American football (referred to as
football in the United States and Canada, also known as
gridiron elsewhere) is a
sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The
offense, the team with control of the oval-shaped
football, attempts to advance down the field by
running with or passing the ball, while the team without control of the ball, the defense, aims to stop their advance and take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four
downs, or plays, or else they
turn over the football to the opposing team; if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a
touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a
field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.