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Football

Definition: Football

Football

Noun

1. Any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal.

2. The inflated oblong ball used in playing American football.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "football" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1509. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Football

DomainDefinition

19th Century Satire

A clever subterfuge for carrying on prize-fights under the guise of a reputable game. Source: Foolish Dictionary, 1904.

Multilingual Slang

Hungarian (foci). (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: American football

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

American football, known in the United States as simply football, is a competitive team sport that rewards players' speed, agility, tactics, and brute strength as they push, block, tackle, chase, and outrun each other, trying to force a ball further into enemy territory for one hour of game time, which translates into three to four hours of real time. American football is often seen as a metaphor for war, with a great deal of personal violence occurring on every play as players often weighing 300 pounds or more shove each other with every ounce of their strength, and with a clearly defined front line, moving up and down the field, separating the offensive and defensive squads. American football does not much resemble soccer, the sport which most of the rest of the world, except Canada, calls "football". It is a descendant of Rugby Union, and still has recognisable similarities to rugby football.

Popularity

Football is extremely popular in the US. In recent years it has surpassed even baseball as the nation's most popular spectator sport. The professional league, the National Football League (NFL), which consists of 32 teams, is very popular. Its championship game, the Super Bowl, is annually watched by nearly half of US television households, and is also televised in over 150 other countries. College football is extremely popular, with many major colleges and universities playing NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division I football, and consistently selling out huge stadiums. College games are widely televised and widely watched. Many colleges in lower NCAA divisions and the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) have varsity football teams, as do most high schools. There are also amateur, club and youth teams (such as teams in the Pop Warner leagues). In addition to those leagues and teams, now there is a American Football World Cup.

Naming

The word football has a number of different meanings. In the United States football almost always means what, in the rest of the English-speaking world, is usually called American football (or in some cases Gridiron football). In most of the rest of the world, the word football means the game that is called soccer in the US, although it is occasionally called Association football or International football. Soccer, the most popular form of football world-wide, is also popular in the US, particlarly as a participation sport for children. It is played at all levels, youth, amateur, high school, college and professional. (see: football (soccer))

The name football might seem a curious name for the sport of American football, as the players' feet rarely have much to do with the ball -- kicking the football is only allowed in certain situations and is most often inadvisable. The vast majority of game time involves players holding the ball in their hands as they run. However, the sport is a direct descendant of rugby union football, as explained below, and has retained the name.

In the remainder of this article, the word football refers to American football.

Professional, college, and other leagues

Football is played at a number of levels in the United States. These include the following. The descriptions on this page are based primarily on the current rules of the National Football League (NFL, 1920-present). Differences with college rules will be noted.

NFL, college, high school, and amateur rules are similar, as were the rules of professional leagues that no longer exist. The Arena Football League (AFL, 1987-present) plays an indoor adaptation of American football. Flag football and touch football are non-tackle versions of American football.

Professional leagues that no longer exist include the World Football League (WFL,1974-75), the United States Football League (USFL,1983-1985), the XFL (XFL,2001), the All America Football Conference (1946-1949), the American Football League (AFL,1960-1969-merged with the NFL in 1970), and the World League of American Football (WLAF,1991-1993-now NFL Europe). Since 2000, there has been a surge of women's professional leagues.

The Game

Play in American football consists of a series of individual plays of short duration, between which the ball is not in play. Substitutions are allowed between plays, which allows for a great deal of specialization, as coaches put in players they think are best suited for any particular situation. The game is very tactical and strategic. With 22 players on the field at a time, (eleven on each team), each with an assigned task for a given play, the strategies are complex.

Object of the game

The object of the game is to advance the ball to the opponents' end of the field and score points. The team with the most points when time has expired wins.

Duration, kickoffs and free kicks

The game is 60 minutes long, divided into two halves separated by a halftime. Each half consists of two quarters, each 15 minutes long. Teams change ends of the field after the first and third quarters. If a game is tied at the end of regulation, overtime is played. Overtime periods are "sudden death", meaning that the teams that scores first, by any means, wins.

A kickoff is a special play used to start each half, and also used to restart the game following a field goal, or a conversion attempt following a touchdown. One team kicks the ball, usually from its own 30-yard line, although a kickoff may occur elsewhere due to a penalty on the preceding play. (Note: the ball is usually kicked from the 35 yard line in college football). The ball must be kicked from the ground (not punted) and in bounds at least 10 yards away. Once the ball has traveled 10 yards upfield it can be fielded by either team. The ball is usually just kicked deep to the receiving team, but sometimes a team will attempt to recover its own kick, in a play that is known as an onside kick.

A free kick is used to restart the game following a safety, which doesn't happen often. The team that was trapped in its own end zone, and therefore conceded two points to the other team, kicks the ball from its own 20-yard line. A free kick may be punted if the kicking team so chooses.

Methods of scoring

Points can be scored in the following ways.

The Field


The field

The field is a rectangle 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide, defined by sidelines running the length of the field and endlines running the width. There is a goal line ten yards in from each end line and parallel to it. The two goal lines are thus 100 yards apart. The area of the field between the goal lines is called the field of play. At each end of the field, the end zone is the area between the goal line and the end line.

Within the field of play, additional markings include yard markers, as well as inbound lines (also called hash marks), every yard the length of the field. The inbound lines (hash marks), which are short lines perpendicular to the yard markers, are 70-3/4 feet from the sidelines in the NFL. (Note: the hash marks are closer to the sidelines in college football) Every 5 yards, the yard markers run the width of the field, and every 10 yards, they are marked by numbers indicating the distance, in yards, from the nearest goal line.

At the center of each end line is a set of goal posts, which have two upright posts extending above a crossbar. The distance between upright posts is 18-1/2 feet, and the top of the crossbar is 10 feet above the ground.

Play Of The Game

A game consists of many individual plays. The vast majority of these are scrimmage plays. Each play from scrimmage is one of a series of downs given to the team with possession. These two concepts, the concept of scrimmage, and the concept of downs, are fundamental to American football, and are what distinguish it, as well as Canadian football, from most other forms of football.

A set of downs begins with a first down, which is given to a team either after it has just gained possession on the previous play, or it has gained the necessary yardage from a previous set of downs. On a first down, the team with possession is given four downs to gain 10 yards (they have "a first and ten", meaning that it is first down, and they need ten yards to get another first down). The line a team must reach in order to gain a first down is technically called the line to gain, although it is commonly called first down yardage. The team with possession is called the offensive team, and the other team the defensive team.

Plays from scrimmage

Each down is a play from scrimmage. Prior to each play from scrimmage, the two teams line up on opposite sides of a line of scrimmage, which is defined by the spot of the ball from the previous play. The spot is, in most cases, the yard line at which the ball became dead on the previous play, plus or minus any penalty yardage. A down, or play from scrimmage, begins with a snap and ends when the ball becomes dead for any reason. A snap is either a handoff between the legs from the center to the quarterback, or it is a pass between the legs from the center to the quarterback, or possibly to a player other than the quarterback, such as a punter or a holder for a field goal attempt. The ball may become dead, ending the down, because a player in possession is tackled, or because his forward progress is stopped, or because he goes out of bounds, or because a forward pass goes incomplete.

Advancing the ball

There are two methods that can be used to advance the ball while still maintaining possession:

It is important for the offense to run a variety of running and passing plays in order to keep the defense uncertain of the next play. If the quarterback has two broken fingers on his throwing hand, for example, the defense can safely risk lining up in a run defense for nearly every play, which should successfully squelch the offense's running backs.

Fourth down situations

If a team uses all four of its downs without gaining the yardage for a first down, possession goes to the other team. Fourth down situations are therefore pivotal. The offense has three choices: "go for it", punt, or attempt a field goal.

