Dimensions of canadian football field

Field Layout. A regulation size Canadian football field is yards long from goal line to goal line and 65 yards wide. · Objective of the Game · Dimensions of canadian football field Rules. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins! Each team has 12 players on the field at a time. The positions include offensive players (like. The biggest difference between Canadian and American football is the size of the playing field. In Canada, football fields are yards long and 65 yards wide. Canadian (CFL) Football Field Dimensions Diagram End Zone: Unlike American football where the end zones are 10 yards deep, the CFL end zones.

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Why is Canadian football different? In America football fields are 100 yards long and 53 and 1/3 yards wide. The goal posts in Canadian football are placed at the front, rather than the back of the end zone which is also deeper in Canadian football than American. Canadian football teams have twelve players as opposed to the eleven on American teams.

What is the difference between Canadian and American football fields? The official playing field in Canadian football is larger than the American, and similar to American fields before 1912. The Canadian field of play is 110 by 65 yards (100.6 by 59.4 m), compared to 100 by 53+1⁄3 yards (91.4 by 48.8 m) in American football.

What are the dimensions of a football field in Canada? Canadian football, or simply football (in Canada), is a sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field 110 yards (101 m) long and 65 yards (59 m) wide, attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's end zone.

What is the biggest football field in the world? Rungrado 1st of May Stadium

Is football big in Canada? Popularity and fandom

Is Canadian football safer than American football? Yes, there are some key differences that make Canadian football a somewhat safer game. Specifically: Three downs vs. four per offensive series, which translates to less reliance on the physical running game. Instead of four as in the American game, Canadian football has three.

Is a Canadian football bigger than American? Players have taken the slogan to mean that the CFL 's football is bigger than the NFL's. Although that was true for decades, the dimensions of both footballs are now essentially the same. "There's no difference in the balls now," Winnipeg quarterback Kent Austin said recently.

Is a FIFA field bigger than a football field? Soccer fields don't have standardized dimensions between locations at lower levels. FIFA states that the field's measurements can range from 50 yards wide by 100 yards long to 100 yards wide by 130 yards long. An American football field is 360 feet (120 yards) in length by 160 feet (53.3 yards) wide.

Are Canadian footballs bigger than American footballs? Players have taken the slogan to mean that the CFL 's football is bigger than the NFL's. Although that was true for decades, the dimensions of both footballs are now essentially the same. "There's no difference in the balls now," Winnipeg quarterback Kent Austin said recently.

Is a Canadian football field bigger? The official playing field in Canadian football is larger than the American, and similar to American fields before 1912. The Canadian field of play is 110 by 65 yards (100.6 by 59.4 m), compared to 100 by 53+1⁄3 yards (91.4 by 48.8 m) in American football.

Is CFL field wider than NFL? The playing surface in Canada is longer and wider than that of the ones in the United States. An NFL field is 100 x 53 1/3 yards, with the midfield line slated at the 50-yard line. However, a CFL field is 110 x 65 yards with the midfield line at 55 yards. In addition, the end zones differ as well.

Why is Canadian football field bigger? In the NFL, the field measures 100 yards (that's 1200 chicken wings laid out end to end) and 53 1/3 yards wide, while the CFL gridiron is 110 yards by 65 yards. According to experts, the bigger field in Canadian football favours the passing game over running the ball, with more space for receivers to maneuver.

Is there a difference between American and Canadian football? There are a lot of differences between American and Canadian football. One major and probably most obvious difference is the size of the field and the length of the end zone. In Canadian football, the field the field is 110 yards long, not counting the two 20 yard deep end zones. It's also 65 yards wide.

How is Canadian football different? First, the size of the fields differ. In the Canadian Football the game is played on a longer field (110 yards instead of 100 as in the NFL). The field is also wider. Second, in Canadian Football you only have three downs to make the required 10 yards in order to get a first down.

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The open-field kick may be used as a desperation last play by the offense; realizing they are unable to go the length of the field, they advance part of the way and attempt a drop kick , trying to score a field goal, or recover the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Conversely, the defence, facing a last-second field goal attempt in a tie game or game they lead by one point, often positions its punter and place-kicker in the end zone.

