What is the offside rule in soccer?

Certainly! The offside rule in soccer is designed to prevent players from gaining an unfair advantage by staying too close to the opponent’s goal without enough defenders near them. **Simply put:** A player is in an offside position if, at the moment their teammate passes the ball to them, they are closer to the opponent’s goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent (usually the last defender besides the goalkeeper). However, being in an offside position alone is not an offense—it only becomes offside if the player becomes actively involved in the play by receiving the ball or interfering with an opponent. **Example:** Imagine Player A is about to pass the ball forward to Player B. If Player B is nearer to the opponent’s goal than the last two defenders when Player A makes the pass, Player B is offside and the referee will stop the play. But if Player B is level with or behind the second-last defender at that moment, the play continues as normal. The rule encourages teamwork, timing, and fair play by ensuring attackers don’t just “camp” near the goal waiting for easy passes. It can seem tricky at first, but watching a few games and focusing on the defenders’ positions during passes helps a lot!