The ARCHV / Glossary

Football, explained

The glossary

Plain answers to the football questions fans actually search. Every entry defines the term first, then explains how it works.

• xG (expected goals)xG, or expected goals, is a statistic that rates the quality of a chance as a number between 0 and 1.
• The false 9A false 9 is a centre-forward who drops deep into midfield instead of leading the line.
• The offside ruleA player is in an offside position if they are nearer the opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-to-last defender when the ball is played to them.
• VARVAR, the Video Assistant Referee, is an official who reviews replays and advises the referee on the pitch.
• Pressing and gegenpressingPressing is when a team without the ball chases the opponent in possession, closing down passing lanes to force a mistake and win the ball back high up the pitch.
• The low blockA low block is a defensive shape in which a team drops almost every outfield player into their own half, often to the edge of their own box, to deny space in behind and force the opponent to break them down in a crowded area.
• The inverted full-backAn inverted full-back is a defender who lines up wide but, once their team has the ball, steps into central midfield rather than overlapping down the touchline.
• Half-spacesHalf-spaces are the two vertical strips of the pitch between the wide touchline channel and the central lane, roughly level with the edges of the penalty area.
• xA (expected assists)xA, or expected assists, measures the likelihood that a pass becomes a goal assist, based on the quality of the chance it creates for the player who receives it.
• A loan with an obligation to buyA loan with an obligation to buy is a transfer structure in which a player moves to a club temporarily, but that club must sign them permanently once agreed conditions are met, such as appearances played or promotion.
• A loan with an option to buyA loan with an option to buy is a temporary transfer in which the borrowing club has the right, but not the duty, to sign the player permanently at a price fixed in advance.
• Option to buy versus obligation to buyAn option to buy gives the borrowing club a choice at the end of a loan; an obligation to buy removes that choice once agreed conditions are met.
• Release clauses and buy-out clausesA release clause is a figure written into a player's contract at which their club must allow talks with a buyer, or must accept a bid outright.
• The sell-on clauseA sell-on clause entitles a selling club to a percentage of any future fee the buying club receives when it sells the player on.
• The buy-back clauseA buy-back clause lets the selling club re-sign a player at a price agreed at the time of the sale, usually within a set window of years.
• Agent feesAn agent fee is the commission paid for negotiating a transfer or a contract, calculated as a percentage of the fee or the player's wages.
• The signing-on feeA signing-on fee is a lump sum paid to the player for agreeing to join a club, separate from the transfer fee paid to their old club and from their wages.
• AmortisationAmortisation is the accounting method that spreads a transfer fee across the length of a player's contract instead of charging it all in one year.
• Financial fair play, PSR and squad cost ratioFinancial fair play is UEFA's framework for stopping clubs spending more than they earn.
• A bid versus an enquiryAn enquiry is an informal question about whether a player is available and roughly what it would take.
• Personal termsPersonal terms are the parts of a transfer agreed between the club and the player rather than between the two clubs: wages, contract length, bonuses, image rights and any release clause.
• The transfer medicalA transfer medical is the physical examination a signing club runs before completing a deal, covering scans of past injuries, cardiac screening, blood tests and movement assessments.
• Work permitsA work permit is the immigration clearance a player from outside the host country needs before they can be registered.
• The pre-contract agreementA pre-contract is a binding agreement a player signs with a new club while still under contract elsewhere, allowed once their existing deal has under six months left.
• The Bosman rulingThe Bosman ruling is a 1995 European Court of Justice judgment that let players inside the European Union move to another club for no fee once their contract had expired.
• The free transferA free transfer is a move in which no fee is paid to the selling club, because the player's contract has expired or been cancelled.
• The undisclosed feeAn undisclosed fee means the two clubs have agreed not to publish the price.
• Add-ons in a transfer feeAdd-ons are extra payments on top of a base transfer fee, triggered only if agreed conditions happen: a number of appearances, goals, international caps, a trophy or qualification for European competition.
