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Table of contents
Chapter I: Soccer (association football)
1.1 Gameplay...............................................................2
1.2 History...................................................................4
1.3 Laws......................................................................7
1.3.1 Players, equipment and officials.................7
1.3.2 Pitch............................................................9
1.3.3 Duration and tie-breaking methods...........10
1.3.4 Ball in and out of play...12
1.3.5 Misconduct13
1.4 International competitions..14
1.5 Domestic competitions........................................15
1.6 Womens association football.............................17
Chapter II: American football
2.1 History................................................................18
2.2 Rules...................................................................20
2.2.1 Field and players.......................................20
2.2.2 Start of halves...........................................21
2.2.3 Game duration..........................................23
2.2.4 Scoring.....................................................24
2.3 Players................................................................26
2.3.1 Offense.....................................................26
2.3.2 Defense....................................................27
2.3.3 Special teams...........................................28
2.4 Physicality...........................................................29
2.5 Organization in the United States.......................31
2.6 Outside the United States....................................31
Chapter III: Differences and similarities
3.1 Playstyle..............................................................33
3.2 Fields, players, equipment and games.................33
3.3 International popularity and distribution............35


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Chapter I: Soccer (association football)
Association football, commonly known as football or soccer, is a
sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball.
It is the world's most popular sport.
The game is played on a rectangular field of grass or green
artificial turf, with a goal in the middle of each of the short ends. The
object of the game is to score by driving the ball into the opposing goal.
In general play, the goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the
ball with their hands or arms, while the field players typically use their
feet to kick the ball into position, occasionally using their torso or head
to intercept a ball in midair. The team that scores the most goals by the
end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a
draw is declared or the game goes into extra time and/or a penalty
shootout, depending on the format of the competition.
1.1 Gameplay
Association Football is played in accordance with a set of rules
known as the Laws of the Game. The game is played using a spherical
ball (of 71 cm (28 in) circumference in FIFA play), known as the
football. Two teams of eleven players each compete to get the ball into
the other team's goal (between the posts and under the bar), thereby
scoring a goal. The team that has scored more goals at the end of the
game is the winner; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals
then the game is a draw. Each team is led by a captain who has only one
official responsibility as mandated the Laws of the Game: to be involved
in the coin toss prior to kick-off or penalty kicks.

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The primary law is
that players other than
goalkeepers may not
deliberately handle the
ball with their hands or
arms during play, though
they do use their hands
during a throw-in restart.
Although players usually
use their feet to move the
ball around, they may use any part of their body (notably, "heading"
with the forehead) other than their hands or arms. Within normal play,
all players are free to play the ball in any direction and move throughout
the pitch, though the ball cannot be received in an offside position.
In typical game play, players attempt to create goal-scoring
opportunities through individual control of the ball, such as by dribbling,
passing the ball to a team-mate, and by taking shots at the goal, which is
guarded by the opposing goalkeeper. Opposing players may try to regain
control of the ball by intercepting a pass or through tackling the
opponent in possession of the ball; however, physical contact between
opponents is restricted. Football is generally a free-flowing game, with
play stopping only when the ball has left the field of play or when play is
stopped by the referee for an infringement of the rules. After a stoppage,
play recommences with a specified restart.

