A football is not round. It is covered in tan leather. Football is a game for two teams, and the ball is where it all starts. Each football team has 11 players on the field at one time.

A team scores a touchdown by getting the ball across the other team's goal line. A touchdown is worth six points. After a touchdown, a team can try to score one or two more points. A field goal is worth three points. A safety is worth two points.

A goalpost has two tall uprights joined by a crossbar that is 10 feet off the ground. Each end zone is 10 yards deep. A kickoff starts each half and follows each touchdown try or successful field goal. As of November 2026, the kicking team kicks from its own 35-yard line on a kickoff.

The team with the ball gets four downs, or tries, to move the ball 10 yards. Officials use a 10-yard chain on two rods to see whether a team has earned a first down. A punt is a kick in which the kicker drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground.

A player is offside when part of his body is in the neutral zone before the ball is put in play. A player who touches a sideline is out of bounds. A fumble happens when a player with the ball loses it, and either team can recover it.

A football game lasts 60 minutes, divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each. At halftime, between the second and third quarters, play stops and the teams leave the field. Each team gets three timeouts in each half.

Football players wear helmets that have a face mask. They must wear shoulder pads, knee pads and thigh pads. Every football player wears a number on the front and back of his jersey.

American football grew out of rugby and soccer, two older sports. The first college football game was played between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869. Walter Camp, who played at Yale, became known as the father of American football.

Words to know

• touchdown: six points
• offside: too far forward
• punt: drop-and-kick
• fumble: loses the ball
• kickoff: starts each half

The short version

American football is played by two teams, each with 11 players on the field at one time. A team scores a touchdown, worth six points, by getting the ball across the other team's goal line. A game lasts 60 minutes, divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each.

Quick facts

• A touchdown is worth six points, a field goal three and a safety two.
• The team with the ball gets four downs to move the ball 10 yards.
• A football game lasts 60 minutes, in four quarters of 15 minutes each.
• The first college football game was played between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869.