Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by QCity Editorial Stuff
American football and Canadian football are very similar on the surface. They both involve two teams of eleven players each, a field that is 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide, four downs to gain ten yards for a first down, and they use similar equipment like helmets and shoulder pads. However, there are some major differences between the sports such as the number of people on the field during play, where balls can be snapped from or which side of the ballplayers line up on, scoring rules, how punts work in each sport, and what happens after touchdowns. American football has become more popular than its counterpart in Canada but there remains a strong fan base for Canadian football across Canada with many notable NFL stars coming from CFL backgrounds.
Every Canadian knows that there are many differences between American football and Canadian football. For one, the field is much larger in American football, which makes it harder to pass the ball downfield. In addition, you cannot make a forward pass in Canadian football; only backward passes are allowed. Another difference is that touchdowns count for six points in American football and five points in Canadian football. These rules come from different games played by Native Americans with European settlers centuries ago. Although both sports were initially similar, they have evolved into two very distinct types of games over time.
Comparison Between Canadian Football And American Football
| Parameters of Comparison | Canadian football | American football |
| Yards | 110 yards long | 100 yards long |
| Player | 12 player | 12 player |
| Run | Can not run with the ball in hands | Can run with the ball in hands |
| 5-yard penalty | Have | Have |
| No forward pas rule | Do not have | Have |
What Is Canadian Football?
Canadian football is a fast-paced, exciting sport that has been popular in Canada for over a century. The Canadian Football League (CFL) consists of nine teams playing on a 110-yard field with three downs and twelve players per side. A game is divided into four fifteen-minute quarters, separated by two-minute breaks between the first and second quarters and the third and fourth quarters. At the end of each half, there are also two-minute breaks where teams can discuss strategies to use during the next half. If you’re interested in learning more about this interesting sport, keep reading.
Canadian football is a sport where the players use their feet to carry, throw or kick the ball towards the opponent’s goal line. There are three types of plays used in Canadian football: scrimmage plays, kicking plays, and free kicks. The team that has possession of the ball is called offense while the other team is known as defense. When the offense tries to advance downfield by running with or passing the ball it is called a “rush”. If they pass successfully they will receive 6 points on top of any yardage gained during play (similar to rugby). On defense, if one player tackles another he will earn his team 3 points plus possession of the ball (this does not happen very often). The game lasts 60 minutes, divided into two halves with an interval.
What Is American Football?
American football is a full-contact team sport that can trace its roots to rugby. It’s played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field, with the objective being to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team’s end zone. The offense attempts to advance down the field and cross over into their opponent’s territory while playing against both defensive and offensive teams.
American football has been around since 1869, but it didn’t become an organized sport until 1906 when Walter Camp created many modern-day rules for this game we all know and love today. You’ll find college football games on Saturdays during autumn which often culminate in bowl games on New Year’s Day or Christmas time; NFL (National Football League) games are typically played on Sunday afternoons with most games starting at 4 p.m. ET, but there are many games played on Monday nights as well.
American football is a sport that has been around for more than 100 years. It is said to be the most popular spectator sport in the United States, with an estimated 40 million people playing it at some level on any given weekend. The game can be played by players of all ages and skill levels, but there are many rules to learn before you can play with others. You might also want to consider what position or positions you are interested in playing before you start learning about everything else.
10 Differences Between Canadian Football And American Football
Yards: The field is 110 yards long, not 100.
Player: There are 12 players on the field for each team, not 11.
Run: In Canadian football, you can’t run with the ball in your hands – it must be passed to a teammate first.
Five-yard penalty: In American football, there’s a five-yard penalty if you’re tackled in your end zone.
Goalpost: The goalposts are at the front of the end zone instead of behind it like in Canadian football.
Two-point Conversion If a player catches a pass and then runs into their end zone without being touched by an opposing player or losing possession of the ball, they get two points called “two-point conversion” – this doesn’t happen in Canadian football because when someone catches a pass and goes into their endzone they automatically get called for “touchdown” which gives them six points total.
No Forward Pass Rule: Canadian football has no forward pass rule.
Down: There can be up to 3 downs in a row before punting the ball down the field.
Touchdown: A touchdown in Canada is worth 6 points and you need 10 points to win a game
Interception: If one of your players catches an interception they can advance as far as they want with that ball or throw it back into play again if they think it’s best for their team.
Interesting Statistics Or Facts Of Canadian Football
1) The Canadian Football League (CFL) is the second oldest professional sports league in North America.
2) In Canada, there are nine teams in the CFL, with three located in Toronto and one each in Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Regina, and Edmonton.
3) There have been a total of 43 Grey Cup games since 1909.
4) The average attendance for a CFL game is 27 000 people per game.
5) no other country has more than two teams from their own country competing against each other at this level of football.
6) The first-ever Grey Cup was played on December 4th, 1909 at Rosedale Field between the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and Parkdale Canoe Club. The final score was UofT 6-0 PCC.
7) In 2014 it cost $10 to get into a regular-season CFL game but if you want to go to an Eastern Final or Western Final it costs $30 per ticket which includes taxes and service charges.
8 )The most successful team of all time is Calgary Stampeders who won 7 championships followed by Montreal Alouettes who won 5 championships. Other successful teams include Saskatchewan Roughriders with 3 championship wins; BC Lions.
Interesting Statistics Or Facts Of American Football
1. Football is the most popular sport in America.
2. There are more than 1,500 college football teams.
3. The first professional American football team was the Allegheny Athletic Association from Pennsylvania.
4. In 1892, William Heffelfinger became the first person to receive payment for playing a game of football when he was paid $25 by Allegheny to play against Pittsburgh’s Western University of Pennsylvania.
5. The NFL is made up of 32 teams and has an annual revenue of about USD 17 billion.
6. It costs around USD 250 million to build a stadium for an NFL team.
Conclusion About The Differences Between Canadian Football And American Football
The Canadian Football League was founded in 1958 and is a professional football league. It consists of nine teams from three different regions across Canada, with the Eastern Division being made up of four teams located east of Ontario; the Western Division has five teams west of Ontario; and finally, there are two Toronto-based clubs. There are 18 regular-season games for each team per year before playoffs take place at the end of October or beginning November to determine who will be crowned champion. There is also an annual draft that occurs in late April where players can be bought by any CFL club on either side of the border. This concludes our blog post about the differences between American and Canadian football! Thank you for reading this article and we hope you found it informative.
References:
Resource 01: https://www.cfl.ca/
Resource 02: https://www.nfl.com/