At a professional level, most matches produce only a few goals. For
example, the 200506 season of the English Premier League produced
an average of 2.48 goals per match. The Laws of the Game do not
specify any player positions other than goalkeeper, but a number of
specialised roles have evolved. Broadly, these include three main
categories: strikers, or forwards, whose main task is to score goals;
defenders, who specialise in preventing their opponents from scoring;
and midfielders, who dispossess the opposition and keep possession of
the ball in order to pass it to the forwards on their team. Players in these
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positions are referred to as outfield players, in order to distinguish them
from the single goalkeeper. These positions are further subdivided
according to the area of the field in which the player spends most time.
For example, there are central defenders, and left and right midfielders.
The ten outfield players may be arranged in any combination. The
number of players in each position determines the style of the team's
play; more forwards and fewer defenders creates a more aggressive and
offensive-minded game, while the reverse creates a slower, more
defensive style of play. While players typically spend most of the game
in a specific position, there are few restrictions on player movement, and
players can switch positions at any time. The layout of a team's players
is known as a formation. Defining the team's formation and tactics is
usually the prerogative of the team's manager.
1.2 History
Games revolving around the kicking of a ball have been played in
many countries throughout history. According to FIFA, the "The very
earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an
exercise from a military manual dating back to the second and third
centuries BC in China." The modern rules of association football are
based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying
forms of football played at the public schools of England. The history of
football in England dates back to at least the eighth century.
The Cambridge Rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in
1848, were particularly influential in the
development of subsequent codes,
including association football. The
Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity
College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended
by representatives from Eton, Harrow,
Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury
schools. They were not universally
adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs
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unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the
English-speaking world, to play various forms of football. Some came
up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield
Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857, which led
to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of
Uppingham School also devised an influential set of rules.
These ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football
Association (The FA) in 1863, which first met on the morning of 26
October 1863 at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London.
The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse.
The Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between
October and December, which eventually produced the first
comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer,
the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over
the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting: the first allowed
for running with the ball in hand; the second for obstructing such a run
by hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins), tripping and holding.
Other English rugby football clubs followed this lead and did not join
the FA, or subsequently left the FA and instead in 1871 formed the
Rugby Football Union. The eleven remaining clubs, under the charge of
Ebenezer Cobb Morley, went on to ratify the original thirteen laws of the
game. These rules included handling of the ball by "marks" and the lack
of a crossbar, rules which made it remarkably similar to Victorian rules
football being developed at that time in Australia. The Sheffield FA
played by its own rules until the 1870s with the FA absorbing some of
its rules until there was little difference between the games.
The laws of the game are currently determined by the International
Football Association Board (IFAB). The Board was formed in 1886 after
a meeting in Manchester of The Football Association, the Scottish
Football Association, the Football Association of Wales, and the Irish
Football Association. The world's oldest football competition is the FA
Cup, which was founded by C. W. Alcock and has been contested by
English teams since 1872.
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The first official international football match
took place in 1872 between Scotland and
England in Glasgow, again at the instigation
of C. W. Alcock. England is home to the
world's first football league, which was
founded in Birmingham in 1888 by Aston
Villa director William McGregor. The
original format contained 12 clubs from the
Midlands and the North of England. FIFA,
the international football body, was formed
in Paris in 1904 and declared that they would
adhere to Laws of the Game of the Football Association. The growing
popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA
representatives to the International Football Association Board in 1913.
The board currently consists of four representatives from FIFA and one
representative from each of the four British associations.
Today, football is played at a professional level all over the world.
Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their
favourite teams, while billions more watch the game on television or on
the internet. A very large number of people also play football at an
amateur level. According to a survey conducted by FIFA published in
2001, over 240 million people from more than 200 countries regularly
play football. Football has the highest global television audience in
sport.
In many parts of the world football evokes great passions and plays
an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and
even nations. The Cte d'Ivoire national football team helped secure a
truce to the nation's civil war in 2006 and it helped further reduce
tensions between government and rebel forces in 2007 by playing a
match in the rebel capital of Bouak, an occasion that brought both
armies together peacefully for the first time. By contrast, football is
widely considered to be the final proximate cause in the Football War in
June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras. The sport also
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exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s,
when a match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade devolved
into rioting in March 1990.
1.3 Laws
There are 17 laws in the official Laws of the Game. The same laws
are designed to apply to all levels of football, although certain
modifications for groups such as juniors, seniors, women and people
with physical disabilities are permitted. The laws are often framed in
broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on
the nature of the game. The Laws of the Game are published by FIFA,
but are maintained by the International Football Association Board
(IFAB), not FIFA itself. In addition to the seventeen laws, numerous
IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of
football. The most complex of the laws is offside. The offside law limits
the ability of attacking players to receive the ball when closer to the
opponent's goal line than: the ball itself; the second-to-last defending
player (which can include the goalkeeper); and the half-way line.


1.3.1 Players, equipment, and officials
Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding
substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Competition rules
may state a minimum number of players required to constitute a team,
which is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play
the ball with their hands or arms, provided they do so within the penalty
area in front of their own goal. Though there are a variety of positions in
which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a
coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws.
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The basic equipment or kit players are required to wear includes a
shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards. Headgear is not a
required piece of basic equipment, but players today may choose to wear
it to protect themselves from head injury. Players are forbidden to wear
or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player, such
as jewellery or watches. The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily
distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match
officials.
A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the
course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in
most competitive international and domestic league games is three,
though the permitted number may vary in other competitions or in
friendly matches. Common reasons for a substitution include injury,
tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or timewasting at the end of
a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been
substituted may not take further part in a match. IFAB recommends that
"that a match should not continue if there are fewer than seven players in
either team." Any decision regarding points awarded for abandoned
games is left to the individual football associations.
A game is officiated by a referee, who has "full authority to
enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he
has been appointed" (Law 5), and whose decisions are final. The referee
is assisted by two assistant referees. In many high-level games there is
also a fourth official who assists the referee and may replace another
official should the need arise.





