In association football, an assist is a contribution by a player which helps to score a goal. Statistics for assists made by players may be kept officially by the organisers of a competition, or unofficially by, for example, journalists or organisers of fantasy football competitions. Recording assists is not part of the official Laws of the Game and the criteria for an assist to be awarded may vary. Record of assists was virtually not kept at all until the end of the 20th century, although reports of matches commonly described a player as having "made" one or more goals. Since the 1990s, some leagues have kept official record of assists and based awards on them. Criteria Most commonly, an assist is credited to a player for passing or crossing the ball to the scorer. It may also be awarded to a player whose shot rebounds (off a defender, goalkeeper or goalpost) to a teammate who scores. Some systems may credit an assist to a player who wins a penalty kick or a free kick for another player to convert, or to an attacking player for contributing to an own goal. A goal may be unassisted, or have one assist; some systems allow for two assists. FIFA World Cup FIFA's Technical Study Group is responsible for awarding assist points at the FIFA World Cup. In the Technical Study Group's report on the 1986 World Cup, the authors calculated for the first time unofficial statistics for assists, developing the following criteria: An assist was awarded to the player who had given the last pass to the goalscorer. In addition, the last but two holder of the ball could get an assist provided that his action had decisive importance for the goal. After goals from rebounds those players were awarded an assist who had shot on target. After goals scored on penalty or by a directly converted free-kick the fouled player received a point. In case that the goalscorer had laid on the goal for himself (dribble, solo run), no assists were awarded. No assists were awarded, either, if the goalscorer took advantage of a missed pass by an opponent. The 1990 World Cup technical report adopted similar criteria, but changed the free-kick/penalty criterion: Where goals resulting from penalties are concerned, the player who is fouled in the area receives an assist point (unless, that is, the player who is fouled subsequently executes