The ARCHV explains

Football, explained

The rules, the terms and the records, without the jargon. One question per page, answered in the first paragraph.

ARCHV Explains · Laws history · 3 October 2026How the offside rule changed, 1863 to daylightHow football's offside law changed: the 1863 rule, Bill McCracken's trap, the 1925 rewrite, level becoming onside in 1990 and Canada's daylight trial.
ARCHV Explains · Football history · 19 September 2026Illustrated football portraits: a historyHow football learned to draw its players: cigarette cards, Panini's first album in 1961, the 1950 overhead kick behind its logo and 2026's 980 stickers.
ARCHV Explains · Tactics history · 12 September 2026The false 9, from Hidegkuti to MessiWhat a false 9 is, who played it first, and a dated record of the sides that proved it: Sindelar, Hidegkuti, the Revie Plan, Totti, Messi and Spain.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 29 August 2026Release clause, buy-out clause, buy-back clause: three different deals wearing one nameThe difference between a release clause, a Spanish buy-out clause and a buy-back clause: who pays, who has no say, why a buy-out cannot be refused, and the deals that prove each one.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 24 August 2026Add-ons, explained: the part of the fee that may never be paidWhat add-ons in a transfer fee actually are, why two reporters can print two different fees for the same deal, and how Carlos Baleba's move was reported as both 65 and 70 million pounds without either being wrong.
ARCHV Explains · Football finance · 24 August 2026Agent fees, explained: who pays, how much, and the cap that keeps being struck downHow agent commission actually works, why the buying club usually pays the player's agent, what dual representation is, and where FIFA's contested fee cap stands after the July 2026 ruling.
ARCHV Explains · Football finance · 24 August 2026Amortisation, explained: why an £85m signing costs £17m a yearHow clubs spread a transfer fee across a contract in their accounts, why Chelsea's eight-year deals worked, and the five-year cap UEFA and the Premier League brought in to stop them.
ARCHV Explains · American football · 24 August 2026The NFL practice squad, explainedHow many players an NFL practice squad holds, who is eligible, what elevations are, what practice squad players earn in 2026, and why other teams can sign yours away.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 24 August 2026Personal terms, explained: the negotiation that is not about the feeWhat personal terms actually cover beyond wages, why a deal collapses over them, why they are usually agreed before the clubs agree a fee, and what release clauses and image rights are doing in there.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 24 August 2026The signing-on fee, explainedWhat a signing-on fee is, why it is paid in instalments rather than a lump, how it differs from a loyalty bonus, and why a free transfer often costs more than a cheap one.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 24 August 2026Tapping up, explainedWhat tapping up actually is, the Premier League rule that bans it, why almost nobody is punished for it any more, and what happened to Ashley Cole in a hotel in 2005.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 24 August 2026The transfer medical, explainedWhat actually happens in a football transfer medical, how long it takes, what clubs are really testing for, and what happens to a deal when a player fails one.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 24 August 2026Undisclosed fee, explained: who is hiding what, and whyWhy clubs announce transfers for an undisclosed fee, who benefits from the silence, how reporters get the number anyway, and why this archive still prints one.
ARCHV Explains · Football data · 24 August 2026xG, explained: what expected goals measures and what it does notHow expected goals is calculated, what a 0.08 chance actually means, why Manchester United can post 1.81 xG and lose 2-0, and the four things xG genuinely cannot tell you.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 15 August 2026Sell-on clauses, explainedWhat a sell-on clause is, how the percentage actually gets calculated, and why Chelsea kept 10% of Andrey Santos while MK Dons' 20% of Dele Alli paid nothing.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 8 August 2026How transfer fees are actually paidThe £75m Arsenal agreed with Newcastle United for Bruno Guimaraes: instalments, amortisation, add-ons, sell-on clauses and the 5% solidarity cut.
ARCHV Explains · Officiating · 1 August 2026Why a VAR check takes so longWhat actually happens in the four minutes a stadium spends waiting: the four situations VAR is allowed to touch, why the video referee rebuilds the whole attack in order, where the offside lines went, and what changed at the 2026 World Cup.
ARCHV Explains · Transfer mechanics · 29 July 2026Loan with an obligation to buy, explainedWhat a loan with an obligation to buy actually is, how it differs from an option to buy, and the four recent Manchester United deals that show every way the clause can end: triggered, bought out, left to expire, or flipped on for profit.
ARCHV Explains · World Cup · 22 July 2026The World Cup Golden Boot: a history of the tournament's top scorersKylian Mbappe won the 2026 Golden Boot on ten goals without playing the final, the first man to win it twice, and passed Lionel Messi as the World Cup's all-time top scorer. The full history of the award, from Guillermo Stabile in 1930 to Just Fontaine's untouched 13.
ARCHV Explains · World Cup · 15 July 2026Most World Cup titles: every nation that has won, and how manyEvery World Cup winner from 1930 to 2026: Brazil's record five, Germany and Italy on four, Argentina on three, and why only eight nations from two continents have ever lifted the trophy.
ARCHV Explains · World Cup · 8 July 2026The oldest goalscorers in World Cup historyRoger Milla still holds the record at 42 years and 39 days, but Cristiano Ronaldo closed the gap at the 2026 World Cup, becoming the oldest man to score in a knockout match. The full list of the oldest scorers in the tournament's history.
ARCHV Explains · World Cup · 1 July 2026Canada at the World Cup: a historyCanada's full World Cup story: a scoreless debut in 1986, a 36-year wait, Alphonso Davies' record-fast goal in 2022, and the 2026 co-host run that finally delivered a first-ever knockout win.
ARCHV Explains · World Cup · 20 June 2026USA at the World Cup: a historyThe full story of the United States at the World Cup, from a third-place finish in 1930 and the 1950 win over England to the 2002 quarter-final, the 2018 collapse, and co-hosting the 2026 finals.
ARCHV Explains · World Cup · 16 June 2026The biggest upsets in World Cup historyThe ten greatest World Cup upsets, from the USA beating England in 1950 to Saudi Arabia stunning Argentina in 2022, and why the favourites are never as safe as the bracket says.

The glossary

Plain answers to the football questions fans actually search.

Every term with its one-line answer