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1.3.2 Pitch
As the Laws were formulated in England, and were initially
administered solely by the four British football associations within
IFAB, the standard dimensions of a football pitch were originally
expressed in imperial units. The Laws now express dimensions with
approximate metric equivalents (followed by traditional units in
brackets), though popular use tends to continue to use traditional units in
English-speaking countries with a relatively recent history of
metrication, such as Britain.
The length of the pitch for international adult matches is in the
range of 100110 m (110120 yd) and the width is in the range of 64
75 m (7080 yd). Fields for non-international matches may be 91120 m
(100130 yd) length and 4591 m (50101 yd) in width, provided that
the pitch does not become square. Although in 2008, the IFAB initially
approved a fixed size of 105 m long and 68 m wide as a standard pitch
dimension for A international matches this decision was later put on
hold and was never actually implemented.
The longer boundary lines are touchlines, while the shorter
boundaries (on which the goals are placed) are goal lines. A rectangular
goal is positioned at the middle of each goal line. The inner edges of the
vertical goal posts must be 7.32 m (8 yd) apart, and the lower edge of the
horizontal crossbar supported by the goal posts must be 2.44 m (8 ft)
above the ground. Nets are usually placed behind the goal, but are not
required by the Laws.
In front of each goal is an area known as the penalty area. This
area is marked by the goal line, two lines starting on the goal line 16.5 m
(18 yd) from the goalposts and extending 16.5 m (18 yd) into the pitch
perpendicular to the goal line, and a line joining them. This area has a
number of functions, the most prominent being to mark where the
goalkeeper may handle the ball and where a penalty foul by a member of
the defending team becomes punishable by a penalty kick. Other
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markings define the position of the ball or players at kick-offs, goal
kicks, penalty kicks and corner kicks.

1.3.3 Duration and tie-breaking methods
A standard adult football match consists of two periods of 45 minutes
each, known as halves. Each half runs continuously, meaning that the
clock is not stopped when the ball is out of play. There is usually a 15-
minute half-time break between halves. The end of the match is known
as full-time. The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and
may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured
players requiring attention, or other stoppages. This added time is
commonly referred to as stoppage time or injury time, and is at the sole
discretion of the referee. The referee alone signals the end of the match.
In matches where a fourth official is appointed, toward the end of
the half the referee signals how many minutes of stoppage time he
intends to add. The fourth official then informs the players and
spectators by holding up a board showing this number. The signalled
stoppage time may be further extended by the referee. Added time was
introduced because of an incident which happened in 1891 during a
match between Stoke and Aston Villa. Trailing 10 and with just two
minutes remaining, Stoke were awarded a penalty. Villa's goalkeeper
kicked the ball out of the ground, and by the time the ball had been
recovered, the 90 minutes had elapsed and the game was over. The same
law also stands that the duration of either half is extended until the
penalty kick to be taken or retaken is completed, thus no game shall end
with a penalty to be taken.
In league competitions, games may end in a draw, but in some
knockout competitions if a game is tied at the end of regulation time it
may go into extra time, which consists of two further 15-minute periods.
If the score is still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the use
of penalty shootouts (known officially in the Laws of the Game as
"kicks from the penalty mark") to determine which team will progress to
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the next stage of the tournament. Goals scored during extra time periods
count toward the final score of the game, but kicks from the penalty
mark are only used to decide the team that progresses to the next part of
the tournament (with goals scored in a penalty shootout not making up
part of the final score).
In competitions using two-legged matches, each team competes at
home once, with an aggregate score from the two matches deciding
which team progresses. Where aggregates are equal, the away goals rule
may be used to determine the winners, in which case the winner is the
team that scored the most goals in the leg played away from home. If the
result is still equal, kicks from the penalty mark are required.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the IFAB experimented with
ways of creating a winner without requiring a penalty shootout, which
was often seen as an undesirable way to end a match. These involved
rules ending a game in extra time early, either when the first goal in
extra time was scored (golden goal), or if one team held a lead at the end
of the first period of extra time (silver goal). Golden goal was used at the
World Cup in 1998 and 2002. The first World Cup game decided by a
golden goal was France's victory over Paraguay in 1998. Germany was
the first nation to score a golden goal in a major competition, beating
Czech Republic in the final of Euro 1996. Silver goal was used in Euro
2004. Both these experiments have been discontinued by IFAB.






