Canadian football facts for kids

Canadian football is football generally played in Canada and follows much the same general rules as American Football. Compared to American football, the field is slightly longer and wider, 110 by 65 yards (101 by 59 m) rather than 100 by 53 1/3 yards (91 by 49 m), and the endzones are 10 to 15 yards deeper. There are also only 3 downs instead of 4, and the field goal posts are at the front of the endzone instead of the back. There are 12 players per team on the field during play. More than one player may be in motion before the snap of the ball and the rules are less strict about players position relative to the line of scrimmage.

Images for kids

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  Diagram of a Canadian football field

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  Footballs and a helmet at a Calgary Stampeders (CFL) team practice

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  Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, originally built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games, pictured in 2005. A Canadian Football League venue.

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  Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo looks down field with the ball during the 93rd Grey Cup game at BC Place.

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  A modern down indicator box is mounted on a pole and is used to mark the current line of scrimmage. The number on the marker is changed using a dial.

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  A game between the Hamilton Tigers and the Ottawa Rough Riders, 1910

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  A game between the 4th Canadian Armoured Division Atoms and First Canadian Army Red and Blue Bombers, in Utrecht, Netherlands, October 1945

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  Touchdown monument outside the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton, Ontario