Football is a team sport in which each team consists of 45 to 50 players. These players are arranged in two lines, the sidelines and the goal line. In addition, there are also short lines that run perpendicular to the sidelines near the middle of the field. The ball is usually placed on or between one of these lines at the beginning of a play.
When a play is over, the referee blows the whistle to tell the teams that the down is over. Then, the offense has four more chances to move the ball ten yards towards the end zone. If they fail to do so, they are considered to have lost a down. The other option is to kick the ball to the other team, a process called a turnover on downs.
A football field is roughly 120 yards long and 75 yards wide. It has a goal line, a six-yard line, and an 18-yard line. The goal line, or the end zone, is located at the back of each end zone. Once the ball crosses the goal line, it is a touchdown.
A penalty is a violation of the rules. The offending team must pay a penalty. Most penalties move the ball to the offending team’s end zone. However, in some cases, the penalty may move the ball more than half the distance to the goal.