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1.3.4 Ball in and out of play
Under the Laws, the two basic states of play during a game are ball
in play and ball out of play. From the beginning of each playing period
with a kick-off until the end of
the playing period, the ball is in
play at all times, except when
either the ball leaves the field of
play, or play is stopped by the
referee. When the ball becomes
out of play, play is restarted by
one of eight restart methods
depending on how it went out of
play:
Kick-off: following a goal by the opposing team, or to begin each
period of play.
Throw-in: when the ball has crossed the touchline; awarded to
opposing team to that which last touched the ball.
Goal kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a
goal having been scored and having last been touched by a player
of the attacking team; awarded to defending team.
Corner kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line
without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by
a player of the defending team; awarded to attacking team.
Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following "non-
penal" fouls, certain technical infringements, or when play is
stopped to caution or send-off an opponent without a specific foul
having occurred. A goal may not be scored directly from an
indirect free kick.
Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed
"penal" fouls. A goal may be scored directly from a direct free
kick.
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Penalty kick: awarded to the fouled team following a foul usually
punishable by a direct free kick but that has occurred within their
opponent's penalty area.
Dropped-ball: occurs when the referee has stopped play for any
other reason, such as a serious injury to a player, interference by an
external party, or a ball becoming defective. This restart is
uncommon in adult games.
1.3.5 Misconduct
A foul occurs when a player commits an offence listed in the Laws
of the Game while the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul
are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball deliberately, tripping an
opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of "penal fouls",
punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the
offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.
The referee may punish a player or substitute's misconduct by a caution
(yellow card) or sending-off (red card). A second
yellow card at the same game leads to a red card, and
therefore to a sending-off. A player given a yellow
card is said to have been "booked", the referee
writing the player's name in his official notebook. If a
player has been sent off, no substitute can be brought on in their place.
Misconduct may occur at any time, and while the offences that
constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. In particular,
the offence of "unsporting behaviour" may be used to deal with most
events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as
specific offences. A referee can show a yellow or red card to a player,
substitute or substituted player. Non-players such as managers and
support staff cannot be shown the yellow or red card, but may be
expelled from the technical area if they fail to conduct themselves in a
responsible manner.
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Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue
if doing so will benefit the team against which an offence has been
committed. This is known as "playing an advantage". The referee may
"call back" play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated
advantage does not ensue within "a few seconds". Even if an offence is
not penalised due to advantage being played, the offender may still be
sanctioned for misconduct at the next stoppage of play.
1.4 International competitions
The major international competition in football is the World Cup,
organised by FIFA. This competition takes place over a four-year
period. More than 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments
within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals.
The finals tournament, which is held every four years, involves 32
national teams competing over a four-week period. The most recent
tournament, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was held in South Africa from
11 June to 11 July.
There has been a football tournament at every Summer Olympic
Games since 1900, except at the 1932 games in Los Angeles. Before the
inception of the World Cup, the Olympics (especially during the 1920s)
had the same status as the World Cup. Originally, the event was for
amateurs only, however, since the 1984 Summer Olympics professional
players have been permitted, albeit with certain restrictions which
prevent countries from fielding
their strongest sides. Currently, the
Olympic men's tournament is
played at Under-23 level. In the
past the Olympics have allowed a
restricted number of over-age
players per team; but that practice
ceased in the 2008 Olympics. A
women's tournament was added in
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1996; in contrast to the men's event, full international sides without age
restrictions play the womens Olympic tournament.
After the World Cup, the most important international football
competitions are the continental championships, which are organised by
each continental confederation and contested between national teams.
These are the European Championship (UEFA), the Copa Amrica
(CONMEBOL), African Cup of Nations (CAF), the Asian Cup (AFC),
the CONCACAF Gold Cup (CONCACAF) and the OFC Nations Cup
(OFC). The FIFA Confederations Cup is contested by the winners of all
6 continental championships, the current FIFA World Cup champions
and the country which is hosting the Confederations Cup. This is
generally regarded as a warm up tournament for the upcoming FIFA
World Cup and does not carry the same prestige as the World Cup itself.
The most prestigious competitions in club football are the respective
continental championships, which are generally contested between
national champions, for example the UEFA Champions League in
Europe and the Copa Libertadores de Amrica in South America. The
winners of each continental competition contest the FIFA Club World
Cup.






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1.5 Domestic competitions
The governing bodies in each country operate league systems in a
domestic season, normally comprising several divisions, in which the
teams gain points throughout
the season depending on
results. Teams are placed
into tables, placing them in
order according to points
accrued. Most commonly,
each team plays every other
team in its league at home
and away in each season, in
a round-robin tournament.
At the end of a season, the
top team is declared the
champion. The top few
teams may be promoted to a higher division, and one or more of the
teams finishing at the bottom are relegated to a lower division. The
teams finishing at the top of a country's league may be eligible also to
play in international club competitions in the following season. The
main exceptions to this system occur in some Latin American leagues,
which divide football championships into two sections named Apertura
and Clausura (Spanish for Opening and Closing), awarding a champion
for each. The majority of countries supplement the league system with
one or more "cup" competitions organised on a knock-out basis.
Some countries' top divisions feature highly paid star players; in
smaller countries and lower divisions, players may be part-timers with a
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second job, or amateurs. The five top European leagues the Premier
League (England), La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy), the Bundesliga
(Germany) and Ligue 1 (France) attract most of the world's best
players and each of the leagues has a total wage cost in excess of 600
million/763 million/$1.185 billion.
1.6 Women's association football
Women have been playing association football since the first
recorded women's game in 1895 in North London. It has traditionally
been associated with charity games and physical exercise, particularly in
the United Kingdom. This perception began to change in the 1970s with
the breakthrough of organised women's association football. Association
football is the most prominent team sport for women in several
countries, and one of the few women's team sports with professional
leagues.
The growth in women's football has seen major competitions being
launched at both national and international level mirroring the male
competitions. Women's football faced many struggles throughout its
fight for right. It had a "golden age" in the United Kingdom in the early
1920s when crowds reached 50,000 at some matches; this was stopped
on 5 December 1921 when England's Football Association voted to ban
the game from grounds used by its member clubs. The FA's ban was
rescinded in December 1969 with UEFA voting to officially recognise
women's football in 1971. The FIFA Women's World Cup was
inaugurated in 1991 and has been held every four years since.


