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How football's competitions, laws and institutions came to be.
Since the 2019/20 Laws of the Game, the ball is in play at a goal kick as soon as it is kicked — and receivers may stand inside the penalty area. Recruitment has not stopped adjusting since.
UEFA, CAF, AFC, Concacaf, CONMEBOL and OFC divide world football between them. Their differences in size explain more disputes than any single controversy.
CAF was founded in 1957 and staged its first continental championship the same year, with a field small enough to fit in a single group.
CONMEBOL's continental club competition launched in 1960, five years after Europe's, and for the same reason: someone had to decide who was best.