Baseball’s magical 90 feet and other great sports measurements and dimensions

6. Soccer’s field width of 70 to 80 yards

WOLFGANG RATTAY/REUTERS
Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus takes a corner kick against Shakhtar Donetsk during their Champions League soccer match in Dortmund March 5, 2013.

There is actually quite a bit of variation to the size of soccer fields allowed in the rulebook. When it comes to international matches, however, FIFA, the sport’s governing body, tightens the parameters. Therefore, fields must be 70 to 80 yards wide, or 64 to 75 meters.

The width of the field, of course, has an impact on how the game is played, but where it may most consistently lend excitement and hold-your-breath suspense to any game is on corner kicks.

The distance seems just right to let players boom kicks with enough pace and precision to set up teammates stationed in front of the goal. They stand a decent chance of scoring on headers. And occasionally the kick itself curves into the net for a score.

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