18

Chapter II: American Football
American football,
known in the United States as
football, is a sport played
between two teams of eleven.
The objective of the game is to
score points by advancing the
ball into the opposing team's
end zone. The ball can be
advanced by running with it or
throwing it to a teammate.
Points can be scored by
carrying the ball over the
opponent's goal line, catching a pass thrown over that goal line, kicking
the ball through the opponent's goal posts or tackling an opposing ball
carrier in his own end zone.
In the United States, high school football, college football and
professional football are played under slightly different rules. High
school football is governed by the National Federation of State High
School Associations, college football by the National Collegiate Athletic
Association and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, while
the major professional league is the NFL.
The sport is also played in Europe, Japan and Mexico. The
International Federation of American Football acts as an international
governing body for the sport. American football is closely related to
Canadian football but with some differences in rules and the field.
2.1 History
The history of American football can be traced to early versions of
rugby football and association football. Both games have their origins in
varieties of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th
19

century, in which a
ball is kicked at a
goal and/or run over
a line. Many games
known as "football"
were being played at
colleges and
universities in the
United States in the
first half of the 19th
century.
American
football resulted
from several major
divergences from rugby football, most notably the rule changes
instituted by Walter Camp, considered the "Father of American
Football". Among these important changes were the introduction of the
line of scrimmage and of down-and-distance rules. In the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, game play developments by college coaches such
as Eddie Cochems, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Knute Rockne, and Glenn
"Pop" Warner helped take advantage of the newly introduced forward
pass.
The popularity of collegiate football grew as it became the
dominant version of the sport for the first half of the twentieth century.
Bow games, a college football tradition, attracted a national audience for
collegiate teams. Bolstered by fierce rivalries, college football still holds
widespread appeal in the US.
The origin of professional football can be traced back to 1892,
with William "Pudge" Heffelfinger's $500 contract to play in a game for
the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club.
The first Professional "league" was the Ohio League, formed in 1903,
and the first Professional Football championship game was between the
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Buffalo Prospects and the Canton Bulldogs in 1919. In 1920, the
American Professional Football Association was formed. The first game
was played in Dayton, Ohio on October 3, 1920 with the host Triangles
defeating the Columbus Panhandles 140. The league changed its name
to the National Football League (NFL) two years later, and eventually
became the major league of American football. Initially a sport of
Midwestern industrial towns in the United States, professional football
eventually became a national phenomenon. Football's increasing
popularity is usually traced to the 1958 NFL Championship Game, a
contest that has been dubbed the "Greatest Game Ever Played". A rival
league to the NFL, the American Football League (AFL), began play in
1960; the pressure it put on the senior league led to a merger between
the two leagues and the creation of the Super Bowl, which has become
the most watched television event in the United States on an annual
basis.
2.2 Rules
Game play in American football consists of a series of downs,
individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is dead or
not in play. These can be plays from scrimmagepasses, runs, punts,
or field goal attemptsor free kicks such as kickoffs. Substitutions can
be made between downs, which allows for a great deal of specialization
as coaches choose the players best suited for each particular situation.
During a play, each team should have no more than 11 players on the
field, and each of them has specific tasks assigned for that specific play.
2.2.1 Field and players
American football is played on a field 360 by 160 feet (120.0 by
53.3 yards; 109.7 by 48.8 meters). The longer boundary lines are
sidelines, while the shorter boundary lines are end lines. Sidelines and
end lines are out of bounds. Near each end of the field is a goal line;
they are 100 yards (91.4 m) apart. A scoring area called an end zone
extends 10 yards (9.1 m) beyond each goal line to each end line. The end
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zone includes the goal line but not the end line. While the playing field
is effectively flat, it is common for a field to be built with a slight
crownwith the middle of the field higher than the sidesto allow
water to drain from the field.
Yard lines cross the field every 5 yards (4.6 m), and are numbered
every 10 yards from each goal line to the 50-yard line, or midfield
(similar to a typical rugby league field). Two rows of short lines, known
as inbounds lines or hash marks, run at 1-yard (91.4 cm) intervals
perpendicular to the sidelines near the middle of the field. All plays start
with the ball on or between the hash marks. Because of the arrangement
of the lines, the field is occasionally referred to as a gridiron in a
reference to the cooking grill with a similar pattern of lines.
At the back of each end zone are two goalposts (also called
uprights) connected by a crossbar 10 feet (3.05 m) from the ground. For
high skill levels, the posts are 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart. For lower
skill levels, these are widened to 23 feet 4 inches (7.11 m).
Each team has 11 players on the field at a time. Usually there are
many more players off the field. There are 53 active players on an NFL
team. However, if time allows, teams may substitute for any or all of
their players during the breaks between plays. As a result, players have
very specialized roles and are divided into three separate units: the
offense, the defense and the special teams. It is rare for all team
members to participate in a given game, as some roles have little utility
beyond that of an injury substitute.
2.2.2 Start of halves
Similarly to association football, the game begins with a coin toss to
determine which team will kick off to begin the game and which goal
each team will defend. Unlike association football though, the options
are presented again to start the second half; the choices for the first half
do not automatically determine the start of the second half. The referee
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conducts the coin toss with the captains (or sometimes coaches) of the
opposing teams. The team that wins the coin toss has three options:
1. They may choose whether to kick or receive the opening kickoff.
2. They may choose which goal to defend.
3. They may choose to defer the first choice to the other team and
have first choice to start the second half.
Whatever the first team chooses, the second team has the option on
the other choice (for example, if the first team elects to receive at the
start of the game, the second team can decide which goal to defend).
At the start of the second half, the options to kick, receive, or choose
a goal to defend are presented to the captains again. The team which did
not choose first to start the first half (or which deferred its privilege to
choose first) now gets first choice of options.









