A rectangular field with goalposts at either end is used for the team sport of American football, which is played by two teams of eleven players.
The defence, the team without the ball, seeks to halt the offensive’s movement and seize control of the ball for themselves. The offence, the team in possession of the oval-shaped football, strives to advance down the field by running with the ball or throwing it.
Is American Football one of the most popular sport?
If the statistics are to be believed, American Football is one of the most popular sport in the world.
The game has a sizable fan base in Canada. After the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Canadian Football League, the NFL is the third-most watched league, with 21% of respondents claiming to follow it “very closely” or “somewhat closely” (CFL).
Mexicans were first exposed to American football in 1896, and the country has a rich history with the sport. In the 1950s, it was the second-most popular sport in Mexico, with collegiate players making up a large portion of its fan base.
Paul Rusch, a teacher and Christian missionary who assisted in establishing football teams at three colleges in Tokyo, brought the game to Japan in 1934.
In Japan, there are around 400 high school football teams with over 15,000 players as of 2010, while the Kantoh Collegiate Football Association has over 100 teams (KCFA).
Football organisers are primarily focused on expanding the game in Europe. The sport was well-liked in the 1980s in the UK; over four million people watched the Super Bowl in 1986. (about 1 out of every 14 Britons).
The Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system, was established during the 1990s, and this coincided with a decline in its popularity.
The game is played in European nations including Germany, where there are over 45,000 amateur players registered, and Switzerland, which has American football teams in every large city.
How can the popularity of American Football be seen in USA?
The stats and the craze of American football among people in America proves that American Football is the most popular sport in America.
According to a Harris Interactive survey from 2014, professional football was the most popular sport, with college football coming in third place behind baseball and professional football. 46% of respondents chose some variation of the game as their favourite sport.
Since 1985, when it initially exceeded baseball in popularity, professional football has held the top spot among all sports in the survey.
According to a 2012 research by the NCAA, there were around 1.1 million high school and close to 70,000 college football players in the country.
The Super Bowl is one of the most watched club sporting events in the world and the most watched single-day sporting event in the United States. Each year, the NFL earns around $10 billion. Seven of the top eight most viewed broadcasts in American history were Super Bowl events; Super Bowl XLIX, which took place on February 1, 2015, drew a record 114.4 million viewers.
