Captain (association football)

team captain of an association football team

The team captain of a football team is a team member who is chosen to be the leader during a football match. Mostly a captain is an older or more experienced player. A team captain often wears an armband.


The captain has to participate in the coin toss before the match and before a penalty shootout. Referees mostly talk to the captain about the behaviour of him and his team mates. When the team wins a trophy it is given to the captain.


A vice-captain (or assistant captain) is a player that is expected to captain the side when the club's captain is not playing.

Similarly, some clubs also name a 3rd captain, a 4th captain, or even a 5th captain to take the role of captain when both the captain and vice-captain are unavailable.