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2.2.3 Game duration
A standard football game consists of four 15-minute quarters (12-
minute quarters in high-
school football and often
shorter at lower levels),
with a 12-minute half-
time intermission after
the second quarter. At all
levels, a down (play) that
begins before time
expires is allowed to
continue until its
completion, even after
the clock reaches zero.
The clock is also stopped
after certain plays, therefore, a game can last considerably longer (often
more than three hours in real time), and if a game is broadcast on
television, TV timeouts are taken at certain intervals of the game to
broadcast commercials outside of game action. If an NFL game is tied
after four quarters, the teams play an additional period lasting up to 15
minutes. In a regular season NFL overtime game, the first team that
scores wins, even if the other team does not get a possession; this is
referred to as sudden death. However, in a post-season NFL game during
the playoffs, if the first team with possession scores only a field goal, the
other team is allowed the opportunity to match or better this score. This
rule only affects playoff games in overtime in which the first team with
possession scores a field goal: if the first team with possession scores a
touchdown, the sudden death rules take effect. In a regular-season NFL
game, if neither team scores in overtime, the game is a tie. In an NFL
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playoff game, additional overtime periods are played, as needed, to
determine a winner. College overtime rules are more complicated.

2.2.4 Scoring
A team scores points by the following plays:
A touchdown (TD) is worth 6 points. It is scored when a player
runs the ball into or catches a pass in his opponent's end zone. A
touchdown is analogous to a try in rugby. Unlike rugby, a player
does not have to touch the ball to the ground to score; a
touchdown is scored any time a player has possession of the ball
while any part of the ball is beyond the vertical plane created by
the leading edge of the opponent's goal line stripe (the stripe
itself is a part of the end zone).
o After a touchdown, the scoring team attempts a try (which
is also analogous to the conversion in rugby). The ball is
placed at the other team's 3-yard (2.7 m) line (the 2-yard
(1.8 m) line in the NFL). The team can attempt to kick it
through the goalposts (over the crossbar and between the
uprights) in the manner of a field goal for 1 point (an extra
point or point-after touchdown (PAT)), or run or pass it into
the end zone in the manner of a touchdown for 2 points (a
two-point conversion). In college football, if the defense
intercepts or recovers a fumble during a one or two point
conversion attempt and returns it to the opposing end zone,
the defensive team is awarded the two points.
A field goal (FG) is worth 3 points, and it is scored by kicking the
ball through the goalposts defended by the opposition. Field goals
may be place kicked (kicked when the ball is held vertically against
the ground by a teammate) or drop kicked (extremely uncommon
in the modern game due to the better accuracy of place kicks,
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with only two successful drop kicks in sixty-plus years in the NFL).
A field goal is usually attempted on fourth down instead of a punt
when the ball is close enough to the opponent's goalposts, or,
when there is little or no time left to otherwise score.
A safety, worth 2 points, is scored by the opposing team when the
team in possession at the end of a down is responsible for the ball
becoming dead behind its own goal line. For instance, a safety is
scored by the defense if an offensive player is tackled, goes out of
bounds, or fumbles the ball out of bounds in his own end zone.
Safeties are relatively rare. Note that, though even more rare, the
team initially on offense during a down can score a safety if a
player of the original defense gains possession of the ball in front
of his own goal line and then carries the ball or fumbles it into his
own end zone where it becomes dead. However, if the ball
becomes dead behind the goal line of the team in possession and
its opponent is responsible for the ball being there (for instance, if
the defense intercepts a forward pass in its own end zone and the
ball becomes dead before the ball is advanced out of the end
zone) it is a touchback: no points are scored and the team last in
possession keeps possession with a first down at its own 20 yard
line. In amateur football, in the extremely rare instance that a
safety is scored on a try, it is worth only 1 point.





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2.3 Players
Most football players have highly specialized roles. At the college
and NFL levels, most play only offense or only defense.