Things the offense may decide to do on fourth down:

A team will occasionally run a trick play on fourth down. They will line up as if to punt or attempt a field goal, but will instead run the ball or pass it in an attempt to pick up a first down.

Specialized units and players

With its unlimited substitutions, American football is highly specialized, with most teams having three specialized units: an offensive unit, a defensive unit, and special teams. There are many specialized players within each units. Some players may only be used in certain situations. (for details see: offensive unit, defensive unit, special teams.)

Injuries

Despite the helmets and heavy padding worn by all players on the field, injuries are common in football. An "Injury Report" section is ubiquitous in American newspapers' sports sections, detailing each injured player on each team with his injury listed and the amount of time he is expected to be out. Around the middle of each week, all NFL teams report the status of their injured players as "out" (will not play in the coming game); "doubtful" (25% chance of playing); "questionable" 50% chance of playing); or "probable" (75% chance of playing). A similar system is used in all American professional sports.

An average of about eight players die each year in the United States as a result of injuries received in games. About 160 concussions occur every season, and the National Football League now collects benchmark awareness measures for each player which can be used during a game to determine whether he has been concussed.

Penalties

Some of the more common penalties are listed below. In most cases the offending team will be assessed a penalty of 5, 10 or 15 yards, depending on the infraction. There may also be a loss of down for a penalty against the offense. A penalty against the defense may result in an automatic first down. In some cases, the offense will be given the option of declining the penalty and taking the yardage gained on the play. For some infractions by the defense, the penalty is applied in addition to the yardage gained on the play. A personal foul, which involves danger to another player, usually results in a 15 yard penalty.

Note: The neutral zone is the space defined by lines drawn through the ends of the ball parallel to the yard lines when the ball is spotted and ready for play. No player may legally have any part of his body in the neutral when the ball is snapped, with the exception of the center.

Penalties against the offense

Penalties against the defense

Penalties against either team

Development of the game

American football in its current form grew out of a series of three games between Harvard University and McGill University of Montreal in 1874. McGill played by the Rugby Union code while Harvard played the Boston Game, which was closer to Association Football. As often happened in those days of far from universal rules, the teams alternated rules so that both would have a fair chance. The Harvard players liked having the opportunity to run with the ball, and in 1875 persuaded Yale University to adopt Rugby Union rules for their annual game. In 1876 Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, which used the Rugby Union code, except for a slight differnce in scoring.

In 1880 Walter Camp introduced the scrimmage in place of the rugby scrum. In 1882 the system of downs was introduced to thwart Princeton's and Yale's strategy of controlling the ball without trying to score. In 1883 the number of players was reduced, at Camp's urging, to eleven, and Camp introduced the soon standard arrangement of a seven-man offensive line with a quarterback, two halfbacks, and a fullback.

On September 3, 1895 the first professional football game was played, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, between the Latrobe YMCA and the Jeannette Athletic Club. (Latrobe won the contest 12-0.).

By the 1890s interlocking offensive formations such as the flying wedge had made the game extremely dangerous. Despite restrictions on the flying wedge and other precautions, in 1905 eighteen players were killed in games. President Theodore Roosevelt informed the universities that the game must be made safer. However, it was not until 1910, and after further deaths, that interlocking formations were outlawed.

The forward pass was introduced in 1906. In 1912 the field was changed to its current size, the value of a touchdown was increased to 6 points, and a fourth down was added. The game had achieved its modern form.

See also:

External Links

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Association

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

An Association or a voluntary association is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose. Strictly speaking in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association, though without two people it is difficult to imagine how a one person association would operate. Some jurisdictions require that the association register with the police or other official body to inform the public of the association's existence. Associations that are organized for profit or financial gain are usually called partnerships. Associations may take the form of a non-profit organization or they may be not-for-profit corporations. Most associations have some kind of document or documents that regulate the way in which the body meets and operates. Such an instrument is often called the organization's bylaws, regulations, or agreement of association.

In some civil law systems, an association is considered a special form of contract. In the Civil Code of Quebec this is a type of nominate contract. In France conventional associations are regulated by Association loi 1901.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Association."

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Australian Football League

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Australian Football League is the main national competition of Australian rules football. It was formed through the expansion of the Victorian Football League throughout the 1980s and 1990s into a nationally-based competition.

A 16-team, single division competition, the season is based around a 22-week "home-and-away" (regular) reason starting in March through to August. The top eight teams play off in a series of finals culminating in the Grand Final, always held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and usually held on the last Saturday in September.

Particularly in Victoria, where a majority of teams are still based and in the traditional Australian Rules football states of South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania, much of the citizenry takes an obsessive interest in the competition. Massive crowds attend many of the games.

All players are now full-time professionals (although since only elite players can earn enough to support themselves for the rest of their lives, many study at university or other vocational training), and the clubs, whilst still owned by their large membership base, are large businesses.

Teams currently playing in the AFL include:

Famous players of the past and present, some of whom have gone on to notable subsequent careers include (note, I have been more than slightly eclectic here, somebody who knows footy better than I do should select the real champions):

See also: Outside Links:
AFL Official Site: http://www.afl.com.au
Complete VFL/AFL results: http://stats.rleague.com/afl/afl_index.html

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Australian Football League."

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Australian Rules Football

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Australian rules football (also known as football, "footy" or "Aussie Rules" in areas where it is the predominant winter sport) is a game played between two teams of 18 players, often played on cricket ovals during the winter months. At either end of the oval four posts are erected, and markings are placed on the ground as shown in the diagram below. The aim for each team is to kick the ball between either the two inner posts of one set (for a goal, worth six points) or between an outer and inner post (for a behind, worth just one point). The standard starting player positions are shown in the diagram below, but they are not enforced by the rules of the game - players may locate themselves and move in any direction.

The markings on an Australian Rules Football ground. Note that the actual dimensions of the playfield are not fixed, but can vary between 135 and 185 metres in length and 110 and 155 metres in width. Larger Version

The traditional playing positions. These are not specified in the rules and in recent years teams have experimented with alternatives. Larger Version

The game is played with a bouncy oval ball which may be caught, kicked, or passed to another player by punching, but not thrown. A player may also run with the ball provided they either bounce or touch the ball to the ground every 15 metres. A player who cleanly catches a kicked ball that has travelled more than 15 metres without anyone else touching it (called a mark) is entitled to an unimpeded kick of the ball, to advance his team towards the goals.

The game is controlled by a number of field umpires (at elite level, three), two boundary umpires whose main job is to conduct throw-ins when the ball leaves the field of play, and two goal umpires who judge whether the ball is kicked between the goal posts without being touched by another(thus scoring a goal), between a goal and point post (thus a point) or outside the goals entirely (thus becoming the boundary umpire's responsibility). The goal umpires wear distinctive white coats and are equipped with two flags. After a goal is scored and indicated to the players, the goal umpire waves the two flags such that the other goal umpire sees and records the goal. One flag is waved for a point.

Australian rules football at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Alistair Lynch is attempting to "take a mark", with his opponent trying to stop him.

The game is a fast-paced combination of speed, athleticism, skill, and physical toughness. Players are allowed to tackle the player with the ball, and impede opposition players from tackling their teammates, but not to deliberately strike an opponent (though playing around at the margins of those rules is often a substantial part of the game). Like most team sports, tactics are based around trying to get the ball, then—through a combination of running with the ball, handballing/handpassing (punching the ball) and kicking— deliver it to a player who is within range of goal. Because taking a mark entitles the player to a free kick, a common tactic is to attempt to kick the ball on the full (i.e., without bouncing) to a teammate who is within kicking range of goal. In this situation packs often form, and spectacular high marks (where players launch themselves off opponents' backs high in the air to mark the ball) are common.

