Kick - off ( association football ) - wikipedia Kick - off ( association football ) Kick - off at the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup A kick - off is the method of starting and, in some cases, restarting play in a game of association football. The rules concerning the kick - off are part of Law 8 of the Laws of the Game. Contents 1 Award 2 Procedure 3 Infringements 4 References Award A kick - off is used to start each half of play, and each period of extra time where applicable. The kick - off to start a game is awarded to the team that lost the pre-game coin toss ( the team that won the coin - toss chooses which direction they wish to play ). The kick - off begins when the referee blows the whistle. The kick - off to start the second half is taken by the other team. If extra time is played another coin - toss is used at the beginning of this period. A kick - off is also used to restart play after a goal is scored, and is taken by the team that conceded the goal. Procedure Luis Suárez and Andy Carroll preparing to kick - off. The kick - off is taken from the centre spot. All players must be in their own half of the field of play, and all opposing players must remain at least 10 yards ( 9.16 m ) from the ball ( a distance marked on the pitch by the centre circle ), until the ball is in play. The ball is initially stationary until it is put into play by being kicked. The player who has first kicked the ball may not touch it again until it has been touched by another player. A stipulation that this kick must be towards the opponents ' goal existed in the rules from 1883 until 2016. This resulted in kick - offs typically involving two persons ( as pictured ), with one tapping the ball forward and the other passing it back to the rest of the team. A goal may be scored directly from a kick - off against the opponent. Infringements If a player moves from their required position as detailed above the kick is retaken. Failure to maintain position may constitute misconduct and be punished by a caution ( yellow card ). It is an offence for the kicker to touch the ball a second time until it has been touched by another player ; this is punishable by an indirect free kick to the defending team from where the offence occurred, unless the second touch was also a more serious handling offence, in which case it is punishable by a direct free kick. References Jump up ^ `` LAW 8 - THE START AND RESTART OF PLAY - FIFA.com ''. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 04. first1 = missing last1 = in Authors list ( help ) Jump up ^ Laws of the Game ( 1883 ). The Football Association. Wikisource. 1883. Jump up ^ Football : IFAB Confirm Series of Changes to Football Rules Ahead of Next Season Yahoo ! Sport, 16 April 2016 Jump up ^ http://www.theifab.com/#!/laws/the-start-and-restart-of-play/chapters/kick-off The IFAB Laws of the Game, Law 8 FIFA Laws of the Game ( PDF ) Laws of the Game ( rules of association football ) Terms Law 1 : The Field of Play Law 2 : The Ball Law 3 : The Number of Players Law 4 : The Players ' Equipment Law 5 : The Referee Law 6 : The Other Match Officials Law 7 : The Duration of the Match Law 8 : The Start and Restart of Play Law 9 : The Ball In and Out of Play Law 10 : The Method of Scoring Law 11 : Offside Law 12 : Fouls and Misconduct Law 13 : Free kicks ( direct and indirect ) Law 14 : The Penalty Kick Law 15 : The Throw - In Law 16 : The Goal Kick Law 17 : The Corner Kick Comparisons Rugby union Futsal International Football Association Board ( IFAB ) The Football Association Scottish Football Association Football Association of Wales Irish Football Association FIFA Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kick-off_(association_football)&oldid=809482705 '' Categories : Laws of association football Hidden categories : CS1 errors : missing author or editor Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Deutsch Hrvatski Italiano 日本 語 Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 9 November 2017, at 11 : 51. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who kicks the ball first to start a football game
Answer: awarded to the team that lost the pre-game coin toss; the team that lost the pre-game coin toss; the team that lost the pre-game coin toss; the team that lost the pre-game coin toss