Games involving kicking a ball have a long history and were recorded in china as early as  300 BC; in medieval Europe, street football was banned as a menace to the public; only in 1863 were the rules established, specifically banning carrying the ball for all players except the goal keeper, and separating rugby from soccer. Soccer, officially termed association football, is a team sport in which players attempt to score goals by passing and dribbling the ball down the field past opposing defenders, and kicking or heading the ball into the goal net, outwitting the defending goalkeeper. Each team consists of ten outfield players and a goal keeper. Players from the opposing team may challenge the player in possession of the ball, but an illegal or foul tackle results in a penalty if a foul occurs inside the penalty area or a free kick if outside the penalty area. The round ball used in soccer is more easily controlled than the oval balls used in American, Canadian, and, Australian Rules football and in rugby. The result is a more “open” or flowing game which is played and watched by millions of people worldwide.

Rugby is played with an oval ball which may be carried, thrown, or kicked. There are two codes of rugby. Rugby Union is an amateur game played by two teams of 15 players. They can score points in two ways: by placing the ball by hand over the opponent’s goal-line. (a try, scoring four points) or by kicking it over the crossbar of the opponent’s goal (a conversion of a try, scoring two points; a penalty kick, scoring three points; or a drop-kick, scoring three points). Rugby league developed from the union game but is played by 13 players at amateur and professional levels. In league games, a try scores four points; a conversion of a try scores two points; a drop goal scores three points, and a penalty kick scores two points. Scrimmages occur in both forms of the game when play stops following an infringement. In American and Canadian football, the object of the game is to get the ball across the opponent’s goal line, either by passing or carrying it across ( a touch-down), or by kicking it between their goalposts( a field goal ). Varieties of football have developed all over the world and Australian rules football is considered to be one of the roughest versions, allowing full body tackles although participants wear no protective padding.

Article Posted By : aneeshmissu  On May 09, 2013lView All Articles

football and rugby

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football and rugby