Initially brought into being officially as a method of keeping cricketers fit in winter, the first rules were drawn up in a Melbourne pub by Tom Wills and H.A. Harrison in 1858, making Australian Rules the oldest officially codified football game of any played today. It was believed that Australian football was inspired by the ball games of the local Aboriginal people in western Victoria. However, whilst the Aborigines did in fact play a type of sport using a ball made out of Kangaroo hide known as Marn Grook which included features resembling the high marking game of Australian rules, there is extensive debate over the doubtful connection between the two. H.A. Harrison had grown up in an area of Victoria near present day Moyston where he may have played Marn Grook with local Aborigines. It is however more likely that he drew inspiration from local varieties of football brought to Victoria by immigrants from Britain and Ireland.

Australian Rules Football was first played in 1858 between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College. The modern day AFL has many teams dating back to this era—the Melbourne Football Club is the oldest professional sporting club in the world, having beeen formed in 1860. Other clubs include Geelong (1860), North Melbourne (1869) Port Adelaide (1870), Essendon (1873) and Footscray Football Club(Western Bulldogs) (1877)). A schism in the 1890s led to the formation of the Victorian Football League which commenced play in 1897 as an eight team breakaway of the stronger clubs from the original VFA competition; eventually increasing by 1925 to 12 Melbourne suburban clubs. All of the original VFL clubs are still in existence, with the exception of South Melbourne Football Club who in 1982 relocated to Sydney and became known as the Sydney Swans and the Fitzroy which merged with the Brisbane in 1996 due to financial difficulties.

The VFL changed its name in the late 1980s as a strong interstate interest in the game was leading to a more national competition. In 1989, the Australian Football League (AFL) was born. The AFL is the 16 club elite-level competition in the game. There are many semi-professional and amateur leagues around Australia, where they play a very important role in the community, and particularly so in rural areas.

Perhaps the most notable of the other leagues are the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), and the Western Australian Football League (WAFL). Prior to the birth of the AFL these two leagues were every bit as important as the VFL - these three leagues being the premier football league in each of the three premier football states.

Although the VFL was generally accepted as the strongest league, clubs from all three leagues frequently played each other on an even footing in challenge matchs and occasional nationwide club competitions that were basically precursors to the AFL.

With the introduction of the AFL the state leagues fairly quickly declined to a secondary status.

Football competitions run during the "winter" - that is, approximately March to August, with finals held in September. Pre-season competitions sometimes begin in late February, though. The summer months mostly belong to cricket, usually played on the same grounds. In the past, many elite-level footballers played representative cricket, but the professionalism of the game made this impossible by the 1980s. Many amateur players still play both. Unlike most soccer competitions, there are no separate "league" and "cup" trophies. The teams that occupy the highest positions (usually four in most amateur leagues, but up to eight in the AFL) play off in the "semi-knockout" (under most systems, the very highest-finishing teams usually get a second chance if they lose their first final) finals series, with the two successful teams meeting in the Grand Final.

The sport is the predominant winter sport only in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia. Queensland and New South Wales main winter sports are rugby league and rugby union, though with the establishment of AFL teams in Sydney and Brisbane and the growth of amateur footy in those states it appears to be changing somewhat.

Games, at the elite level, still retain some touches from its inter-suburban roots. Players run on to the field through a crepe paper banner depicting some message (for instance, congratulating players on a milestone number of games) constructed by volunteer supporter groups at the mostly member-owned clubs. All clubs have a team song, most composed in the 1940's or aping the style.

While Australian Rules Football is a spectator sport only in Australia (except for occasional exhibition games staged in London for the large Australian expatriate community there), there is since the late 1980s a growing international amateur competition in countries such as New Zealand, Ireland, Great Britain, Denmark, the USA, Canada, Germany, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, China and South Africa, initially established by Australian expatriates but collecting growing numbers of native players.

A series of hybrid matches between Australia's best and a representative Gaelic football team from Ireland have been staged on an yearly basis. The rules (called "International Rules") are a compromise between the two codes, using a round ball and a rectangular field but allowing the fierce tackling of the Australian code.

The series have remained evenly matched with the Irish using speed and athleticism, and the Australians strength and power - both inherent skills in their respective codes. This contrast of skills has created exciting contests that have been a hit with spectators.

Several Irish gaelic footballers have been recruited to play in Australia, most notably brownlow medallist Jim Stynes, Sean Wight and more recently Tadhg Kennelly.

The inaugural Australian Rules International Cup was held in Melbourne, Australia in 2002. 11 teams made up exclusively of foreign nationals played a series of matches, with, in a surprise result, Ireland defeating Papua New Guinea in the final.

Outside Links:

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Canadian football

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Canadian football is a form of football in which two teams of twelve players each compete for territorial control of a field of play 110 yards long and 65 yards wide, with end zones 20 yards deep. Teams advance across the field through the execution of short, distinct plays, which involve the possession of an oblate spheroid ball (a direct descendant of a size 3 rugby ball). Players advance the ball by carrying it in the arms or passing it to another player (only one forward pass permitted per football play). Three attempts, or downs, are allowed to move forward ten yards, or the team with the ball must relinquish it to the other team.

Canadian football is played at several levels in Canada. The professional league in which the sport is played is the nine-team Canadian Football League (CFL). The professional champion is awarded the Grey Cup, the university champion the Vanier Cup.

Canadian football was originally called rugby football, and is a descendant of rugby union football as played in the 1870s at McGill University. The Canadian Football League was known under various names throughout its history including the Canadian Rugby Football Union, and the Canadian Rugby Union. The Canadian Rugby Football Union, original forerunner to the current Canadian Football League was established in 1884.

The rules of the sport are very similar to American football, and the NFL has established a formal relationship with the CFL. Canadian football retains certain rugby rules which American football has dropped, including allowing a kicker to recover his own kick and advance with the ball. On the other hand, it has eliminated other rules retained in American football, such as the fair catch. One distinctive innovation of the Canadian game is awarding a single point (sometimes called a rouge) for kicking the ball into the goal area and then preventing the opponents from running or kicking it back into the field of play.

Canadian football allows each team only one thirty-second time-out in each half. However, during the last three minutes of each half the clock is stopped after every play, so that additional time-outs would be of little value.

The offensive team must run a play every 20 seconds, while in American football a 45-second interval between plays is allowed.

With the larger field, greater number of players, deeper end zones, more frequent plays, clock stoppages after every play in the last three minutes of the game, returns of every punt and kick, and three downs instead of four, the Canadian game often features more wide-open play than seen in the American game. Specifically, these differences diminish the value of the conservative "three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust" tactic that American teams sometimes employ and encourage forward passing and scoring.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Canadian football."

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College American football

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

American football first achieved its popularity via the college game and today college football continues to be extremely popular among college students.

The first intercollegiate football game

The first game played between teams representing different colleges or universities was played on November 6, 1869 between Rutgers University and Princeton University, at College Field, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Rutgers won, by a score of 6 to 4. As the score would indicate, the game bore little resemblance to the game of today.

An account of that first game

The development of the modern game can be traced to a meeting between the Harvard University and McGill University football teams in 1874. The two teams were used to playing different brands of football--the McGill team played a rugby-style game, while Harvard played a soccer-style game. The teams agreed to play under compromise rules, and from this meeting the game of football began to evolve in both the United States and Canada.

