Football Field Diagram

American football is one of the most popular games in the United States. With events such as the Super Bowl and several movies made on the game, it has well and truly entered the American psyche. It is a game played passionately at NFL, College and high school levels across the whole country and attracts the largest audiences as well. In fact, it is claimed that the Super Bowl has been one of the most watched programs on television for several years now.

Football Field Layout

The field, as you may have noticed, consists of several lines running on it and several markings, as well. What do these markings mean?

The Basic Pitch Size
American Football is typically played on a rectangular field which has a length of 360 ft and breadth of 160 ft. The longer lines are known as the sidelines and the shorter lines are known as the end lines. The game has to be played within this playing area itself. The point of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the opposition's end zone (explained below).

The Lines
The sport is also knows as gridiron because the various markings on the pitch make it look like a grid. There are horizontal lines across the breadth of the pitch every 5 yards and the numbering is given every 10 yards to denote the distance from the end zone. There are also hash marks within the 5 yard lines, each one a yard away from the other. 2 sets of hash marks run down the pitch each one 53 ft 4 in away from the sidelines. So basically, there are marks at every yard, a breadth line every 5 yards and a number every 10 yards.

The Numbering
The numbering starts from the goal-line (G) and continues over every yard i.e. 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. When the numbers reach 50, they go backwards again as 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 denoting the distance left till the end zone.

End Zones
The end zones are located 30 ft from the end line on either side. A touch down is said to be scored (which wins the team 6 points), when players, breaks through the opposition defense and enters the end zone with the ball in his hand.

Restraining Lines
Restraining lines are 6 ft behind the sidelines and are the closest that non-playing members of the team can come, while the game is in progress.

Goal Post
The goal is a pitchfork shaped bars at the end of each end zone. The structure in total is 20 ft tall and 18 ft 6 in wide (23 ft 4 in for high school). But the goal can be scored only when the ball is kicked through the top 10 ft of the goal, 'through' the pitchfork.

So this was all about the football field size. The diagram would look something like this when drawn out!