This is an American football. If you are from outside the United States, what you call "football" we call "soccer".
If you are from abroad and plan to study in the United States, learning the rules of American football is very helpful for your time at university. Not academically, but its an important part of university social life.
First things first. If you are from overseas, you play “soccer”, not “football”. A real football is pictured to the left! 
American football is played on a field which is 120 yards in length and 53.3 yards wide. Traditionally the field is made of grass, but some use an artificial grass called “astroturf” or “artificial turf“.
Before the game starts, the captains of the two teams meet with the referee for the coin toss. The visiting team calls “heads or tails” and if they guess correctly, they decide whether to kick off or to receive. If they lose, the other side makes the decision.
The team which receives the ball is called “the offense”. The other side is called the “defense”.
There are many players on an American football team. Each team has two units: offense and defense. However at one time each side is limited to only 11 players. If a team has more than 11 players on the field during the course of play, the referees will call a penalty.
The objective of football is to score more points that the opponent in the time limits of the game.
I’ll explain more in another posting. Do you have a favorite college or NFL team? Tell us what you think in the comment section.
One picture is worth a thousand words. Watch this video to learn football basics!
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