2.3.1 Offense
The offensive line (OL) consists of five players whose job is to
protect the passer and clear the way for runners by blocking
members of the defense. The lineman in the middle is the Center.
Outside the Center are the Guards, and outside them are the
Tackles. Except for the center, who snaps the ball to one of the
backs, offensive linemen generally do not handle the ball.
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The quarterback (QB) receives the snap from the center on most
plays. He then hands or tosses it to a running back, throws it to a
receiver or runs with it himself. The quarterback is the leader of
the offense and calls the plays that are signaled to him from the
sidelines.
Running backs (RB) line up behind or beside the QB and specialize
in running with the ball. They also block, catch passes and, on rare
occasions, pass the ball to others or even receive the snap. If a
team has two running backs in the game, usually one will be a
halfback (HB) (or tailback (TB)), who is more likely to run with the
ball, and the other will usually be a fullback (FB), who is more
likely to block.
Wide receivers (WR) line up near the sidelines. They specialize in
catching passes, though they also block for running plays or
downfield after another receiver makes a catch.
Tight ends (TE) line up outside the offensive line. They can either
play like wide receivers (catch passes) or like offensive linemen
(protect the QB or create spaces for runners). Sometimes an
offensive lineman takes the tight end position and is referred to
as a tackle eligible.
At least seven players must line up on the line of scrimmage on every
offensive play. The other players may line up anywhere behind the line.
The exact number of running backs, wide receivers and tight ends may
differ on any given play. For example, if the team needs only one yard, it
may use three tight ends, two running backs and no wide receivers. On
the other hand, if it needs 20 yards, it may replace all of its running
backs and tight ends with wide receivers.
2.3.2 Defense
In contrast to members of the offense, the rules of professional
football (NFL Rulebook) and American college football (NCAA
Rulebook) do not specify starting position, movement, or coverage
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zones for members of the defensive team, except that they must be in the
defensive zone at the start of play. The positions, movements and
responsibilities of all defensive players are assigned by the team by
selection of certain coverages, or patterns of placement and assignment
of responsibilities. The positional roles are customary. These roles have
varied over the history of American football. The following are
customary defensive positions used in many coverages in modern
American football.
The defensive line consists of three to six players who line up
immediately across from the offensive line. They try to occupy the
offensive linemen in order to free up the linebackers, disrupt the
backfield (behind the offensive line) of the offense, and tackle the
running back if he has the ball before he can gain yardage or the
quarterback before he can throw or pass the ball. They are the first
line of defense.
Behind the defensive line are the linebackers. They line up
between the defensive line and defensive backs and may either
rush the quarterback or cover potential receivers.
The last line of defense is known as the secondary, comprising at
least three players who line up as defensive backs, who are either
cornerbacks or safeties. They cover the receivers and try to stop
pass completions. They occasionally rush the quarterback.
2.3.3 Special teams
The units of players who handle kicking plays are known as
special teams. Three important special-teams players are the punter,
who handles punts, the placekicker or kicker, who kicks off and
attempts field goals and extra points, and the long snapper, who snaps
the ball for extra points, field goals, and punts. Also included on special
teams are the returners. These players return punts or kickoffs and try to
get in good field position. These players can also score touchdowns.

29



2.4 Physicality
American football is a collision sport. To stop the offense from
advancing the ball, the defense must tackle the player with the ball by
knocking or pulling him down. As such, defensive players must use
some form of physical contact to
bring the ball-carrier to the ground,
within certain rules and guidelines.
Tacklers cannot kick or punch the
runner. They also cannot grab the
face mask of the runner's helmet or
lead into a tackle with their own
helmet ("spearing"). Despite these
and other rules regarding
unnecessary roughness, most other
forms of tackling are legal.
Blockers and defenders trying to
evade them also have wide leeway
in trying to force their opponents
out of the way. Quarterbacks are
regularly hit by defenders coming
on full speed from outside the
quarterback's field of vision. This is
commonly known as a blindside.
To compensate for this, players must wear special protective
equipment, such as a padded plastic helmet, shoulder pads, hip pads and
knee pads. These protective pads were introduced decades ago and have
improved ever since to help minimize lasting injury to players. An
unintended consequence of all the safety equipment has resulted in
increasing levels of violence in the game. Players may now hurl
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themselves at one another at high speeds without a significant chance of
injury. The injuries that do result tend to be severe and often season or
career-ending and sometimes fatal. In previous years with less padding,
tackling more closely resembled tackles in Rugby football. Better
helmets have allowed players to use their helmets as weapons. This form
of tackling is particularly unwise, because of the great potential for brain
or spinal injury. All this has caused the various leagues, especially the
NFL, to implement a complicated series of penalties for various types of
contact. Most recently, virtually any contact with the helmet of a
defensive player on the quarterback, or any contact to the quarterback's
head, is now a foul. During the late 1970s, the penalty in high school
football for spearing included ejection from the game.
Despite protective equipment and rule changes to emphasize
safety, injuries remain very common in football. It is increasingly rare,
for example, for NFL quarterbacks or running backs (who take the most
direct hits) to make it through an entire season without missing some
time to injury. Additionally, 28 football players died from direct football
injuries in the years 2000-05 and an additional 68 died indirectly from
dehydration or other examples of "non-physical" dangers, according to
the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. Concussions
are common, with about 41,000 suffered every year among high school
players according to the Brain Injury Association of Arizona. In 1981,
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who played football in high school,
commented on the contact of the sport: "Football is the last thing left in
civilization where men can literally fling themselves bodily at one
another in combat and not be at war."
Extra and optional equipment such as neck rolls, spider pads, rib
protectors (referred to as "flak jackets"), and elbow pads help against
injury as well, though they do not tend to be used by the majority of
players due to their lack of requirement.
The danger of football, and the equipment required to reduce it,
make regulation football impractical for casual play. Flag football and
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touch football are less violent variants of the game popular among
recreational players.