The game increased in popularity through the remainder of the 19th century. It also became increasingly violent. President Theodore Roosevelt threatened, in 1906, to ban the sport following a series of player deaths from injuries suffered during games. The response to this was the formation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which set rules governing the sport. One of the rules changes to emerge from this attempt at alleviating the violence of the sport was the introduction of the forward pass. Another was the banning of "mass momentum" plays (many of which, like the infamous "flying wedge", were literally deadly).

Prior to the founding of the National Football League, and for a few decades thereafter, college football was the predominant venue for American football. Innovations in strategy and style of play originated in college football and spread to the pro game gradually. It was not until the post-WWII era that the pro game achieved ascendancy in the eyes of the American sports fan.

National Championships

NCAA Division I

NCAA Division II

NCAA Division III

NAIA

NCAA Divisions and Conferences


Division I-A Division I-AA Division II Division III

NAIA Conferences

College Football Bowl Games for 2003-2004

Bowls No Longer Played

College Football Awards

Related Links

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Football

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Football refers to a number of different team sports, all of which involve scoring points with a round or ellipsoid ball in a goal defended by the opposing team.

The object of all football games is to advance the ball by kicking, running with, or passing and catching, either to the opponent's end of the field where points or goals can be scored by, depending on the game, putting the ball across the goal line between posts and under a crossbar, putting the ball between upright posts (and possibly over a crossbar), or advancing the ball across the opponent's goal line while maintaining possession of the ball.

In all football games, the team that wins is the one that has the most points or goals when a specified length of time has elapsed. The games all share a common heritage, and are descended from mob games of the Middle Ages.

See also: History of football for the shared history of all these games.

Football throughout the world

Depending on which part of the world you live in, the word football when referring to a specific game can mean any one of the above.

Because of this, much friendly' controversy has erupted over the term football, primarily because it is used in different ways in different parts of the world. Two teams play against each other to score with a ball in the opponent's area. The agreement ends there.

International

Most of the world, outside of North America and Australia, use the term football to mean "Association football". Many also use "soccer" for the same game.

North America

In the United States and Canada, football almost always refers to American football or Canadian football, with Association football being referred to as soccer. It should be noted that although Canadian football is similar to American football this is not because Canadian football descends from American football. In fact, American football originated in the adoption of Rugby Union rules by Harvard University after it had played three matches against McGill University of Montreal, which followed the Rugby Union code. Proximity, common personalities, influences affecting both games, and the long-standing desire of the Canadian Football League to expand into the United States have kept them similar. For example, Canadian rugby's (precursor to Canadian football) early use of a limited number of American players and coaches helped introduce the forward pass into Canadian football several years after it was first introduced in the United States, while the CFL's interest in expansion to the United States led to the value of a touchdown being increased from 5 points to 6 in the 1950s.

Australia

In Australia, football usually means Australian Rules Football, although it can also mean Rugby League or Rugby Union. The term "Gridiron" is used to refer to the American form. Australian Rules Football was once historically called "Victorian football".

Conceptual art

Three sided football is played on a hexagonal pitch where goals are counted against the conceding side. This encourages shifting alliances and allows players a choice of goals to score in. It was devised by the artist Asger Jorn and has been promoted in England, Scotland, Italy and Austria by the Luther Blissett Three-sided Football League. The first known game played was organized by the London Psychogeographic Association at the Glasgow Anarchist Summer School in 1993.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Football."

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Football (ball)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

A football is a leather ball with which the sport football (soccer) is played. The traditional football's outer covering consists of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons of leather sewn together. The ball is like the corresponding polyhedron (designated a truncated icosahedron, see picture there), except that it is more spherical, because the faces bulge due the pressure of the air inside.

It is a model for the Buckminsterfullerene (C60) molecule. The diameter of the football and this buckyball are 22 cm and ca. 1 nm, respectively, hence the size ratio is 200,000,000 : 1.

Other designs for footballs exist, mainly being made up of curved strips of leather. There are also indoor footballs, which are made of one or two pieces of plastic. Often these have designs printed on them to resemble a traditional leather ball. In North America, the term football refers to a prolate leather ball (originally made from pigskin) which is used to play American football.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Football (ball)."

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Football (soccer)

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Football, (official but largely unused name: Association Football) also called soccer and occasionally known colloquially in Britain as footy is the most popular team sport in the world in both number of spectators and number of active participants. The international governing body of football is the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). In many parts of the world, particularly in Europe, South America and ever increasingly in Africa, football is more than just a game: it is a way of life. Millions of people play for amateur clubs or regularly go to a stadium to follow their home team and avidly watch the game on television. Countries from these areas dominate the international game.

Name

The name Association football was first used when the sport was codified by the Football Association to distinguish it from the numerous versions of football that were around at the time. The word soccer is a colloquial abbreviation of 'Association' and first appeared in the 1880s. The word is sometimes credited to a student at Oxford called Charles Wreford Brown. He is said to have often referred to breakfast as 'brekkers' and rugby football as 'rugger' etc. He went on to play for the English national side and became vice-president of the Football Association. The term 'Association football' is rarely used today, though some clubs still use Association Football Club ("AFC") in their names.

In the late 19th century the word 'soccer' tended to be used by the upper-classes who played the game under that name at public schools, whilst the majority of working class people used the word 'football'. The sport was exported by expatriate Britons to much of the rest of the world and many of these nations adopted the common English term into their own language. Accordingly, it became Fußball in German, voetbal in Dutch, fotball in Scandinavian languages, futebol in Portuguese, and fútbol in Spanish. In French the word remained unchanged as le football (but is often shortened to le foot), although in Quebec the word is le soccer. In Italy, a ceremonial Florentine court ritual known as il calcio storico ("kickball in costume") bore enough similarly to the imported game for the word calcio to be accepted instead.

Partly as a result of Australian, football is colloquially known in Britain as footie, although in Australia itself, the word footy means either Rugby League or Australian Rules never soccer. The term 'footer' was once used, but is now obsolete.

Today the word 'soccer' is predominantly used by English-speaking nations that have evolved their own native codes of football not directly related to the Association game.

However, this was not always the case. Indeed, the first Association football team formed outside Britain was the Oneida Football Club of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Early leagues in the US mostly called themselves football leagues, including the American League of Professional Football, National Association Football League and the Southern New England Football League.

The governing body of the sport in the US did not drop the word 'football' from its name until 1974, and did not have the word 'soccer' in its name until 1945. What is now the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) was originally the US Football Association, and was formed in 1912 by the merger of the American Football Association and the American Amateur Football Association. In 1945 the word 'soccer' was added to the official name of the organization and the word 'football' was kept, resulting in the name of "US Soccer Football Association".

The USSFA later dropped the word 'football', replacing it with another word beginning with "F" to become what it is today, the USSF or US Soccer Federation. Similarly in Australia the early governing bodies used the term 'British Football' (i.e. the Southern British Football Association in New South Wales, the Anglo-Australian Football Association in Victoria and the British Football Associations of Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.

In countries that didn't develop a rival sport with a claim to the name football the word 'soccer' was very rarely used. Today the growing use of the word may well owe much to the cultural dominance of the USA, which is shaping language and definitions well beyond its borders. However football remains by far the most common word used worldwide to describe the sport.

The Laws of Football

The rules of football are known as Laws of Football[1] and are based on efforts made in the mid-19th century to standardise the rules of the widely varying games of football played at the public schoolss and universities of England. The first set of rules resembling the modern game were produced at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1848, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester and Shrewsbury, but it was far from universally adopted. In particular, the width of a football goal is defined as the distance between two trees in a Cambridge park. A number of revised rules were subsequently proposed, most notably by the Sheffield football club (formed by former pupils from Harrow) in 1857 and the rules of JC Thring in 1862. These efforts culminated in the formation of the Football Association in 1863 which first met on the evening of October 26 1863. Between October and December the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street, London, was the setting for a series of six meetings which eventually produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the representative from Blackheath withdrew his club from the FA over a rule outlawing hacking (kicking an opponent in the shins). The Blackheath club later went on to form the Rugby Football Union.

