Diverse types of soccer like competitions have been played as far back as the times of the Romans. However, the U.S. was the 1st British colony to beginning participating in soccer games. As far back as 1609 in the Jamestown colony various forms of soccer were being played. In the U.S. soccer refers to the game where you kick the ball into the opposing team's goal for points. In other countries, soccer is what people in the U.S. would consider football. In mid 2008, several players were inducted into the Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum in Canada.

These players were; Arthur Arnold, John McGrane, William Flinton, Jack Brand, Jimmy Adam, Bruce Twamley, Constantinos Souplotis, Les Wilson and Walter W. Bowman. It's not only the Americans and Canadians who have a strong soccer history. In fact, much of the world does also. Here is a small list of some of the international soccer competitions that men and women compete in globally; Women's World Cup, Nordic Cup, World Youth Championship, Futsal World Championship, Pan American Games, World Cup, and the Olympic Soccer Tournament.

Player Positions

In the game of soccer, each team normally has eleven positions and eleven players playing in those positions. However since there are many ways to play the game soccer this isn't always the case. Generally you will have backs, defenders, forwards, fullbacks, goalies, goalkeeper, midfielders and striker sweepers. Optional positions include; midfield anchor, midfield general, midfield maestro, attacking midfielder, central midfielder, defensive midfielder, finisher, central defender, central forward, halfback, and stoppers.

Soccer Objective

The object of the game of soccer is to kick the ball into the opposing teams goal. This is done by kicking the soccer ball around to other team mates in order to get them into a scoring position. Similar to the sport of basketball in regards to continuous passing, except the feet are to be used instead of the hand. This game demands a lot of physical endurance and mental capabilities in order to win. Players must be sharp enough to know when and where to pass the ball to without it being taken away by rival teams players. Each soccer game last ninety minutes with one fifteen minute break in between each game.

Highest Paid Players

1. Kak - AC Milan: $14.9 million per year

2. Ronaldinho - FC Barcelona: $14.1 million

3. Frank Lampard - Chelsea: $13.5 million

4. John Terry - Chelsea: $13.5 million

5. Fernando Torres - Liverpool: $13.1 million

6. Andriy Shevchenko - Chelsea: $12.9 million

7. Michael Ballack - Chelsea: $12.9 million

8. Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United: $12.7 million

9. Thierry Henry - FC Barcelona: $12.7 million

10. Steven Gerrard - Liverpool: $12.7 million

Major League Soccer (MLS)

The MLS was founded in 1993 and has grown to sixteen teams with discussion of adding more teams in the near future. Although they claim sixteen teams, the newly added Philadelphia won't begin playing until 2010. Here is a list of the Major League Soccer teams; Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Los Angeles Galaxy, Red Bull New York, New England Revolution, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Toronto FC. Each team plays a total of thirty games per year in an attempt to win the MLS Cup.