Taking Penalties

Taking penalty is a type of free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Taking penalty kicks are performed during normal play. Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout in some tournaments to determine who progresses after a drawn match; though similar in procedure, these are not penalty kicks and are governed by slightly different rules. In practice; penalties are converted to goals more often than not, even against world class goalkeepers. This means that penalty awards are often decisive, especially in low-scoring games. Missed penalty kicks are often demoralizing to players because it is an easy opportunity to score.

The early origin of the taking penalty kick probably lies in Rugby football, as shown in early match reports, for example in 1888: “Dewsbury was awarded for taking penalty kick in front of the goal” The concept of a penalty goal for fouls within 2 yards (1.8 m) of the goal was suggested at a Sheffield FA meeting in 1879. The invention of the taking penalty kick is also credited to the goalkeeper and businessman William McCrum in 1890 in Milford, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The Irish Football Association presented the idea to the International Football Association Board and finally after much debate, and after a blatant goal-line handball by a Notts County player in the FA Cup Quarter-Final against Stoke the board approved the idea on 2 June 1891. A similar incident in Scotland in a match between Airdrieonians and Heart of Midlothian also contributed to the call for the penalty kick, which came into effect in the 1891-92 seasons. The first ever penalty kick was awarded to Wolverhampton Wanderers in their game against Accrington at Molineux Stadium on 14 September 1891