[[Fitxategi:Football iu 1996.jpg|eskuinera|thumb|Argazkian ''10'' zenbakia duen jokalariak ostikozjokalaria baloia aurkariarenostikoz atean sartzen saiatukojaurtitzekotan da. Bertan dagoen atezainakAtezainak eskuak erabil ditzake, baloia gelditzenatean sar ez dadin saiatzeko.]]
'''Futbola''' edo '''zangobaloia''' taldekako [[kirol]] bat da, hamaikana jokalariko bi talderen artean baloi esferiko batekin jokatua. 250 milioi jokalarik praktikatzen dute munduko 200 herrialde baino gehiagotan, eta beraz munduko kirolik hedatuena da;<ref>Guttman, Allen. [http://books.google.com/books?id=tQY5wxQDn5gC&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=world's+most+popular+team+sport&source=web&ots=6ns3wVUEGV&sig=SZPKYSDMJBrO1uV4mPxNbKyAuJY#PPA129,M1 «The Diffusion of Sports and the Problem of Cultural Imperialism»]. In Eric Dunning, Joseph A. Maguire, Robert E. Pearton. ''The Sports Process: A Comparative and Developmental Approach.'' Champaign: Human Kinetics. 129. orr. ISBN 0-88011-624-2. «the game is complex enough not to be invented independently by many preliterate cultures and yet simple enough to become the world's most popular team sport»</ref><ref>Dunning, Eric. [http://books.google.com/books?id=X3lX_LVBaToC&pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=world's+most+popular+team+sport&source=web&ots=ehee9Lr9o1&sig=nyvDhcrPoR8lXhYKE7k4CZYg_qU#PPA103,M1 «The development of soccer as a world game»]. ''Sport Matters: Sociological Studies of Sport, Violence and Civilisation''. London: Routledge. 103. orr. ISBN 0-415-06413-9. «During the twentieth century, soccer emerged as the world's most popular team sport»</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=XG6AIHLtyaUC&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=soccer+most+popular+team+sport&source=web&ots=QzydYB5Am0&sig=w_ouIgmegjytYFfWy7k92guTNfU#PPA57,M1 «Team Sports»]. ''Catastrophic Injuries in High School and College Sports''. Champaign: Human Kinetics. 57. orr. ISBN 0-87322-674-7. «Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and is an industry worth over US$400 billion world wide. 80% of this is generated in Europe, though its popularity is growing in the United States. It has been estimated that there were 22 million soccer players in the world in the early 1980s, and that number is increasing. In the United States soccer is now a major sport at both the high school and college levels»</ref> eta diru gehien mugitzen duen kirola ere, [[saskibaloi]]arekin, [[1 Formula]]rekin eta [[golf]]arekin batera. Kirola bere muturreko bi aldeetan [[Gol|ate]] bat duen [[Futbol zelai|zelai]] laukizuzen batean jokatzen da. Jokoaren helburua [[baloi]]a aurkako taldearen atean sartzea da.
Futbola antzinarotik jokatzen den baloidun jokoetako batetik eratorritako kirola da. Gaur egungo kirolaren arauak [[1863]]an sortu ziren, [[Ingalaterra]]n ''[[The Football Association]]'' elkarteak [[futbol arauak]] sortu zituenean.