If the field goal is missed, they can punt the ball back into the field of play and not concede a single. Multiple such kicks may be attempted on the same play. During the October 29, , Toronto Argonauts game against the Montreal Alouettes , four kicks occurred in one play; after a Montreal missed field goal , the Argonauts punted from the end zone to about the yard line.

The ball was caught and immediately punted back to the end zone by Montreal to attempt a single , and finally the Argos punted, but failed to kick it out of the end zone, where the Alouettes recovered it for a touchdown. American football only allows free kicks and scrimmage kicks made from behind the line of scrimmage; any kick beyond the line of scrimmage or after change of possession would result in a penalty.

Some levels of American football allow the rare fair catch kick , which according to the NFL rules is neither a free kick nor scrimmage kick, but sui generis. In both American and Canadian football, a safety or safety touch awards two points to the defending team if the offensive team is brought down in their end zone.

In American football, the team giving up the safety must take a " free kick " from their own yard line. In Canadian football, the team being awarded the two points has the option of scrimmaging from their own yard line, kicking the ball off from their own yard line, or having the opposing team kick off the ball from their own yard line. In , the CFL changed the last option to be a kick-off from their own yard line.

In both games, after a touchdown is scored, the scoring team may then attempt one play for additional points. In Canadian football, this play is called a "convert", and in American football, it is formally called a try or attempt, although it is more commonly referred to as either a conversion, extra point, or point after touchdown PAT. The additional points may be earned through a kick or a play from scrimmage.

If done via kick, the scoring team gains one point, and if done from a scrimmage, the scoring team gains two. However, the position of the ball for attempts is different in the two games. Point-after-touchdown attempts are snapped from the following points as of the season :. Before the CFL season, that league used the 5-yard line for all attempts for a yard attempt , which meant that the Canadian kicker was closer to the goalposts than an American kicker at any level.

Amateur Canadian kickers remain closer to their goalposts than their American counterparts. No such hashmark appears on the Canadian field. According to the rules of both the NFL and NCAA, on conversion attempts, the ball is automatically spotted in the middle of the field at the appropriate scrimmage line unless a member of the kicking team expressly asks a referee for an alternative placement.

Per the rules, the ball can be placed at another spot between the hash marks especially for strategic positioning on a two-point conversion attempt or at another spot further back from the 2-, 3-, or yard line not uncommon at lower levels of football, since as the season progresses, conditions may worsen toward the center of the field, especially at the spot from which the PAT is usually kicked; the kicker may thus request a spot where the footing is surer.

As such, this allows the defensive team to gain two points on an interception or fumble return should they reach the kicking team's end zone, or in the CFL one point should the defensive team make an open-field drop kick through the kicking team's goalposts. Dimensions of canadian football field Conversely, in other levels of American football and amateur Canadian football, defensive teams cannot score during a try.

A small plastic tee, which can be 1 to 2 inches 25—51 mm high smaller than the kickoff tee , may be used for field goals and extra points in some leagues, including US high schools and Canadian amateur play. The NFL and most other professional leagues has never allowed the use of tees for extra-point kick attempts, having always required kickers to kick off the ground for such attempts and for field goals; a rare exception for a U.

The holder is allowed to catch the snap or recover a rolling snap while on a knee to hold the kick and may also rise to catch a high snap and immediately return to a knee. At professional levels in both games, unless it is a clearly willful kneel or slide by a ball carrier to go down, a player must be touched while on the ground, otherwise, the player may stand up and continue to advance the ball.

Hitting a player who is kneeling, sliding, or clearly intends to run the ball out of bounds especially quarterbacks is generally viewed as unsportsmanlike and is often penalized, and in the most blatant of cases especially if it happens in the dying seconds of a game , the player may be subject to off-field disciplinary action by their respective league governing body, usually in the form of fines or suspensions.

The procedures to settle games that are tied at the end of regulation vary considerably among football leagues. Most leagues other than the NFL, including the CFL, use a procedure frequently called the "Kansas Playoff", so named because it was first developed for high school-football in that state.

The rules are summarized here:. One aspect of the AAF overtime rules was unique to that league—field goals were prohibited during overtime. The NFL overtime is a modified sudden-death period of 15 minutes, for playoff games only; since the season , overtime periods in the preseason and regular season are 10 minutes, as part of an overall effort by the NFL to speed up games and reduce their length.

