In association football, an
assist is a contribution by a player which helps a teammate to score a
goalGoal refers to a method of scoring in many sports. It can also refer to the physical structure or area of the playing surface in which a score is made....
. Statistics for assists made by players may be kept officially by the organisers of a competition, or unofficially by, for example, journalists or organisers of
fantasy footballFantasy football is a game in which participants assemble an imaginary team of real life players and score points based on those players' actual statistical performance or their perceived contribution on the field of play...
competitions. Recording assists is not part of the official
Laws of the GameThe Laws of the Game are the rules governing a game of association football. They are written and maintained by the International Football Association Board .-Current Laws of the Game:...
and the criteria for an assist to be awarded may vary.
Most commonly, an assist is credited to a player for
passingPassing the ball is a key part of association football. This brings an advantage in that helps secure possession of the ball, particularly as play is taken towards the opponents' goal. The skill of dribbling the ball is seen much less in modern football matches than in the first half of the...
or
crossingIn football, a cross is a delivery of a ball from either side of the field across to the front of the goal by applying various kicking techniques. A cross is there to provide a goal-scoring opportunity...
the ball to the scorer.
In association football, an
assist is a contribution by a player which helps a teammate to score a
goalGoal refers to a method of scoring in many sports. It can also refer to the physical structure or area of the playing surface in which a score is made....
. Statistics for assists made by players may be kept officially by the organisers of a competition, or unofficially by, for example, journalists or organisers of
fantasy footballFantasy football is a game in which participants assemble an imaginary team of real life players and score points based on those players' actual statistical performance or their perceived contribution on the field of play...
competitions. Recording assists is not part of the official
Laws of the GameThe Laws of the Game are the rules governing a game of association football. They are written and maintained by the International Football Association Board .-Current Laws of the Game:...
and the criteria for an assist to be awarded may vary.
Most commonly, an assist is credited to a player for
passingPassing the ball is a key part of association football. This brings an advantage in that helps secure possession of the ball, particularly as play is taken towards the opponents' goal. The skill of dribbling the ball is seen much less in modern football matches than in the first half of the...
or
crossingIn football, a cross is a delivery of a ball from either side of the field across to the front of the goal by applying various kicking techniques. A cross is there to provide a goal-scoring opportunity...
the ball to the scorer. It may also be awarded to a player whose shot rebounds (off a defender,
goalkeeperIn association football, the goalkeeper occupies a position that represents the last line of defence between the opponent's offence and his own team's goal. The primary role of the goalkeeper is to defend his team's goal and prevent the opposition from scoring a goal...
or goalpost) to a teammate who scores; or to a player who wins a
penalty kickA penalty kick 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....
for another player to convert. An attacking player may be awarded an assist for contributing to an
own goalAn own goal occurs in association football and other goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team...
. Players usually cannot be awarded an assist for a goal they themselves score. Typically a maximum of one or two assists is awarded per goal.
Statistical recording of assists
Record of assists was virtually not kept at all until the end of the 20th century. The
North American Soccer LeagueNorth American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
kept assist statistics from its foundation in 1968, as its forebears the
United Soccer AssociationThe United Soccer Association is a former professional soccer league featuring teams from the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League. All the teams in the league were imported...
and
National Professional Soccer LeagueThe National Professional Soccer League was a North American professional soccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with the United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. It had ten charter members, nine from the United States and one from Canada...
had done the previous year. Analogous statistics were already being kept
in basketballIn basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by field goal, meaning that he or she was "assisting" in the basket. There is some judgment involved in deciding whether a passer should be credited with an assist...
and
in ice hockeyIn ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal...
, both established North American sports.
In the
FIFAThe International Federation of Association Football, commonly known by its French acronym, FIFA , is the international governing body of association football. Its headquarters are in Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is Sepp Blatter...
Technical Study Group's report on the
1986 World CupThe 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. It was won by Argentina , who beat West Germany 3–2 in the final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca.-Host selection:...
, the authors calculated for the first time unofficial statistics for assists, developing the following criteria:
- An assist was awarded to the player who had given the last pass to the goalscorer.
- In addition, also the last but two holder of the ball could get an assist provided that his action had decisive importance for the goal .
- After goals from rebounds those players were awarded an assist who had shot on target.
