• Canadian Football League Rule Differences
• Canadian Football Rules Differences
• Canadian Football Differences

A third difference in Canadian football is that from the kicking team, only the kicker and players behind him may be within 5 yards of the ball if the ball has not been touched by an apposing player. Also, in Canadian football any kick that goes into the end zone is a live ball except for successful field goals. Canadian Football has 12 players per side. In American Football, only 1 man is allowed to move during the snap and can only move laterally or backward. In Canadian Football, anyone who isn’t a quarterback or a lineman can move in any direction before the snap.

In a football scoreboards feature, I have taken a look at the principal differences between the two great games of American and Canadian football.

Origin: The origins of both of these sports lie in the British sport of Rugby. British soldiers brought the game over to North America, and the humble beginnings of football lie in the games that they played in the University of Harvard in the U.S. and McGill University in Canada. The first football scoreboards to be produced were then utilized as McGill University went on to play Harvard in a series of games, and a tradition was born.

Size of pitch: The field is smaller in American football because in the early days of playing rugby at Harvard the available fields were smaller than in Canada. Nowadays, the Canadian pitch is 110×65 yards, whilst the American pitch is 100×53 yards. The difference in field sizes also explains the positioning of the goalposts: in the U.S. they are on the end line whilst in Canada they are on the goal line.

Number of players: The smaller pitch in American football led to a trimming of the number of players on each team so that the field was not too crowded, and as a result American football has one less player per team than Canadian (11 as apposed to 12). Both games require the same number of players in the scrimmage, but Canadian football has one additional player at the back. This affects the offense and the defense – in Canada they have 2 slot backs and 2 defensive halfbacks and a single safety. In the U.S. there is one tight end and 2 safeties respectively.

Number of downs: American football has 4 downs and Canadian has 3, and this remains the most significant difference between the two games. This affects the game as a whole – it is more pass and kick orientated in Canada as a result of the reduced number of downs.

Kicking: There are some differences in the kicking rules too. Firstly, the Canadian game does not have the fair catch rule, in which the returner can signal for a fair catch and end the play if he feels that he has no chance of moving the ball forward. Another difference is that in Canada the kicker can recover and advance his own kick. This makes kicking a much bigger part of the game for the Mounties. A third difference in Canadian football is that from the kicking team, only the kicker and players behind him may be within 5 yards of the ball if the ball has not been touched by an apposing player. Also, in Canadian football any kick that goes into the end zone is a live ball except for successful field goals. Lastly, a ball kicked into the end zone in Canadian football is live (not including successful field goals), unlike in American football.

There are some minor differences in the two games in addition to those given above (such as time rules), but they are relatively insignificant.

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NFL vs CFL

Though NFL and CFL have certain similarities, one can find very significant difference between the two. First of all when talking of the number of players, the CFL comprises of twelve players and the NFL has only eleven players. This means that the defensive and the offensive lines vary in both NFL and CFL.

Another significant difference seen between NFL and CFL is in the playing field. The CFL has a larger playing field than the NFL. While the CFL playing field length is 110 yards and width is 65 yards, the NFL field is 100 yard long and 53 ½ yards wide.

There is also difference in the balls that are played. The CFL balls come with a larger circumference than the NFL ones. Even in the stripes across the ball there is difference. When the balls used in NFL have no stripes, the balls used in CFL have white stripes.

When talking of time-outs, each team in NFL is allowed three time-outs in each half. In CFL, it is just one time out for each team in each half. Another difference that can be seen is that the first shot of the match should pass between the centres legs. This is not needed in NFL match. There is difference of positioning of the defensive team from the line of scrimmage in both the CFL and the NFL. While this distance in CFL is a full yard, it is eleven inches in NFL.

When referring to the play clock (time to start a play after the referee has whistled to play), the NFL teams get 40 seconds and the CFL teams get 20 seconds.

Canadian Football League Rule Differences

Another difference that can be noticed between the two leagues is that unlike the NFL, the CFL does not utilize sudden death to decide the game after time out. Each of the CFL teams is given 2 possessions to score. And even then if the two teams do not score, the match ends in a tie.

Coming to the number of Downs and Scoring Rules, the National Football League and the Canadian Football League are different. When teams playing in NFL are given four downs to earn a first down, the teams in CFL are only given three downs.

Summary

1.Each NFL team comprises of eleven players and it is 12 players on each side in CFL.
2.The CFL comes with a larger playing field than the NFL.
3.When the balls used in NFL have no stripes, the balls used in CFL have white stripes.
4.When talking of time-outs, each team in NFL is allowed three time-outs in each half. In CFL, it is just one time out for each team in each half.

Canadian Football Rules Differences

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Canadian Football Differences