Take a Look at 4 Different Ways to Play Football

Eighteen players per team? End zones that stretch for 20 yards? Rebound nets? Football can mean lots of different things. (And don’t even get us started on football-called-soccer.)

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Teams: The famous National Football League has 32 teams from coast to coast — Seattle to Miami.

Ball: Brown with pointy ends.

Field: 100 yards long, plus two 10-yard end zones.

Players on the field per team: 11.

Time: Four 15-minute quarters.

Scoring: Six points for a touchdown, three for a field goal, two for a safety or two-point conversion, one for an extra-point kick.

Biggest event: The Super Bowl, played in February.

Weirdest rule: Calling back-to-back timeouts is illegal and results in a 15-yard penalty.

CANADIAN FOOTBALL

Teams: The Canadian Football League has nine teams with cool names like Blue Bombers and Tiger-Cats.

Ball: Like the NFL ball but with a white stripe on each end.

Field: 110 yards long, plus two 20-yard end zones.

Players on the field per team: 12.

Time: Four 15-minute quarters.

Scoring: Six points for a touchdown, three for a field goal, two for a safety or two-point conversion, one for a point-after-touchdown kick and one point for a rouge.

Biggest event: The Grey Cup, played in November.

Weirdest rule: A rouge, or single point, is scored when the kicking team punts the ball through the end zone, kicks the ball through the end zone on a missed field goal try, or when the receiving team’s ball carrier chooses not to return a punt or missed kick out of the end zone.

INDOOR AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Teams: The Arena Football League has eight teams, including the Arizona Rattlers, Orlando Predators and LA Kiss — named for the rock band.

Ball: Like the NFL ball but with a diagonal stripe.

Field: 50 yards long, plus two 8-yard end zones.

Players on the field per team: Eight.

Time: Four 15-minute quarters.

Scoring: Six points for a touchdown; four for a drop-kicked field goal; three for a normal field goal; two for a safety, two-point conversion or drop-kicked extra-point kick; one for a regular extra-point kick.

Biggest event: The ArenaBowl, played in August.

Weirdest rule: There are rebound nets in the back of the end zones, and a pass that bounces off the net is a live ball — meaning you can still catch it and score.

AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL

Teams: The Australian Football League has 18 teams, including the Brisbane Lions, Greater Western Sydney Giants and West Coast Eagles.

Ball: Red or yellow with rounded ends.

Field: Oval-shaped and both wider and longer than an NFL field.

Players on the field per team: 18.

Time: Four 20-minute quarters.

Scoring: There are four goal posts on each end: two tall central posts and two shorter outer posts. Instead of running or passing the ball for a score, you kick the ball. Kicking it through the center posts gets you a goal, worth six points; kicking it through the outer posts gets you a behind, worth one. You can also score a behind (one point) by running the ball between any of the posts.

Biggest event: The Grand Final, played in late September or early October.

Weirdest rule: Any player can kick the ball to a teammate at any time — and do so on the run. That’s why many Aussie rules football players become American football punters.