Today the laws of football are determined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The board was formed in 1882 after a meeting in Manchester of the Football Association, the Scottish Football Association (SFA), the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and the Irish Football Association (IFA) (now the governing body in Northern Ireland and not to be confused with the Football Assocation of Ireland (FAI) the governing body in the Republic of Ireland). The International football body FIFA was formed in Paris in 1884 and declared that they would adhere to the rules laid down by the IFAB. The growing popularity of the international game led to the admittance of FIFA representatives to the IFAB in 1913. Today the board is made up of four representatives from FIFA and one representative from each of the British associations.

The official rules of the game are

Object of the game

Two teams of eleven players on each side contend to get a spherical ball into the other team's goal. The side which does this the most frequently is the winner. The primary rule for this objective is that nearly all players cannot use their hands or arms in any way while on the field.

Officials

The game is presided over by a referee, whose decisions are final, assisted by two linesmen, now officially referred to in these days of PC as referee's assistants. In many games a replacement is available, and he or she is commonly known as the fourth official

Teams

Each team has a goal keeper that is allowed to touch the ball with his arms and shoulders when he is standing within the outer marked area around the home goal, which is called the penalty area (aka the "box"). The penalty area or the 18 yards box, has limits set 18 yards to each side of the goal, and 18 yards in front of it.

The ten outfield players on either side are not allowed to touch the ball with their arms or shoulders whilst the ball is in play, but may however play it with any other part of their anatomies. The sole exception to this is when the ball is kicked out of play and a throw in results.

A number, (variable by league and nation), of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The usual reasons for a player's replacement include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or to waste a little time at the end of a finely poised game.

Playing field


Standard football pitch measurements (Large) (Metric)
According to IFAB regulations the length of the football field (or "pitch") for international matches should be in the range 100-110 metres and the width should be in the range 64-75 metres. (For other matches the constraints are looser: 90-120 metres length by 45-90 metres width.) The area is under a hectare.

The pitch is divided at the centre: this is the halfway line. Exactly halfway across the halfway line is the centre spot (this is where the ball commences play from). A circle is drawn around the centre spot, the centre circle which has a radius of 10 yards (9.144 m) from the centre spot.

At either end of the pitch is a goal. This is a letterbox-shaped receptacle with a net behind it whose dimensions are: 8 feet (2.44 m) in height and 24 feet (7.32 m) in width. Two boxes are marked out on the pitch in front of the goal. The smaller box, which is laid out to surround the goal at an equal distance of 6 yards (5.5 m) denotes where the goalkeeper can take goal kicks from. The outer box is known as the penalty area or the 18 yard box, and is set 18 yards (16.5 m) to each side of the goal, and 18 yards in front of it. A small semicircle is also drawn at the edge of the penalty area, the D, 10 yards (9.5m) from the penalty spot. This is an exclusion zone for all players other than the one taking the kick in the event of a penalty being awarded.

The penalty spot is immediately in the middle of and 12 yards (11 m) in front of the goal.

In each corner of the pitch a small quarter circle with a 1 yard radius is drawn where corner kicks are taken from.

Duration

Ordinarily a match lasts 90 minutes (two halves - 45 minutes each) plus any additional time for stoppages. The only events for which time may be added are for the assessment of injured players, the removal of injured players and time wasting (which may include time for substitutions). Some games, particularly knock-out competition matches, provide for 'extra time' in the event of a tied result at the end of normal time. Other variations on a theme such as the 'golden goal' or 'penalty shoot-outs' may also be involved in concluding a game.

Events

The major international competition in football is the World Cup organised by FIFA. The World Cup competition takes place over a two year period. Over 160 national teams compete in regional qualifying tournaments for a place in the finals. The final tournament which is held every four years, now involves 32 national teams (increased from 24 in 1998) competing over a 4 week period.

The major national competitions of the continents are:

The major club event in Europe is the Champions League

Violence

This has a bad side, as groups of fanatics have often caused disturbances and sometimes tragedies (see hooligans, Heysel Stadium disaster and Football War).

National leagues

Here is a list of links to national league football teams:

Standard for football club information

National football teams

Here is a list of links to pages relating to national football teams:

See also:

External links

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Football at the 1900 Summer Olympics

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

At the 1900 Summer Olympics, a football tournament was contested.

Football

PosAthlete
1 Upton Park Football Club (GBR)
J.H. Jones, Claude Buckenham, William Gosling, Alfred Chalk, J.E. Barridge, William Quash, Arthur Turner, F.G. Spackman, J. Nicholas, James Zealley, A. Haslam
2Union des Sociétés Françaises de sports athlétiques (FRA)
Lucien Huteau, Louis Bach, Pierre Allemane, Virgile Gaillard, Alfred Bloch, Maurice Macaine, Eugène Fraysse, Georges Garnier, Marcel Lambert, R. Grandjean, Fernand Canelle, Duparc, Gaston Peltier
3Université de Bruxelles (BEL)
Marcel Leboutte, Raul Kelecom, Ernest Moreau de Melen, Alphonse Renier, Georges Pelgrims, Eugène Neefs, Eric Thornton, Albert Delbecque, Emile Spannoghe, Henrik van Heuckelum, Lucien Londot

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Football at the 1900 Summer Olympics."

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Football at the 1904 Summer Olympics

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

At the 1904 Summer Olympics, a football event was contested. Only three teams (one from Canada and two from United States of America) competed.

Football, Men

PosAthlete
1 Galt Football Club (CAN)
Ernest Linton, George Ducker, John Gourley, John Fraser, Albert Johnson, Robert Lane, Tom Taylor, Frederick Steep, Alexander Hall, Gordon McDonald, William Twaits, Otto Christman, Albert Henderson
2Christian Brothers College (USA)
Louis Menges, Oscar Brockmeyer, Thomas January, John January, Charles January, Peter Ratican, Warren Brittingham, Alexander Cudmore, Charles Bartliff, Joseph Lydon, Raymond Lawlor
3St. Rose Parish (USA)
Frank Frost, George Cooke, Henry Jameson, Joseph Brady, Dierkes, Martin Dooling, Cormic Cosgrove, O'Connell, Claude Jameson, Harry Tate, Thomas Cooke, Johnson

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Football at the 1904 Summer Olympics."

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National Football League

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The National Football League (NFL), formed in 1920,as the American Professional Football Association. The APFA adopted the name of the National Football League in 1922.

In November 1963, the NFL played its full schedule of games the Sunday after JFK's assassination, while the rival American Football League (AFL) postponed its games in respect to the fallen president. The older league later merged with the new league, after the AFL began to successfully sign stars from the NFL. After the merger, the NFL adopted innovative features pioneered by the AFL, such as names on player jerseys, official scoreboard clocks (in the NFL, field and scoreboard clocks often did not agree, leading to confusion), and the two-point conversion. Even before the merger, the NFL adopted the AFL's revolutionary concept of network television broadcasts and sharing of gate and television revenues by both the home and visiting teams. Eventually, the NFL adopted virtually every pioneering aspect of the American Football League, except its name.

The NFL is the largest and most popular professional American football league in the world. It consists of thirty-two teams from American cities.

At the end of each season, the winners of the playoffs in the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference meet in the NFL championsip, the Super Bowl.

