Changes

'''Football''' is the name generally given to the worldwide sport played professionally as ''"Association Football"''. It is played on a field where possession of a ball is competed for by two teams of eleven people. The aim of the game is to score goals by placing the ball in the goal of the opposing team. There are eleven players on each team. The governing body of the professional rules is FIFA, the International Federation of Football Asociations. The game is know also known as [[Soccer]], a francophone derivation from "Association" Football. This version of the game was the first to be profesionalised and is the most widely played across the world. The ultimate competition being the [[World Cup]] held every four years.

'''Football''' is the name given to a number of sports which share many similarities including [[soccer|Association Football (Soccer)]], [[Rugby]] (Union and League), [[American Football]], [[Canadian Football]], [[Australian Rules Football]] and [[Gaelic Football]].

'''[[Rugby]]''' Football was derived from Football at the public school in Rugby, UK, when legend has it, a boy, during a game of football picked up the ball and ran to the other end of the field with it. This version uses a more elliptical ball and is divided into Rugby League and Rugby Union. Each use different numbers of players and slightly different rules but the major differnce between these and Football is that point can be scored by placing the ball at each end of the pitch or '''over''' the crossbar.  

The most popular of these is the worldwide sport played professionally as '''Association Football''' or '''Soccer'''. It is played on a field where possession of a round ball is competed for by two teams of eleven people who (with the exception of the goalkeepers) may not touch the ball with their hands or arms. The aim of the game is to score goals by propelling the ball into the goal of the opposing team. The governing body of the professional rules is [[FIFA]], the International Federation of Football Asociations. The name Soccer, a derivation from "Association" Football, is most commonly used in countries such as the [[U.S.]] and [[Australia]] where other forms of football are more popular. This version of the game was derived in [[Great Britain]] and was the first to be profesionalised.  It is the most widely played form of football across the world and is particularly popular in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. Professional leagues exist in many countries, most notably in [[England]], [[Italy]] and [[Spain]].  The ultimate competition is the [[World Cup]] held every four years.

'''[[American football]]''' was created in the nineteenth century and was derived from Rugby. Originally played at the college level, professional teams were created in 1920.  This version uses a smaller ball and is rarely played outside the USA.   Despite the fact that apart from place kicking, the foot is almost never used in the sport, Americans use the term [[football]], and insist on the use of the term [[soccer]] to refer to what the rest of the world calls '[[football]]'.  This causes tremendous conflict, as [[football]] is played almost exclusively with only the foot. [http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/03/06/soccer-by-any-other-name-2/]

'''Rugby''' Football was derived in [[England]] at around the same time as Soccer, initially at Rugby School. Legend has it a boy named William Webb Ellis, during a game of soccer, picked up the ball and ran to the other end of the field with it. (However this story is now believed to be a myth.) This version uses an elliptical ball with the main aim being to carry the ball over the opponents' goal line to score a try.  Kicking and passing are permitted, but all passes must be backward.  There are two versions of the sport, [[Rugby Union]] and [[Rugby League]]. Each uses a different numbers of players and slightly different rules.  Rugby is popular in the [[U.K.]], [[France]], [[Ireland]], [[Australia]], [[South Africa]], [[New Zealand]] and throughout the South Pacific.  The ultimate competition is the [[Rugby World Cup]] held every four years.

 

'''American football''' was created in the nineteenth century and was derived from Rugby. Originally played at the college level, professional teams were created in 1920.  This version uses a smaller ball than rugby and is the most popular form of football in the U.S. but is rarely played outside that country. The main difference from rugby is that the game is broken up into a series of plays, each ending when the ball touches the ground, and that for each play the offensive team is allowed one forward pass.  The ultimate competition is the [[National Football League]].

 

[http://cultureofsoccer.com/2007/03/06/soccer-by-any-other-name-2/]

==See also==

==See also==

*[[National Football League]]

*[[National Football League]]

*[[History of Rugby]]

*[[History of Rugby]]