If the team that receives the opening kickoff scores a touchdown, or the defensive team scores a safety, the game ends at that point. If the receiving team scores a field goal, the game continues with the scoring team kicking off, and the scored-upon team having a chance at possession. If that team scores a touchdown, or loses possession, the game ends; if it scores a field goal, overtime continues, with the next score by either team ending the game.

In the regular season, if a game remains tied after the minute period, it is declared a tie. In postseason games, there are multiple minute periods until a winner is decided. The overtime protocol of the second XFL , currently on hiatus, was significantly different from that of other leagues, being most similar to that used in US college football after that rule set's fourth overtime procedure: [37] [38].

In American high school and college football , as well as at all levels of Canadian football, receivers need only have one foot in bounds provided the player's other foot does not come down out of bounds until the catch is made for a catch to count as a reception. NFL play requires receivers to get both feet on the ground and in bounds after making the catch for a reception to count.

Up through the season, an NFL official could award a catch if it was judged that the receiver would have come down in bounds if he had not been pushed by a defender. This rule was based on a judgment call by the official, and was criticized for being inconsistent.

The rule was dropped prior to the season by the NFL. A CFL team may dress up to 44 players, composed of 21 "nationals" essentially, Canadians , 20 "internationals" almost exclusively Americans , and 3 quarterbacks. Player numbering schemes are similar in both Canadian and American football are similar, with Canadian rules being slightly less strict.

In American football, players who wear numbers from 50 to 79 are, by rule, prohibited from catching or touching forward passes if their team is in possession of the ball and may not line up in a position that allows them to do so, unless explicitly indicated to the referee during a tackle-eligible play.

In Canadian football, the ineligible numbers span only 50 to Also, in the CFL the numbers 0 and 00, historically banned at all levels in American football, have long been available for use, other than for the aforementioned ineligible players. Effective in , a team cannot have players wearing 0 and 00 in the same game.

In the early s, the rules were relaxed in American football to allow the number 0 in college and professional football, although 00 remains prohibited. This is in order to ensure the Grey Cup playoffs can be completed in mid-November, before the harsh Canadian winters set in. This is an important consideration for a sport played in outdoor venues in locations such as Regina , Edmonton and Winnipeg.

In American football, officials typically use yellow penalty flags, while coaches' challenge flags are red. Before the CFL season , officials ' penalty flags used in the CFL were orange in color, and challenge flags were yellow. In American leagues, the referee wears a solid white cap, and the other officials wear black with white piping.

The CFL regular season comprises 18 games since , with the exception of , in which a game schedule was used, while the NFL regular season has consisted of 17 games since There are several radical differences concerning how the leagues calculate regular season records and how ties in the standings are broken:. Although the rules of Canadian and American football have similarities, the differences have a great effect on how teams play and are managed.

The red zone is an unofficial term designating the portion of the field between the yard line and the goal line. Due to the goalposts' being on the goal line in Canadian football, teams must avoid hitting the goalposts. Thus most touchdown throws are aimed away from the centre portion of the end zone. In the CFL, the goalposts have the same construction as the NFL posts, with the centre post being about 2 yards deep in the end zone.

It is extremely rare for CFL passes to hit any part of the posts. When this occurs, a dead ball results. Occasionally, receivers can use the post to good effect in a 'rub' play to shed a defender. End zone passing becomes even more complicated when the corners of the end zone are truncated, as is the case at stadia where the field is bounded by a running track.

However, the offensive team enjoys a counteracting advantage of end zones more than twice the size of those in American football 20 yards with a wider field , significantly expanding the area that must be covered by the defensive team and also allowing the freedom to run some pass patterns not available in American football's red zone.

Moreover, the rule requiring only a single foot to be in bounds upon pass reception in Canadian football further stretches the amount of area that the offenses have to work with. NFL offenses generally try a run between tackles when on the one-yard line. CFL offenses make similar attempts on first down on the one-yard line, but second and third down attempts, if required, can be much more varied than their NFL counterparts.

