American Football

As its name implies, American football is a game of American football. It is also called the Gridiron outside of the US, while in the US it is often simply called football. American Football is different from the popular world sport generally known as football or soccer (Association Football). The sport evolved from the sport of rugby. An American football game was first played on November 6, 1869 between Princeton and Rutgers.

American football is a full contact sport and is all about running, with either team holding or passing the ball and trying to reach the opponent’s goal area to score points.

Two teams with 11 players per side play on a rectangular field. This pitch is 110m long and 48.76m wide with goals at each end.

The shape of the ball is an elongated spheroid (“oval”), as opposed to the round ball of other soccer sports.

The game is played for 60 minutes, which is divided into two 30-minute halves in professional games. For player safety, the minimum requirement is the use of a football helmet and shoulder pads.

American football is played all over the world, but significantly in North America, Europe, and Japan.