1873, the team winning the toss was given the option of whether to choose ends or to take the initial kick-off.

[21] The law was changed once again so beginning on 1 June 2019, the side winning the toss once again has the choice between kicking-off and choosing ends.

[25] The original laws of 1863 placed no restriction (other than offside) on the players' position during the kick-off, except that opponents could not approach within 10 yards of the ball.

[27] As a result of the International Football Conference of December 1882, it was decided that the kick-off had to be kicked forwards.

[29] In 1905, it was specified that the ball "must make a complete circuit or travel the distance of its circumference" before being in play.

At kick-off, players other than the kicker are required to be in their team's own half of the pitch, and opposition players may not be in the 10-yard diameter centre circle.
Illustration of the kick-off used at Rugby School (1845)
Prior to 2016 the kick-off was required to be in a forwards direction. Typically one player would tap the ball forwards, immediately followed by a teammate passing the ball backwards to the rest of the team.