The frequency of punts is highly dependent upon the success, or lack thereof, of the offense. Punt returns are ubiquitous in Canadian football because the "no-yards" rule permits virtually every punt to be fielded and returned. Moreover, if the kicking team punts the ball out of bounds in an attempt to forestall a return and the ball goes out of bounds between the two yard lines without touching the ground first, a yard penalty is assessed and the ball advanced from where it left play, or the kicking team is backed up 10 yards and must replay the down.

Though missed field goals may be returned in both national rule sets, the deeper end zone and goal post positioning make this much more common in Canadian rules. TSN on-air analysts state that they are the single play-from-scrimmage most likely to result in a touchdown. This set of special teams play field goal return units are rare in the American game to the point where a returner is not a standard part of a defensive field goal unit and will only be seen in unusual circumstances, with one especially notable example being the famous " Kick Six " college football game in Canadian kickoffs rarely result in a touchback, so special teams are more prominent in that area of the game as well.

The difference in the games' final minutes procedures make comebacks—and the need for an onside kick 'hands' team—more prominent as well. The rule regarding last touch of the ball before leaving the play of field, rather than American football's last possession rule, makes the onside kick more likely to be successful as well.

The most complex coaching job in Canadian football is said [ by whom. As many as 40 of a CFL roster of players may have a special teams role because of the wide variety of possible situations. In and , the Edmonton Eskimos even used their third-string quarterbacks Pat White in and Jordan Lynch in [42] as part of their kick and kick-coverage teams.

This is highly unusual, as quarterbacks are generally discouraged from making contact plays. Kick returning was a duty generally handled by a player with another role, such as receiver or defensive back. Henry "The Gizmo" Williams [43] was the first player designated by telecasts as "KR" for a kicker returner position as his duties were almost entirely for that role, and referring to him as "WR" for wide receiver was increasingly seen as anachronistic.

By far the greatest kick returner in professional football history, Gizmo Williams had more returns for touchdowns called back for infractions than any other player has ever scored 26 punts, 2 kick-offs. Saints vs packers spread No NFL player has enjoyed similar success and the careers of such specialists like Devin Hester come nowhere near to matching the impact on the game that such players have in the CFL.

Canadian teams have only three downs to advance the ball ten yards compared to four downs in the American game. With one fewer down, Canadian teams must try for the big gain. For this reason, Canadian teams usually prefer passing over rushing to a greater extent than American, since pass attempts generally tend to gain more yards than rushing.

This makes the action in Canadian football more open than is the case in the American game. Offensive drives continuous possession of the ball tend to be shorter. Having three downs on a much longer and wider field with unlimited backfield motion results in Canadian teams requiring faster, more nimble athletes comparatively than their American counterparts.

Paradoxically, this makes Canadian defense better at defending rushing plays. Rushing plays tend to be unlikely to produce a full ten-yard gain, and if correctly anticipated by the defense, much gain at all. The fewer downs means that an unsuccessful rushing play leaves an offense to have a single play to make comparatively longer first down yardage, so rushing plays are less favored unless the team on offense is actively managing the clock while maintaining the lead.

Pundits often like to claim that a Canadian team that rushes for yards or more per game is likely to win, but the reality is winning teams rush the ball in defense of their leads, and not as a tactic to produce drives that lead to points unless they are markedly superior to their opponents.

The larger field generally permits greater YAC yards after catch on each individual catch, where the NFL produces passing plays that either result in immediate tackles for relatively few YAC, or huge gains resulting from missed tackles or broken coverage. In theory, an NFL team taking possession on their own one-yard line, using three downs for each first-down conversion and the full 40 second clock could run 27 plays and consume 18 minutes of clock time covering the 99 yards.

A CFL team doing something similar two plays per conversion, 20 second clock, average 10 seconds of clock time while the officials reset the ball between plays, yards would run 24 plays and consume 12 minutes of clock at the most. One other notable difference is the propensity of CFL quarterbacks to rush the ball, both by design and as a result of reacting to the defense.

Damon Allen [44] the younger brother of Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen had 11, rushing yards to go along with 72, passing yards in his year career and actually sits third overall in career rushing yards. Contrast that with Randall Cunningham's yards over 16 seasons. Perhaps the greatest difference arises due to the virtually unlimited movement allowed in the defensive and offensive backfields on a play from scrimmage in the Canadian game vs.

