Any number of the team kicking off, none from the opposing team. Remember all players must still remain in their own half prior to kickoff.
I find it strange that so many players seem to be under the impression that 2 is the max number of players from the kicking team allowed in the center circle on a kickoff.
Same can be said for defenders in the PA on a goal kick. Heck you can have em all in there, just no attackers. I've seen refs chase defenders out of the PA on goal kicks.
Because a very common start is kicker taps it forward, 2nd attacker gets it back to a centre midfielder, and then go to it. Quick, efficient, and not that likely to lose possession right away. At younger ages, 3 can also work well in a variation on the play.
What about positioning? Often I see the forward recieving the KO standing about a yard offside, receives the kick, then plays it back. Almost never corrected. Why isn't it corrected?
Probably because it's trifling. What I usually see, at worst, is a player with one foot on the line and the other in the other half. I don't blow the whistle or allow a kick off until everyone is in their half (or at least touching the line). Sneaking out a step to pass back to a midfielder is pretty trifling. Likewise if an opposing player sneaking in after the whistle but before the kick, it's trifling unless he affects the subsequent play.
Quick hypothetical question while discussing center circle issues. On a kickoff, the first touch is a shot which goes in the goal. If untouched by a defender, would the goal count?
YES! This law was changed several years ago. In the previous millenium, the first touch didn't count. Restart = goal kick.
USWNT Pool player Jen Branam scored from the KO against Fort Collins in league play for her Arizona team last year. I got to ask her about it earlier this year and she just smiled and looked at the ground... Yeah, I'm name dropping. Shameless.
I've seen replays when its done, it is usually a case of the keeper coming out to join the celebration, then is jogging back when the kickoff happens and doesn't see the ball coming til its past him. Had it happen to my indoor team this year. Girl as keeper didn't tell me she wears glasses and never saw the ball coming
Very funny video but not to the point of this discussion. This ball went into the goal on the third touch, not directly from the kick-off. Still, a goal from the kickoff would have counted. I like to occasionally comment to the person taking a kick-off that a direct goal would count. I like to watch them ponder it before shaking their head and taking a normal KO.