- After goals scored on penalty or by a directly converted free-kick
A direct free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football following a foul. Unlike an indirect free kick, a goal may be scored directly against the opposing side without the ball having first touched another player.-Award:...
the fouled player received a point .
- In case that the goalscorer had laid on the goal for himself (dribble
In sports such as football , basketball, bandy and water polo, dribbling refers to the maneuvering of a ball around a defender through short skillful taps or kicks with either the legs , hands , stick or swimming strokes...
, solo run), no assists were awarded .
- No assists were awarded, either, if the goalscorer took advantage of a missed pass by an opponent .
The
1990 World CupThe 1990 FIFA World Cup, the 14th staging of the World Cup, was held in Italy from 8 June to 8 July. Italy was chosen as hosts by FIFA on 19 May 1984, making it the second country to host the event twice. USSR was the rival of Italy's candidacy to host the event...
technical report adopted similar criteria, but changed the free-kick/penalty criterion:
- Where goals resulting from penalties are concerned, the player who is fouled in the area receives an assist point (unless, that is, the player who is fouled subsequently executes the penalty himself .)
Planet World Cup has calculated some retrospective data on assists back to the
1966 World CupThe 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England was chosen as hosts by FIFA in August 1960 to celebrate the centenary of the codification of football in England...
, though the 1986 data differ from FIFA's.
FIFA started officially keeping track of assists in
World Cup tournamentsThe FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
at the
1994 editionThe 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in the United States from 17 June to 17 July 1994. The United States was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1988...
. This was popularly ascribed to the popularity of detailed sports statistics among American fans. 1994 was also the first World Cup in which assists were used as a tie-breaker in determining the Golden Shoe award for top scorer. In the event, both
Hristo StoichkovHristo Stoichkov Stoichkov alternatively spelt Stoitchkov is a football manager and former striker who was a member of the Bulgaria national team that finished fourth at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Apart from his footballing talent, he was notable for his on-pitch temper. He was honoured as European...
and
Oleg SalenkoOleg Anatolyevich Salenko is a former Russian and Ukrainian football striker. He scored a record 5 goals in a group stage match in the 1994 World Cup....
finished with 19 points, from 6 goals and 1 assist. FIFA's Technical Study Group is responsible for awarding assist points.
It is official practice for certain leagues to keep record of assists. The
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
'
Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by United States Soccer Federation . The league comprises 15 teams, 14 in the U.S. and one in Canada...
, for instance, formerly awarded the MLS Scoring Champion Award based on 2 points per goal scored and one per assist. The all-time leader in assists in Major League Soccer is
midfielderIn association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders. Their main functions are to dispossess the opposing team, to retain possession of the ball, and to feed it to the strikers, and perhaps, to score as well...
Steve RalstonSteve Ralston is an American soccer player who currently plays for New England Revolution in Major League Soccer.-Professional:...
, with 125 as of July 2008. The
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
league,
Ligue 1Ligue 1 is the top division of French football, one of two divisions making up the LFP, the other being Ligue 2. One member club, AS Monaco, is based in the independent Principality of Monaco, rather than in France proper...
, awards the
Trophée de Meilleur Passeur ("best passer trophy") to the leader in assists following every season, the
2007-08The 2007–08 Ligue 1 season is the seventieth since its establishment, and started in August 2007 and ended on 17 May 2008. The fixtures were announced in June 2007. Lyon became French champions, having won a record seventh consecutive title ....
recipient being
Jérôme LeroyJérôme Leroy is a French footballer currently playing for Rennes as an attacking midfielder.Leroy started playing for Paris Saint-Germain , going on to represent Stade Lavallois, Olympique de Marseille and En Avant Guingamp.In 2003 he reached the French Cup...
.
In Britain, all game statistics, including assists, for the Premier League, the
Scottish Premier LeagueThe Scottish Premier League is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top level of the Scottish football league system — above the Scottish Football League.Per capita, more people in Scotland watch their domestic top level league than any other nation in...
and
the Football LeagueThe Football League, also known as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
are all provided by PA Sport under the Actim brand. Since the 2006–07 season, assists have been factored into the
Actim IndexThe Actim Index is the official player ratings system of the Barclays Premiership, Coca-Cola Championship and Scottish Premier League. It is compiled and distributed by PA Sport, a subsidiary of the Press Association....
of Premier League player performance.