Football sports
Football sports include American Football, Canadian Football, Australian Rules Football, soccer, and rugby.
The most popular of these football games is soccer, generally known as "football" outside the U.S. It is played on a field where possession of a round ball is competed for by two teams of eleven people who (with the exception of the goalkeepers) may not touch the ball with their hands or arms. The aim of the game is to score goals by propelling the ball into the goal of the opposing team. The governing body is FIFA, the International Federation of Football Associations. The name Soccer, a derivation from "Association Football", is most commonly used in countries such as the U.S. and Australia where other forms of football are more popular. This version of the game was derived in Great Britain and was the first to be professionalized. It is particularly popular in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. Professional leagues exist in many countries, most notably in England, Italy and Spain. The ultimate competition for this sport is the FIFA World Cup held every four years.
Rugby was derived in England at around the same time as Soccer, initially at Rugby School. This version uses an elliptical ball with the main aim being to ground the ball over the opponents' goal line to score a try. Kicking and passing are permitted, but all passes must be backward. There are two versions of the sport, Rugby Union and Rugby League. Each uses a different numbers of players and slightly different rules. Rugby is popular in the U.K., France, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and throughout the South Pacific. The ultimate competition for this sport is the Rugby World Cup held every four years.
American football was created in the nineteenth century and was derived from Rugby. Originally played at the college level, professional teams were created in 1920. This version uses a smaller ball than rugby and is the most popular form of football in the U.S. but is rarely played outside that country. The main difference from rugby is that the game is broken up into a series of plays, each ending when the ball touches the ground, and that for each play the offensive team is allowed one forward pass. In addition the ball does not need to be grounded to score, but simply carried into the end zone. The ultimate competition for this sport is the National Football League. Other professional leagues exist, many with rules variations. An example is the Canadian Football League, which has a larger field, three downs instead of four, and a number of other differences from American football. Another is the Arena Football League, where games are played indoors on a shortened field.
Comparison chart
| Soccer | Rugby league | Rugby Union | American football | Canadian Football | Australian football | |
| Number of players | 11 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 18 |
| Ball shape | round | elliptical | ||||
| Handling | goalkeeper only | all players | all players | all players not deemed ineligible until after the pass | all players not deemed ineligible until after the pass | all players |
| passing | kicked | backwards only, thrown | backwards only, thrown | lateral + one forward pass per play, thrown | lateral + one forward pass per play, thrown | unrestricted, punched |
| touchdown | n/a | ball grounded in touch zone | ball grounded in touch zone | ball in endzone in player's possession with two feet grounded | ball in endzone in player's possession with two feet grounded | closest comparison is a rushed behind |
| goal | into opponent's net | kicked over opposing goal posts | kicked between opposing goal posts | |||
