Football is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, one of whom must be a goalkeeper. If the number of players on any team is less than 7, the game shall not start or continue. The football international field is 100-110m in length and 64-75m in width. The whole match is divided into two halves, each half lasting for 45 minutes, and the intermission does not exceed 15 minutes. The object of the game is to score by manoeuvring the whole ball crossing the goal line. The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the goals scored are tied at the end of the game, a draw is declared.

Football was first incorporated into the Olympic Games in 1908 and the Asian Games in 1951. Women's football was first incorporated into the Olympic Games in 1996 and the Asian Games in 1990.

The football of the Hangzhou Asian Games will be held in Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium, Linping Sports Centre Stadium, Shangcheng Sports Centre Stadium, Xiaoshan Sports Centre Stadium, Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium, Zhejiang Normal University East Stadium, Wenzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium and Wenzhou Sports Centre Stadium from September 19 to October 7, and the final in Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium, where the athletes will compete for 2 gold medals.