A love affair with soccer, in pictures

    By Rachel Rodriguez, CNN

    Updated 1452 GMT (2252 HKT) June 27, 2014

    Whether you call it soccer or football, this game is beloved around the world. In the Dominican Republic, Misael Rincon's kids and their cousin "have <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1144246">World Cup fever</a>!" Here, they race for the ball outside Rincon's Santo Domingo home. "My kids love the baseball but for a few days here [they] have replaced the bat and glove for a football," he said. Click through the gallery to see more joyful photos that illustrate the world's love affair with soccer.
    Photos: The world's favorite game
    The world's favorite game – Whether you call it soccer or football, this game is beloved around the world. In the Dominican Republic, Misael Rincon's kids and their cousin "have World Cup fever!" Here, they race for the ball outside Rincon's Santo Domingo home. "My kids love the baseball but for a few days here [they] have replaced the bat and glove for a football," he said. Click through the gallery to see more joyful photos that illustrate the world's love affair with soccer.
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    Score! Cristian Catanescu's 9-year-old son celebrates after <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1143310">getting a goal</a> on his family's terrace in Singapore. "Football brings joy to this boy! He changed places and continents several times and his best way to connect to local people is through football," said Catanescu.
    Photos: The world's favorite game
    The world's favorite game – Score! Cristian Catanescu's 9-year-old son celebrates after getting a goal on his family's terrace in Singapore. "Football brings joy to this boy! He changed places and continents several times and his best way to connect to local people is through football," said Catanescu.
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    A group of Free Syrian Army fighters in Aleppo, Syria, takes a break for a <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1143212">quick game of pick-up soccer</a>. Photographer Reynaldo Leal captured the game while documenting the conflict in Syria in 2013.
    Photos: The world's favorite game
    The world's favorite game – A group of Free Syrian Army fighters in Aleppo, Syria, takes a break for a quick game of pick-up soccer. Photographer Reynaldo Leal captured the game while documenting the conflict in Syria in 2013.
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    This match took place in the courtyard of an abandoned elementary school in Syria, said Leal. "Everything had been so serious on the front lines that day, so I was surprised to find the fighters playing a pick-up game of football," he said.
    Photos: The world's favorite game
    The world's favorite game – This match took place in the courtyard of an abandoned elementary school in Syria, said Leal. "Everything had been so serious on the front lines that day, so I was surprised to find the fighters playing a pick-up game of football," he said.
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    A ball <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1143657">flies into the net</a> during a youth training session in Singapore. "Parents hide in the shade while kids run around for hours. Hard to understand how can they take so much sun. They must be crazy about football," said Catanescu.
    Photos: The world's favorite game
    The world's favorite game – A ball flies into the net during a youth training session in Singapore. "Parents hide in the shade while kids run around for hours. Hard to understand how can they take so much sun. They must be crazy about football," said Catanescu.
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    You can see the intensity and determination on these women's faces as they <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1135702">battle for the ball</a> in a Westchester County, New York, soccer league.
    Photos: The world's favorite game
    The world's favorite game – You can see the intensity and determination on these women's faces as they battle for the ball in a Westchester County, New York, soccer league.
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    Lauren Jockimo, 13, plays goalkeeper in the league. Here, she gives the ball a good punt after <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1135365">making a save</a>.
    Photos: The world's favorite game
    The world's favorite game – Lauren Jockimo, 13, plays goalkeeper in the league. Here, she gives the ball a good punt after making a save.
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    These kids "have their game faces on" as they <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1136525">fight for the ball</a> in Cebu, Philippines, says Clarson Fruelda. They're playing in an annual local soccer tournament with divisions for all ages.
    Photos: The world's favorite game
    The world's favorite game – These kids "have their game faces on" as they fight for the ball in Cebu, Philippines, says Clarson Fruelda. They're playing in an annual local soccer tournament with divisions for all ages.
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    "Imagine you drive to the middle of nowhere to deliver soccer balls to kids who never had one," said Ron Eisen. "After you make the delivery, a woman appears, without shoes, and has mad soccer skills!" Eisen, a volunteer with the charity Ball To All, photographed the woman in Shangani, Zimbabwe, as she demonstrated her prowess. He <a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1144199">made a video</a>, too.<br />
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