Soccer (Association Football) Abbreviations
46 abbreviations · part of Sports Abbreviations
Abbreviations used in soccer (association football) for player positions, match results, statistics, officiating technology, club competitions and finances. Many position labels such as CDM and CAM were popularized by video games and lineup graphics, while results tables use FT, HT and AET to show how a match ended. Governing bodies and leagues such as FIFA, UEFA and MLS are covered in the sports league list.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AET | After extra time | Notation added to a score when a knockout match was decided during extra time, such as "2-1 (aet)". |
| AFCON | Africa Cup of Nations | Continental championship for African national teams, organized by the Confederation of African Football and usually held every two years. |
| AR | Assistant referee | Official who runs the touchline and signals offside, throw-ins, corners and fouls with a flag. |
| CAM | Central attacking midfielder | Playmaker positioned behind the striker, creating chances with passes, dribbles and shots from the edge of the box. |
| CB | Center back | Central defender who lines up in front of the goalkeeper, marking strikers, winning headers and, in modern teams, starting attacks with passes from the back. |
| CDM | Central defensive midfielder | Midfielder who sits in front of the defense, breaking up attacks, winning the ball and recycling possession. |
| CF | Center forward | Forward who plays in the middle of the attack; often used interchangeably with striker, though in some systems a CF drops deeper to link play with midfielders. |
| CM | Central midfielder | Midfielder who plays in the center of the pitch, linking defense and attack with passing, running and pressing. |
| CS | Clean sheet | Match in which a team concedes no goals, credited to the goalkeeper and often the defenders. |
| CWC | FIFA Club World Cup | FIFA's competition between club champions from all six confederations, expanded in 2025 to a 32-team tournament held every four years in the United States. |
| DOF | Director of football | Executive responsible for a club's long-term football strategy, including recruitment, transfers, scouting and the academy, working above or alongside the head coach. |
| ET | Extra time | Two additional 15-minute halves played in knockout matches tied after 90 minutes. |
| FB | Fullback | Offensive back who usually lines up in front of the halfback in two-back sets and serves mainly as a lead blocker, occasionally carrying on short-yardage plays or… |
| FFP | Financial Fair Play | UEFA rules introduced in 2011 requiring clubs in its competitions to roughly break even, limiting spending beyond what clubs earn from football. |
| FT | Full-time | End of a match after regulation time plus stoppage time, used in results listings to mark a final score. "FT: 2-1" means the game finished 2-1 within 90 minutes. |
| GA | Goals against | Total goals a team has conceded, shown in league tables after goals for. |
| GD | Goal difference | Goals scored minus goals conceded, the first tiebreaker for teams level on points in most league tables. |
| GF | Goals for | Total goals a team has scored, shown in league tables beside goals against. |
| GK | Goalkeeper | Player who defends the goal and is the only one allowed to handle the ball, and only inside his or her own penalty area. |
| HT | Half-time | Interval between the two 45-minute halves of a soccer match, lasting 15 minutes under the Laws of the Game, or the score at that point. |
| KO | Kick-off | Start or restart of play from the center spot, at the beginning of each half and after each goal; also the scheduled starting time of a match. |
| LB | Left back | Defender on the left side of a back four, responsible for marking right wingers and overlapping in attack to deliver crosses. |
| LM | Left midfielder | Wide midfielder on the left in a flat four-man midfield, as in a 4-4-2, who both attacks down the flank and tracks back to help the left back. |
| LW | Left winger | Attacker who plays on the left side of the front line, beating defenders with dribbling and pace, crossing or cutting inside to shoot. |
| MOTD | Match of the Day | BBC television highlights program showing goals and key moments from that day's Premier League games, broadcast on Saturday nights since 1964. |
| MOTM | Man of the Match | Award for the best player in a single match, chosen by broadcasters, sponsors or fan votes. |
| OG | Own goal | Goal that a player accidentally scores into his or her own net, credited to the opposing team. |
| PK | Penalty kick | Free shot at goal from the penalty spot, 11 meters (12 yards) out, awarded for a foul inside the penalty area. |
| PL | Premier League | Short form British media use for the top division of English soccer, which international and American media often call the EPL. |
| PSR | Profit and Sustainability Rules | Premier League financial regulations limiting clubs' losses, historically to £105 million over three seasons, with deductions allowed for spending on youth, women's… |
| RB | Right back | Defender on the right side of a back four, marking left wingers and supporting attacks down the right flank. |
| RM | Right midfielder | Wide midfielder on the right in a flat midfield four, combining crossing and running with defensive work in front of the right back. |
| RW | Right winger | Attacker who plays on the right side of the front line, typically delivering crosses or, if left-footed, cutting inside to shoot. |
| SAOT | Semi-automated offside technology | System combining limb-tracking cameras and a sensor in the ball to detect offside positions within seconds, producing 3D animations for broadcasts. |
| SOT | Shots on target | Shots that would enter the goal if not stopped by the goalkeeper or a last defender. |
| ST | Striker | Most advanced forward, whose main job is to score goals, often called the "number 9". |
| UCL | UEFA Champions League | Europe's premier club competition, contested by top teams from UEFA's domestic leagues and climaxing in a single-match final each spring. |
| UECL | UEFA Conference League | Third-tier UEFA club competition, launched in 2021-22 to give clubs from smaller leagues more European matches. |
| UEL | UEFA Europa League | UEFA's second-tier club competition, for teams that narrowly miss the Champions League. |
| USMNT | United States men's national soccer team | National men's soccer team of the United States, governed by U.S. |
| USWNT | United States women's national soccer team | National women's soccer team of the United States, the most successful in the history of the women's game, with four World Cup titles and five Olympic gold medals. |
| VAR | Video assistant referee | Officiating system in which a referee watching video can recommend that the on-field referee review a clear error involving goals, penalties, direct red cards or… |
| WB | Wing-back | Wide player in a back three or five who covers the entire flank, defending like a full-back and attacking like a winger. |
| WC | World Cup | FIFA's international championship for national teams, held every four years since 1930 for men and since 1991 for women. |
| xA | Expected assists | Estimate of how many assists a player's passes should have produced, based on the xG of the shots they set up or the likelihood that a pass leads to a goal. |
| xG | Expected goals | Statistic estimating the probability that a shot becomes a goal, from 0 to 1, based on its location, angle, body part and type of assist. |