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American football rules. Gameplay in American football consists of a series of downs, individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is or is not in play. These can be plays from scrimmage – passes, runs, punts or field goal attempts (from either a place kick or a drop kick) – or free kicks such as kickoffs and fair catch kicks.
American football (referred to simply as football in North America), also known as gridiron football, [nb 1] is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or ...
American football is a form of gridiron football and the most popular sport in the United States. In the United States, the game is most often referred to as simply "football". Football is played in leagues of different size, age and quality, in all regions of the country. There is no single national governing body for American football in the ...
When the "football field" is used as unit of measurement, it is usually understood to mean 100 yards (91.44 m), although technically the full length of the official field, including the end zones, is 120 yards (109.7 m). The total area of the field is 57,600 sq ft or 5,350 m 2. There is a goal centered on each end line, with a crossbar 10 feet ...
In gridiron football, holding is the illegal use of the hand or arm to restrain another player who is not in possession of the ball. Holding is prohibited in most football leagues because it does not allow fair play of the game and increases the risk for injury. [1] It is one of the most common penalties in American football.
The history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football.Both games have their origin in multiple varieties of football played in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, in which a football is kicked at a goal or kicked over a line, which in turn were based on the varieties of English public school football games descending from medieval ...
In American football, uniform numbers are displayed on both the front and back of the jersey, and in many cases the sleeves, shoulder pad, or occasionally helmets. The numbers on the front and back are very large, covering most of the jersey. Certain numbers may only be worn by players in specific positions, thus assisting the officials in ...
In gridiron football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game. During professional and most college football games, seven officials operate on the field. Since 2015, Division I college football conferences have used eight game officials, the Alliance of American Football (AAF ...