The North America definition of football is different to the rest of the world in that it does not refer to soccer. For us, football is a sport more akin to rugby. It is a sport that sets two teams against one another on a rectangular field wherein the goal is to transfer the ball behind the opponent’s goal posts to score a touchdown while at the same time preventing the other team from bringing the ball downfield and behind your own goal posts. Much like rugby, it involves a similarly shaped ball that is predominantly carried in-hand with kicking being permitted also.
As most North Americans can attest to, football is as much of a sport as it is an intrinsic aspect of our culture. But you might be interested to know how the sport came to be. As aforementioned, football is quite similar to rugby, and you might not be so surprised to find out that the former is actually derived from the latter.
Canadian Origins
Even though football is much bigger in the USA, it first began in Canada during the 1870s when British soldiers stationed in Montreal taught Canadian university students how to play a version of rugby. Americans have Canadians to thank for then bringing the game over to the states when it was then taught to USA students. The game would then be adopted and adapted into what we now call football.
And now centuries later, even though football has the same point of origin both in the USA and Canada, we find still find ourselves with two different versions of the game. Oh well, variety is the spice of life. But what exactly makes the USA and Canada’s versions different? If you want to know, you are definitely in the right place.
Let us discuss they key difference between how these two neighbouring countries play football.
What Is Different?
First and foremost, the most obvious differentiating factor between American and Canadian football is the fact that the USA plays with 11 players per side whereas Canada allots 12 players per team in total. This inclusion of an additional 12th player makes a massive difference to the ways in which offensive and defensive tactics are carried out. More so, scrimmages are also altered by this extra person.
Football in Canada also puts a lot more focus on kicking and passing as opposed to in the USA. This is because the Canadian version only has three downs as opposed to America’s 4. In Canadian football, kicks can also be recovered by kickers before an advance.
The size of the Canadian football fields is also larger, spanning 110 yards lengthwise and 65 yards along the width. This is as opposed to America’ 100-yard length and 53⅓ yard width. Canadian football fields also boast deeper end zones. Unlike the bingo Canada offers that follows the same rules everywhere, it’s clear they differ in many other games.
Now You Know
These are the most considerable differences between American and Canadian football. Nevertheless, both forms of this beautiful game are equally as enjoyable to play, watch and bet on.