• Structured payments and instalmentsMost transfer fees are paid in instalments over several years rather than in one payment, with the schedule written into the deal.
• The wage structureA wage structure is the internal ceiling a club sets on what any player can earn, usually banded by role and seniority.
• The homegrown player ruleThe homegrown rule requires clubs to fill part of their registered squad with players trained domestically for three years before the age of 21.
• Transfer windows and registrationA transfer window is the period in which a club can register a new player with its league.
• Deadline dayDeadline day is the last day of a transfer window, ending at a fixed hour set by each league.
• Tapping upTapping up is approaching a player who is under contract at another club, or their representatives, without that club's permission.
• Dual representationDual representation is when one agent acts for both the player and a club in the same deal, and is paid by both.
• Image rightsImage rights are the commercial value of a player's name, face and likeness, licensed to the club separately from playing wages.
• The loan armyA loan army is a squad of young or fringe players a club signs and then lends out in bulk, so they develop and get seen somewhere else.
• The emergency loanAn emergency loan is a short-term signing made outside a transfer window to cover an unexpected shortage, most often an injured goalkeeper.
• Domestic and international transfer windowsEvery national association sets two registration periods with FIFA: an international window governing transfers in and out of the country, and a domestic window for moves between clubs in the same association.
• The transfer requestA transfer request is a formal statement from a player asking to leave, usually made in writing to the club.
• The NFL franchise tagThe franchise tag lets an NFL team keep one player who would otherwise become a free agent, on a one year contract at a salary tied to the going rate for that position.
• NFL waiversWaivers are the process by which a released NFL player is offered to every other team before becoming a free agent.
• The NFL practice squadThe practice squad is a group of players signed by an NFL team who train with the club but are not on its active game-day roster.
• Dead capDead cap is salary cap space a team spends on players who are no longer on the roster.
• NFL compensatory draft picksCompensatory picks are extra draft selections awarded to teams that lost more qualifying free agents than they signed the previous year.
• Formula 1 power unit allocationEach Formula 1 driver gets a fixed allocation of power unit parts for the season, counted separately for the engine, turbocharger, energy store, electrical components and exhaust.
• Parc ferméParc fermé is the condition a Formula 1 car enters at the start of qualifying, after which teams may not change its setup before the race.
• DRS (drag reduction system)DRS, the drag reduction system, was a movable rear wing flap a driver could open within a second of the car ahead in marked zones, cutting drag to make overtaking easier.
• The undercut and the overcutAn undercut is pitting before the car you are chasing, using fresh tyres to set faster laps while the rival is still on old ones, so you emerge ahead when they stop.
• The Formula 1 sprintA sprint weekend replaces one practice session with a separate qualifying session and a short race, run over about 100 kilometres with no compulsory pit stop.
• The Formula 1 cost capThe cost cap is an annual limit on what a Formula 1 team may spend on things that make the car go faster.
• Tennis seedingSeeding places the highest ranked players in a draw so they cannot meet in the early rounds, spreading them across the bracket by rank.
• Protected and special rankings in tennisA protected ranking lets a player who has been out injured for a long spell enter tournaments using their old ranking rather than the one they dropped to.
• The walkoverA walkover is when a player advances because their opponent withdraws before the match starts, through injury, illness or a penalty.
• Qualifying and lucky losers in tennisA lucky loser is a player who lost in the final round of qualifying but gets into the main draw anyway, because someone withdraws after the draw is made.
• The golf handicapA handicap is a number representing how many strokes above par a golfer usually plays, letting players of different standards compete fairly.
• The cut lineThe cut line is the score after two rounds of a four round tournament that decides who plays the weekend.
• The FedEx CupThe FedEx Cup is the PGA Tour's season long points race.
• LIV Golf and the DP World TourThe DP World Tour is European golf's main circuit, running a season long ranking called the Race to Dubai that sends its leading players to the PGA Tour.
• Ryder Cup qualificationEach Ryder Cup team has twelve players.