Current NFL Franchises

American Football Conference
EastNorthSouthWest
Buffalo BillsBaltimore RavensHouston TexansDenver Broncos
Miami DolphinsCincinnati BengalsIndianapolis ColtsKansas City Chiefs
New England PatriotsCleveland BrownsJacksonville JaguarsOakland Raiders
New York JetsPittsburgh SteelersTennessee TitansSan Diego Chargers

National Football Conference
EastNorthSouthWest
Dallas CowboysChicago BearsAtlanta FalconsArizona Cardinals
New York GiantsDetroit LionsCarolina PanthersSan Francisco 49ers
Philadelphia EaglesGreen Bay PackersNew Orleans SaintsSeattle Seahawks
Washington RedskinsMinnesota VikingsTampa Bay BuccaneersSt. Louis Rams

Playoffs

At the end of each season, in each conference, the four division winners and the two "wild-card" teams (the teams with one of the two best records who did not also win a division) meet in elimination rounds. The two division winners with the best records receive a bye in the first round. The conference champions then play each other in the Super Bowl.

The Draft

Most of the USA's college football players want to play in the NFL. There is a highly organized and formal process called the draft which takes place on a single day in April, in which all NFL teams participate. The NFL team with the worst record in the previous year gets first pick of the draft -- that is, they get to choose one of all the college football players in the USA who are eligible for the draft. The hope is that weak teams can thereby become strengthened over time, in the specialties where they need strengthening. Draft picks continue, in the order from the weakest team to the strongest team, and once all teams have picked one player, they all pick again starting with the weakest team.

However, draft picks are frequently traded in advance for players and other draft picks. For example, before the draft occurs, Team A might trade its first-round draft pick plus a certain player (who already plays for Team A) to Team B in exchange for another particular player who already plays for Team B.

Occasionally a player drafted out of college will go right into a "first-string" position as the team's primary player in that position. However, usually these players begin as second- or third-string backups, only playing games if the first-stringer is injured, or if there has been a runaway score and the coach decides to put a backup in the game for a little experience, and to ensure his first-stringer doesn't get injured at the end in a play that is not meaningful to the team.

Salary, and the salary cap

The minimum salary for an NFL player is $225,000 in his first year, and rises after that based on the number of years in service:

These numbers are set by contract between the NFL and the players' union, the National Football League Players' Association. These numbers are of course exceeded dramatically by the best players in each position.

Escalating player salaries throughout the 1980s and 1990s led to the creation of a salary cap, a maximum amount of money each team can pay its players in aggregate. The cap is determined via a complicated formula based on the revenue that all NFL teams receive during the previous year. As of the 2003 football season, the salary cap was $75,007,000, and the NFL teams' player costs were a mean of $72,150,250.

Proponents of the salary cap note that it prevents a well-financed team in a major city from simply spending giant amounts of money to secure the very best players in every position and thus dominating the entire sport. This has been seen as a problem in American baseball, among other sports. Proponents also claim that player salaries are out of control, and that fans end up paying higher ticket prices to pay for these salaries. Critics of the salary cap note that the driving reason for the cap was to maximize the profitability of the NFL teams, and limit the power of NFL players to command the high salaries they are said to deserve in exchange for bringing in large numbers of paying fans to the stadiums. They also note that the salary cap could hypothetically drive prospective athletes to other sports that do not cap the salaries of players.

Premerger Championships (1920-1969)

From 1920 to 1932, the NFL champion was the team with the best record during the season. This was tricky to sort out, as teams played anywhere from eight to twenty games in a season. In 1932, Chicago Bears and Portsmouth Spartans were tied and played a grudge match of sorts, Chicago winning 9-0. The game proved so popular that the league reorganized to make it a permanent feature.

Between 1933 and 1966, the NFL decided its champion through a single postseason playoff game. During this period, the NFL was divided into two groupings, sometimes referred to as divisions and sometimes called conferences. The first place team in each of the two groupings at the end of the regular season played a title game to determine the championship. If there was a tie for first place, an extra playoff game was played in order to determine which team would play the title game. At various times during this period, the two groupings were called Eastern Division and Western Division ( 1933-1949); American Conference and National Conference(1950-1952); Eastern Conference and Western Conference(1953-1966).

After expansion in 1967, the NFL split the Eastern Conference into the Capitol and Century Divisions and the Western Conference into Coastal and Central Divisions, and the playoff schedule was expanded from a single game between two teams to a four team tournament, with the four divisional champions participating. The NFL champion played the AFL champion in Super Bowls I through IV.

After 1970, the AFL and NFL fully merged and underwent a realignment. Six divisions were allocated among two conferences, and after this time the Super Bowl champion was also the NFL champion. See Super Bowl for a complete list of Super Bowl winners.

In 2002, the National Football League realigned again, this time into eight divisions of four teams each. The realignment was to accommodate a 32nd team. 

APFA-NFL Standings Champions




Year
Team
Wins-Losses-Ties


1920Akron Pros8-0-3


1921Chicago Staleys9-1-1


1922Canton Bulldogs10-0-2


1923Canton Bulldogs11-0-1


1924Cleveland Bulldogs7-1-1


1925Chicago Cardinals11-2-1


1926Frankford Yellow Jackets14-1-2


1927New York Giants11-1-1


1928Providence Steam Roller8-1-2


1929Green Bay Packers12-0-1


1930Green Bay Packers10-3-1


1931Green Bay Packers12-2-0


1932Chicago Bears7-1-6




Championship Games


Commissioners and Presidents of the NFL


League Offices


Players


See also


External links


Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "National Football League."
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Paralympic Football
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Football in the Paralympic Games at the moment is for athletes with cerebral palsy. Also, only the men's event is included in the Paraympic program at the moment and it used to just be seven-a-side game but there now is a five-a-side game. The rules of football in the Paralympic games follow the rules of FIFA, but some modifications are made to make it easier and more fun for the athletes' disabilities. Examples include: Throw ins can be made with one arm and there is no offside law
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Paralympic Football."
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Synonyms within Context: Football
ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Amusement
Athletic sports, gymnastics; archery, rifle shooting; tournament, pugilism; (contention); sports; horse racing, the turf; aquatics; skating, sliding; cricket, tennis, lawn tennis; hockey, football, baseball, soccer, ice hockey, basketball; rackets, fives, trap bat and ball, la grace; pall-mall, tipcat, croquet, golf, curling, pallone, polo, water polo; tent pegging; tilting at the ring, quintain; greasy pole; quoits, horseshoes, discus; rounders, lacrosse; tobogganing, water polo; knurr and spell.
Subjection
Be a mere machine, be a puppet, be a football; not dare to say one's soul is his own; drag a chain.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.
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Crosswords: Football
English words defined with "football": association football ♦ football coach, football field, football helmet, football hero, football league, football official, football play, football player, football score, football season, football stadium, football team, football tee ♦ professional football ♦ rugby football ♦ touch football. (references)
Specialty definitions using "football": Academy ♦ BARGAIN, BASE FILLER ♦ College Colours ♦ DIRECTOR, SPORTS ♦ handles, HARVARD ♦ incomplete pass ♦ maiden ♦ pre-season, pre-seasonal ♦ Real Programmers Don't Use Pascal ♦ SPORT-SHOE-SPIKE ASSEMBLER ♦ WILSON ♦ YALE. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Football" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.
French (football, soccer), German (football), Lombard (football, soccer).
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Modern Usage: Football
DomainUsage
Screenplays
Mr. President, militant women are out to destroy college football in this country (The American President; writing credit: Aaron Sorkin.)
You're 5 foot and nothin', a hundred and nothin', not one ounce of athletic ability, yet you hung in with the best college football team in the land and are gonna walk out of here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame (Rudy; writing credit: Angelo Pizzo)
Football. What are you talkin' about (Trainspotting; writing credit: John Hodge. Based on the novel by Irvine Welsh.)
A football is round, a game lasts 90 minutes (Lola rennt; writing credit: Tom Tykwer)
I'd see a good football match (Operation Daybreak; writing credit: Alan Burgess; Ronald Harwood)
Lyrics
The rhyme is a football y'all and I went and threw it (Boom! Shake The Room; performing artist: Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince)
Jackie gonna be a football star ("Jack and Diane"; performing artist: John Cougar Mellencamp)
I like to watch football on tv (Tricky, tricky; performing artist: Lou Bega)
No football hero or smooth Don Juan, (Uptight (Everything's alright); performing artist: Stevie Wonder)
Movie/TV Titles
Football Crazy (1974)
The Best in Football (1972)
NFL Monday Night Football (1970)
Il Presidente del Borgorosso Football Club (1970)
They Call It Pro Football (1966)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Commercial Usage: Football
DomainTitle
References
  • Aberdeen Football Club PLC: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)
    (more reference examples)
  