2.5 Organization in the United States
In the United States, the major forms are high school football,
college football and professional football. Most American high schools
field football teams. In general, high school teams play only against
other teams within the same state, but there are some exceptions like
nearby schools located on opposite sides of a state line.
Most of college football in the United States is governed by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and most colleges
and universities around the country have football teams. These teams
mostly play other similarly sized schools, through the NCAA's
divisional system, which divides the schools into four divisions:
Division I Bowl Subdivision, Division I Championship Subdivision,
Division II, and Division III. Unlike the three smaller NCAA football
divisions, the Division I Bowl Subdivision does not have an organized
tournament to determine its national champion. Instead, teams are
invited to compete in a number of post-season bowl games. In addition,
the champions of six conferences in the Division I Bowl Subdivision
receive automatic bids, and four other schools receive "at-large" bids, to
those five bowl games under the highly lucrative Bowl Championship
Series to help determine the national champion.
The highest level major professional league in the United States is
the 32-team National Football League (NFL). Another professional
league, the 5-team United Football League, also currently operates.
Several semi-professional, women's semi-professional football, and
indoor football leagues are also played across the country.
2.6 Outside the United States
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Outside the United States, the sport is referred to as "American
football" (or a translation thereof) to differentiate it from other football
codes such as association football (soccer), rugby football, Australian
rules football and Gaelic football. In Australia and New Zealand the
game is also known as gridiron football, or more commonly as gridiron,
although in the United States the term gridiron refers only to the playing
field itself. The term gridiron has also been used in the UK to describe
the game. In much of the world, the term football is unambiguous and
refers to association football (known commonly as 'soccer' in the United
States).












33

Chapter III: Differences and similarities
American football is usually confused with European football. The
difference between the two is greatly, but the same use of title can
confuse others.
3.1 Playstyle
The most obvious difference that a sports fan will discern between
soccer and American football is that soccer is played mainly by kicking
the ball and it is only the goalkeeper who can handle the ball. American
football, in contrast, is played by throwing the ball.
3.2 Fields, players, equipment and games

34


In soccer the field length is 100110 m (110120 yd) and the width
is in the range of 6475 m (7080 yd) while american football is played
on a field 360 by 160 feet (120.0 by 53.3 yards; 109.7 by 48.8 meters).
Soccer matches are usually played on grass pitches although
occasionally they are played on artificial pitches. In contrast, American
football matches tend to be played on artificial pitches.
In soccer the ball is spherical (71 cm (28 inch) circumference in
FIFA play) and in american football the ball has a diamond shape.
Both soccer and American football have eleven players per side
however in soccer you dont need much equipment to play it. As long as
you have a ball, then you can use jumpers for goalposts and play.
American football is more physical and therefore protective equipment
is required which makes it less suited for young children and less
accessible to people in poorer countries.
Soccer is played over 90 minutes and is split into two halves,
american football is played over just 60 minutes that are split into four
quarters.
Time outs are allowed in American football but not in soccer.
Soccer matches can end in a draw/tie. However, in some cup
35

competitions, 30 minutes of extra time are played to try to determine a
winner and a penalty shoot-out may result if teams still can't be
separated.
American football matches are decided by 15 minutes overtime if they
are tied after normal time.
Soccer is principally a sport that is dominated at professional level
by men. However, female professional leagues have started to appear,
however the american football has not obtained the same level of
participation from women.

3.3 International popularity and distribution
Soccer is the dominant team sport across South America, Africa,
Europe, and large tracts of Asia. American football is dominant in North
America. One of the reasons why soccer is more popular in world terms
is that it is played competitively at international level. There is a World
Cup which takes place every four years and that has played a huge role
in spreading the soccer gospel. American Football has its World Series
but it's a misnomer as it just involves North American club teams.







36

Bibliography

Dunning, Eric. "The development of soccer as a world game"
"England Premiership (2005/2006)" Sportpress.com.
Dart, James; Bandini, Paolo (2007-02-21). "Has football ever
started a war?". The Guardian (London).
Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks
Ltd, 1997
"NFL History 18691910". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises LLC.
2007.
2009 Official Playing Rules of the National Football League.
Triumph Books. 2009.
"Playing with the Percentages When Trailing by Two
Touchdowns". Montana State University.
"History of the FA". Football Association (FA)
"Where it all began". FIFA.
Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an
Extraordinary Leader.
"Digest of Rules". National Football League.






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