American Football is largely based on rugby, while football is a hybrid of rugby and association soccer (In the UK, it is known purely as Football). American Football uses an oval-shaped field (soccer uses a rectangle), and the goal is scored by placing a football (soccer uses a ball) through the goal, and in soccer, the ball must fully cross the goal line. Soccer has teams of 11 players, and up to 10 on the substitute bench, but can have squads in excess of 30-40 players. American Football teams carry 45 to 50 players because the positions are so specialised. You will have 11 players on the field at a time, and it is rare that a player will play on both offence and defence. Both sports are incredibly popular. Soccer is popular the world over, and American Football has seen a sharp rise in popularity outside of the USA in recent years.
The Difference between Football and American Football:
Football (soccer)
It is played in 11 v 11; and is the most-played sport in the world, with an estimated 4.2 billion players. It is played in various countries, and this has been the case since ancient times and now comes in wide varieties, such as “club football” which is individual teams in their respective leagues, and competitions, both in their own domestic countries and in continental competitions. Then you have the international level, which contains the likes of the European Championships, the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup, both of which take place every 4 years.
Football is a sport that was invented in England during the mid-nineteenth century. It evolved from a running-based sport called Rounders which was played between groups of people. Football is also the most popular sport in the world, with more fans than baseball, cricket, basketball, and tennis combined.
American Football
It is played 11 v 11 in the same way Soccer is. American football uses an oval-shaped ball. American football also has 2 main positions, offence and defence, whereas soccer has lots more and is less specific on the two. American football uses 4 downs in each play, whereas soccer can be an unlimited number of “goals” per game. American football is in two conferences, the NFC and the AFC, whereas football has hundreds of different leagues worldwide, each having its own Football Association (FA). American football uses one referee, whereas soccer has 4 referees (1 in-game, 2 “linesmen” and 1 “fourth official”, who acts as the main referee’s cover). American football has playoffs, whereas soccer does, but in a different format. Play-offs in soccer are used to determine “promotion” places to higher divisions, but in American Football, playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion.
In American Football, players wear helmets, shoulder pads, and thigh pads to protect them from injuries. Also, they are allowed to 1) hit the ground, 2) make physical contact with other players, and 3) use their hands. Also, a touchdown is a point scored by throwing a ball through the end zone. Soccer players are not allowed to 1) use their hands (unless they are a goalkeeper or taking a throw-in), 2) commit serious foul play when tackling, 3) shout abuse at the referee, 4) catch the ball (unless it has already gone out of play). Finally, American football has a 50-minute game, six 5-minute quarters, 15 players per team, and 11 players on the field. American Football is a sport played on a field that is 100 yards long by 64 yards wide, Soccer is played on a field that is 100 yards long by 50 yards wide, but this size can fluctuate depending on the specifications of the stadium being used.
Soccer originated in England in the 1860s and involved kicking and throwing a small ball between two teams of eleven players. American football is a similar sport that combines elements of the Gaelic game of hurling and Rugby football. Both sports have their roots in medieval times when games were played with a ball, but American football is a slightly different shape of ball, it is an oval. Both football and American football involve passing a ball, but in American football, passing is only allowed on the offence, whereas in Soccer, passes can be made at any time, anywhere on the pitch in any direction. Both football and American football involve tackling, but in American football, tackling is only allowed on the defence, and in soccer, malicious and dangerous tackles which can endanger an opponent are not allowed, and if deemed to be dangerous, a referee will issue a red card, sending the player off for the remainder of the game.
Both football and American football are extreme sports, but football (soccer) has always been the most popular sport in the world. Football and American football are technically two completely different sports, but they do have a few things in common. Hopefully, this article has helped you see the main differences and similarities between the two.