Books
  • 52-Week Football Training (reference)
  • Football For Dummies (reference)
  • Offensive Football Strategies (reference)
  • Rites of Autumn: The Story of College Football (reference)
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Football (2nd Edition) (reference)
    (more book examples)
  
Periodicals
  
Theater & Movies
  • NFL 2000 - A Century of Pro Football (reference)
    (more DVD examples; more video examples)
  
Music
  
High Tech
  
Consumer Goods
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Image Slideshow: Football
Photos:
Football
More pictures...
Illustrations:
Football
More pictures...
Computer Images:
Football
More pictures...
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Photo Album: Football
ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit
Antarctic beach party.  Football, frisbee, and baseball below the Antarctic Circle. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.
U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons' fullback Nate Beard evades Fresno State Bulldogs' Bryce McGill for a seven yard gain during this play in the first quarter of the Silicon Valley Football Classic Dec. 30. The Falcons went on to win the game 37-34. (Air Forc.
General 3/4 elevation view, looking northwest, from New Hampshire side of river. Photograph by Jet Lowe, 1984.
(Reproduction Number: HAER NH,10-CORN,2-2)

This former toll bridge linking the towns of Cornish, New Hampshire, and Windsor, Vermont, is one of the largest covered wooden bridges in the U.S. Built in 1866, the bridge stretches more than four hundred feet, making it much longer than a modern-day football field. The bridge spans the Connecticut River at a point where the French military general and American Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette is said to have crossed on his way to Vermont in 1825. Credit: Library of Congress.
Great Britain, British Red Cross Society Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital, Newton-Abbot, England. : Group of patients posing as football players. Credit: National Library of Medicine.
You've bright enough to learn 40 different football plays. Credit: National Library of Medicine.
Ship's football team, 1912. Note inscription on football in lower center, identifying the team as that year's champions of the Third Division (Atlantic Fleet). Photographed by E.A. Hodge, Boston, Massachusetts. Credit: NAVY.
WAVES serve as cheerleaders for the Air Station's football team, 21 October 1943. They are (from left to right): Virginia Gervais, Dorothy Nicoll, Mary Kneller and Nancy Lanford. Credit: NAVY.
Man with mustache shaking the hand of a boy in football clothes, seated. Credit: Library of Congress.
Football player by words "Lettering in red". Credit: Library of Congress.
The Brownies play football -- lining up for the last half. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.
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Digital Photo Gallery: Football
 
"Cat & football" by Pernilla Lindmon
Commentary: "Cat & football."		"Kid football" by Liz Allen
Commentary: "Kid in action."

Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.
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Sounds Captioned with "Football".
PlayCaption
Kicking a football.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Familiar Quotations: Football
AuthorQuotation
Austin O'malley
The harder you throw down a football and a good character, the higher they rebound; but a thrown reputation is like an egg.
Lou Erickson
We will all be better citizens when voting records of our Congressmen are followed as closely as scores of pro football games.
Theodore Roosevelt
To-night while I was preparing to dictate a message to Congress concerning the boiling caldron on the Isthmus of Panama, which has now begun to bubble over, up came one of the ushers with a telegram from you and Ted about the football match. Instantly I bolted into the next room to read it aloud to mother and sister, and we all cheered in unison when we came to the Rah! Rah! Rah! part of it. It was a great score. I wish I could have seen the game.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
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Use in Literature: Football
TitleAuthorQuote
Grapes of Wrath
Steinbeck, John
A little gold football hung on a slender chain across his vest
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
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Non-Fiction Usage: Football
SubjectTopicQuote
Health
However, jogging, football, and many other sports are reasonably safe for a person with epilepsy. (references)
Several of his patients have played football, and one, in particular, is an excellent tennis player. (references)
For the older child, it is wise to limit activities such as football, soccer, skateboarding, or rollerskating. (references)
Business
As with softball and volleyball, soccer (called football) is primarily a required subject in the school curriculum. (references)
Further substantial growth is expected once major sporting events, such as Premier League football, migrate to the new format on a pay for view basis. (references)
Civil Liberties
Czech Republic
He also labeled several prominent politicians "criminals and traitors."  On September 24, a man was charged with causing a breach of the peace and supporting movements leading to the suppression of citizens' rights and freedoms after he allegedly chanted the name of Usama bin Ladin and anti-U.S. slogans at a football match on September 15; his case was pending at year's end. (references)
Economic History
Canada
Demand has curtailed in the following sectors: sports footwear, sporting clothes, and team equipment such as football, soccer and volleyball. (references)
Nigeria
Even the state broadcasting studios including the national television authority have been guilty of illegal rebroadcast of movies and football matches from Nigeria's independent stations. (references)
Human Rights
Seychelles
However, some members of the football team were suspended for life and others were suspended for varying amounts of time. (references)
Belarus
On September 1, 20 activists from Zubr were detained for wearing the wrong colored shirts to a Ukraine-Belarus football match. (references)
Gambia
Youths in Bojang's neighborhood had organized a football match, during which a fight broke out and the youths began throwing stones at each other. (references)
Minorities
Argentina
There also have been antiracist publicity spots shown in football stadiums, as well as radio advertisements dealing with antiracist subjects. (references)
Travel
Australia
Sports of all types are well-supported, in particular, the four football codes (Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union and soccer) and cricket. (references)
Lexicography
Devil's Dictionary
ACADEMY, n.  [from :ACADEME:]   A modern school where football is taught.
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.
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Spoken Usage: Football
SpeakerPhrase(s)
Andy Rooney
Well, I think the idea of it. I can lump the idea of it. I do not like the idea of a woman on the sideline talking about football.
Don Imus
I like Dennis Miller. I love Dennis Miller. I mean, I think he is brilliant. I wish he wouldn't do the football thing. It's just demeaning for him. I mean, there's all kinds of people, Frank Rich.
Margaret Thatcher
Obviously. HE has his own industrial career. He's also a person in great demand. He's also very keen on sports, he's very keen on rugby football. He was a rugby football referee in his spare time at one time.
Prince Albert of Monaco
Yeah. I used to play in my youth. I used to play for AS Monaco, for the, you know, Monaco football team.
Rush Limbaugh
You don't hear steelworkers in Pittsburgh, or cowboys in Dallas, complaining about football teams being named after them.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Speeches: Football
SpeakerTermPhrase(s)
George W. Bush
2001-2005I don't want to play football until I can play with you again some day.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
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Usage Frequency: Football
"Football" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.08% of the time. "Football" is used about 5,844 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words		Rank in English
Noun (singular)99.08%5,7901,691 
Noun (proper)0.79%4650,285 
Noun (common)0.12%7133,076 
Unclassified Items0.02%1339,140 
                    Total100.00%5,844N/A
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
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Usage in Company Names: Football
CountryName
United Kingdom
Aberdeen Football Club PLC
 (more examples...)
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
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Expressions: Football
Expressions using "football": american football ♦ association football ♦ association of football ♦ be a football ♦ football association ♦ football bladder ♦ football boot ♦ football boots ♦ football coach ♦ football fan ♦ football field ♦ football ground ♦ football helmet ♦ football hero ♦ football league ♦ football match ♦ football noise ♦ football official ♦ football play ♦ football player ♦ football pool ♦ football pools ♦ football rowdies ♦ football score ♦ football season ♦ football stadium ♦ football stadium in paris ♦ football team ♦ football tee ♦ national Football Conference ♦ national football team ♦ play football ♦ professional football ♦ professional football player ♦ rugby football ♦ shine at football ♦ the football cup ♦ the rules of football ♦ touch football. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
Beginning with "football": football-fan-free, football-field-sized, football-following, football-ground, football-loving, football-mad, football-obsessive, football-only, football-pitch, football-playing, football-pools, football-related, football-shaped, football-sized, football-style, football-watching.
Ending with "football": american-football, Blow-football, ex-football, pro-football, table-football, total-football, Win-a-football.
Containing "football": bulletin-bullet-bull-pull-football-foot.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Football
The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day		ExpressionFrequency
per Day
football
12,723
arena football league
544
fantasy football
5,222
canadian football league
543
college football
3,179
alabama football
538
arena football
1,737
penn state football
524
liverpool football club
1,638
football gambling
524
nfl football
1,401
football camp
513
pro football betting
1,302
football betting online
424
national football league
1,244
football picture
415
notre dame football
1,057
auburn football
379
football game
922
football cleats
377
equipment football
830
football play
369
espn football
747
nebraska football
367
ohio state football
736
monday night football
361
ncaa football
703
pro football weekly
358
football jersey
670
football betting
350
high school football
629
football bet
347
ticket to watch football
578
football helmet
343
football card
578
pro football
334
football betting line
573
football hall of fame
318
free fantasy football
552
usc football
318
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Modern Translation: Football
Language Translations for "football"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Afrikaans
  
