The Belgrade Offensive or the Belgrade Strategic Offensive Operation (Serbo-Croatian: Beogradska ofenziva/ofanziva, Београдска офензива/офанзива; Russian: Белградская стратегическая наступательная операция, Belgradskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya) (14 September-24 November 1944) was an offensive military operation in which Belgrade was conquered from the German Wehrmacht by the joint efforts of the Yugoslav Partisans and the Soviet Red Army. The two forces launched separate but loosely coordinated operations that successfully forced the Germans out of the Belgrade area.

The offensive involved the 1st Army Group of the Yugoslav Partisans to the west, the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front (including the Bulgarian 2nd Army), and elements of the 2nd Ukrainian Front to the north conducting an offensive against part of Germany's Army Group E (Korpsgruppe "Schneckenburger" and "Stern") which included the forces of the Serbian fifth column, the Chetniks and the Serbian State Guard. The objective was to destroy the forces of the German Army Group E in the Suva Planina region, and those of Army Group F east of Velika Morava river, and ultimately to free Belgrade from Nazi occupation.

Belgrade ( /ˈbɛlɡreɪd/; Serbian: Београд; [beǒɡrad] ( listen); names in other languages) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. Its name in English translates to White city. The city proper has a population of over 1.1 million, while its metropolitan area has over 1.6 million people, making it one of the largest cities in Southeast Europe.

One of the largest prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved around the area Belgrade in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city, naming it Singidūn. It was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid 2nd century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changed hands several times before it became the capital of King Stephen Dragutin (1282–1316). In 1521 Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of a the Sanjak of Smederevo. It frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841. The north of Belgrade remained a Habsburg outpost until 1918, when it was merged into the capital city. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed to the ground 44 times. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia (in various forms of governments) from its creation in 1918, to its final dissolution in 2006.

A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football that are played are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, Rugby league, and Rugby union.

It has been estimated that there are 250 million association football players in the world, and many play the other forms of football.

Football players generally begin as amateurs and the best players progress to become professional players. Normally they start at a youth team (any local team) and from there, based on skill and talent, scouts offer contracts. Once signed, they learn to play better football and some advance to the senior or professional teams.

Research shows that association football players that take less than 200ms after the referee blows their whistle for a penalty kick are significantly more likely to miss scoring than those that take over a second.

American football players are prone to head injuries. This may make them prone to Alzheimers.