Football and soccer are occasionally associated with each other, not least due to the fact that overseas, what Americans know as soccer is actually called football. However, football and soccer are actually two very different sports.
Objective
In both sports, the objective is to score more points than your opponents. This is done by moving the ball up the field towards your opponent's goal or endzone. However, the methods of moving the ball and of scoring are vastly different in each sport.
Logistics
Football fields are 100 yards long and 160 feet wide. In addition, there are two endzones, each 10 yards long. Soccer fields are slightly larger. Typically, professional matches are played on fields 120 yards long and 70 yards wide. Goals are 8 yards wide and 8 feet high.
The balls used to play football and soccer are very different. A soccer ball is spherical and smooth. A football is oval in shape, made of leather and has laces on one side for grip.
Soccer Rules
Soccer games are played with 11 players on each team, including a goalkeeper. Teams have defenders, midfielders and forwards, all of whom are on the field together.
The main characteristic that distinguishes soccer from football is that soccer is played with your feet. Players use their feet to control, pass and kick the ball and occasionally use their head. While players most commonly use their feet, they can hit the ball with any part of their body except their hands. The only player who can use his hands is the goalkeeper.
Football Rules
Football is played with 11 players on the field for each team. However, a team will have only offensive or defensive players on the field at one time, depending on who has possession of the ball.
In soccer, play goes back and forth during continuous play. However, in football, play is stopped after every play. To start a play, the ball is snapped from the center to the quaterback. From there, the quaterback can hand the ball off to the running back, who can run with the ball, or he can throw to a receiver. Once a player with the ball is tackled or runs out of bounds, the ball is marked down at that spot.
Scoring Rules
The only way to get a point in soccer is to score a goal. To do this, a player must strike the ball and the entire ball must cross the goalline. However, there several ways of scoring in football. A team can score a touchdown, worth six points, by running into the endzone with possession of the ball or throwing the ball to a teammate. After a touchdown, a team can attempt an extra point, worth one point, by kicking the ball through the goalposts. They may also choose to attempt a two-point conversion by getting the ball into the endzone from two yards out. A team can also score without getting a touchdown by kicking the ball threw the goalposts, which are located behind each endzone. This is known as a field goal. The final method of scoring in football is a safety, in which you tackle an opposing player who has possession of the ball in his endzone. This is worth two points.
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