sokker (soccer). (various references)
   
Albanian
  
futboll (footer, soccer). (various references)
   
Arabic 
  
‏كرة قدم, ‏كرة القدم الامريكية, ‏كرة القدم. (various references)
   
Asturian
  
fúbol americanu (American football). (various references)
   
Blackfoot
  
innoohpokon. (various references)
   
Bulgarian 
  
футболна топка (pigskin), футбол (association football, footer, soccer). (various references)
   
Chinese 
  
足球  (soccer), 橄欖球 , 橄榄球 (rugby). (various references)
   
Czech
  
fotbal (association football, soccer). (various references)
   
Danish
  
amerikansk fodbold (American football). (various references)
   
Dutch
  
voetbal (soccer, soccer ball). (various references)
   
Esperanto
  
futbalo (soccer), usona futbalo (American football), piedpilko (soccer ball). (various references)
   
Faeroese
  
amerikanskur fótbóltur (American football). (various references)
   
Finnish
  
jalkapalloilu, jalkapallo. (various references)
   
French
  
football, foot. (various references)
   
Frisian
  
Amearikaansk fuotbal (American football). (various references)
   
German
  
fußball (soccer, soccer ball). (various references)
   
Greek 
  
ποδόσφαιρο (soccer). (various references)
   
Hawaiian
  
futboll (soccer). (various references)
   
Hebrew 
  
כדורגל (soccer). (various references)
   
Hungarian
  
futball (soccer). (various references)
   
Indonesian
  
sepakbola (soccer), sepak bola. (various references)
   
Inuktitut
  
aqitaqtuq assatut (American football). (various references)
   
Irish
  
sacar (soccer). (various references)
   
Italian
  
pallone (ball, balloon, dance, flask, soccer). (various references)
   
Japanese Kanji 
  
蹴球  (soccer), フックの法則  (footlights, hook bowl, hook line, Hooke's law, limelight). (various references)
   
Japanese Katakana 
  
フットボール , しゅうきゅう (soccer, weekly holiday, weekly pay). (various references)
   
Korean 
  
축구 (soccer). (various references)
   
Lombard
  
football (soccer), follber (soccer). (various references)
   
Manx
  
bluckaneyrys (Gaelic football), bluckan coshey. (various references)
   
Maori
  
hutupaoro. (various references)
   
Norwegian
  
fotball (soccer). (various references)
   
Papiamen
  
futbòl (soccer). (various references)
   
Pig Latin
  
ootballfay.(various references)
   
Portuguese
  
futebol (footer, soccer, soccer ball). (various references)
   
Provencal
  
fotbòl american (American football). (various references)
   
Romanian
  
fotbal (association of football, soccer). (various references)
   
Russian 
  
футбол (footer, soccer, socker). (various references)
   
Samoan
  
lakapi Amerika (American football). (various references)
   
Serbo-Croatian
  
ragbi (rugby). (various references)
   
Spanish
  
fútbol (association football, footer, soccer). (various references)
   
Swahili
  
soka (soccer). (various references)
   
Swedish
  
fotboll (footer, pigskin, soccer). (various references)
   
Thai
  
กีฬาฟุตบอล (soccer), ลูกฟุตบอล. (various references)
   
Turkish
  
futbol topu (leather, soccer ball), futbol (association football, footer, soccer), ayaktopu (soccer). (various references)
   
Turkmen 
  
futbol (r). (various references)
   
Ukrainian
  
футбольний м'яч (pigskin), футбольний, футбол (association, soccer). (various references)
   
Welsh
  
peldroed. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.
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Derivations & Misspellings: Football
Derivations
Words beginning with "football": footballer, footballers, footballs. (additional references)

Misspellings
"Football" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: fooball, footall, footbal, footbell, fotbal, fotball, futbal, futball, rootball. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).
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Rhyming with "Football"
# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "football" (pronounced fuh"tbô'l)
4-t b ô' lbasketball, fastball, spitball, meatball, racquetball, softball.
3-b ô' lblackball, butterball, cannonball, eyeball, fireball, handball, hardball, softball, stickball, mothball, oddball, pinball, screwball, snowball, trackball, volleyball.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.
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Anagrams: Football
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
Words within the letters "a-b-f-l-l-o-o-t"
-2 letters: ballot.
-3 letters: afoot, allot, aloft, aloof, atoll, bloat, float, flota, loofa, taboo.
-4 letters: alto, ball, blat, blot, boat, bola, boll, bolo, bolt, boot, bota, fall, flab, flat, foal, fool, foot, loaf, lobo, loft, loof, loot, lota, obol, olla, tall, tola, toll, tool.
-5 letters: abo, aft, alb, all, alt, bal, bat, boa, boo, bot, fat.
 Words containing the letters "a-b-f-l-l-o-o-t"
 
+1 letter: footballs.
 
+2 letters: footballer.
 
+3 letters: footballers.
 
+5 letters: tablespoonful.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.
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INDEX
 1. Definition 
 2. Crosswords 
 3. Usage: Modern 
 4. Usage: Commercial 		 5. Images: Slideshow 
 6. Images: Photo Album 
 7. Images: Digital Art 
 8. Sounds 		 9. Quotations: Familiar 
 10. Quotations: Fiction 
 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 
 12. Quotations: Spoken 		 13. Quotations: Speeches 
 14. Usage Frequency 
 15. Names: Company Usage 
 16. Expressions 		 17. Expressions: Internet 
 18. Translations: Modern 
 19. Derivations 
 20. Rhymes 		 21. Anagrams 
 22. Bibliography 


  
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