Combined with the much larger field size, this difference changes the skillsets required of the athletes. Canadian wide receivers, safeties and cornerbacks are far enough from the point where the ball is snapped that they rarely participate in rush offense or defense.

Linebackers can be called upon to successfully defend running backs sent to receive passes. There is therefore a much greater premium placed on athletic speed, with former Edmonton Eskimos GM and former wide receiver Ed Hervey 6 ft 0 in [ cm], lb [88 kg], All-American at USC in the meter and Malcolm Frank [44] 5 ft 8 in [ cm] lb [77 kg] being prototypical for the CFL.

The offence has many more formation options and starting positions, forcing the defence to anticipate more possibilities. Seven of the 12 men on a CFL offense typically the five linemen and the wide receivers must be at the line of scrimmage at the time of the snap, and the other five must be at least one yard behind the line.

Only the quarterback and linemen must be motionless at the time of the snap, allowing up to six players to be moving toward or along the line at varying speeds typically the wide receivers are still or at a walking pace at the snap to ensure they are at the line of scrimmage. In both the college and pro games, an offensive team with the lead has more difficulty in running out the clock in the Canadian game.

In the Canadian Football League , the clock is stopped while the officials place the ball, and then they whistle the game clock and play clock to begin in the last minutes of a half; whereas in the National Football League the clock remains running while the officials set the ball dependent upon the result of the previous play—penalty, incomplete pass, out-of-bounds, or tackle inbounds in both leagues while the play clock of 40 seconds runs down.

The game clock only begins again when the play is whistled in, for an inbounds tackle, or at the snap of the ball for the other outcomes in the CFL. A team that is ahead has one fewer opportunity to kill clock time in the Canadian game with three downs, and can only take the play clock time 20 seconds and the length of the play itself off the clock with each down.

On the other hand, Canadian teams only receive one timeout per half, as opposed to three in American football. After the three-minute warning, a penalty of a loss of down on first and second down, 10 yards on third down results for failing to start the new play in time time count violation.

Additionally, if a Canadian team commits a time count violation on third down, the referee has the right to require that it legally start a new play before the play clock expires, and can award possession to the defending team if another time count is committed. Moreover, in any quarter, when the game clock expires while the ball is dead in Canadian football, a final play must be run with "zeros on the clock" before the quarter ends, whereas in American football the expiration of time while the ball is dead immediately ends the quarter including overtime periods in such cases where those periods are timed.

In American football, it is common or even, arguably, expected for teams including coaching staffs and other such personnel to come on the field in order to shake hands, etc. The main caveats are that in all gridiron codes, a half cannot end on any penalty accepted by the non-penalized team even if there is no time remaining on the clock, and a team may always elect to attempt a conversion after a touchdown even if time is expired, so it is always possible for a final play to run with "zeros on the clock" under such circumstances.

If a team that is trailing in the CFL can begin to produce two-and-outs on defense and efficient scoring drives on offense, 14 and even 17 points can be successfully scored in the final three minutes. Contents move to sidebar hide. Dimensions of canadian football field Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. Differences between the two most common types of gridiron football.

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. Learn how and when to remove these template messages. This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.

January This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. American above and Canadian football share many similarities, having been partly inspired by rugby football , brought to North America by English immigrants.

Canadian football field, by 65 yards American football left and Canadian football right , both manufactured by Wilson. The American football is for use in college or high school games, as it has white stripes that only halfway encircle the ball. Balls used in the NFL do not have stripes. Balls used in Canada have stripes that completely encircle the balls.

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. January Learn how and when to remove this template message. Football Canada. Archived from the original on Retrieved The biggest difference between the kicking rules in the two games is that there is no fair catch rule in Canadian football.

In American football, if a kick returner thinks he will not be able to advance the ball after recovery, he can signal for a fair catch and be immune from contact. In Canadian football no player on the kicking team except the kicker and any players behind him on the field may ever be within 5 yards of the ball unless it has been touched by an opponent.

Also, in Canadian football any kick that goes into the end zone is a live ball, except for successful field goals. There are other minor differences as well including scoring, motion and time rules but they are not as significant as the major differences noted here. Most Popular. Kate Moss - Simple Supermodel Diet!

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