Football 101 - The Football Field

Learning the exact dimensions of the field is not necessarily that important, but it is good to have a basic knowledge of the field itself. You'll notice from this illustration: (right click on the link to open in a new window)

• The playing field is 100 yards long.
• It has stripes running across the field at five-yard intervals.
• There are shorter lines, called hash marks, marking each one-yard interval. (not shown)
• On each end of the playing field is an end zone (red section with diagonal lines) which extends ten yards.
• The total field is 120 yards long and 160 feet wide.
• Located on the very back line of each end zone is a goal post.
• The spot where the end zone meets the playing field is called the goal line.
• The yardage from the goal line is marked at ten-yard intervals, up to the 50-yard line, which is in the center of the field. After reaching the 50-yard line, the yardage markers start to descend (40, 30, 20, 10) every ten yards until they reach the opposite goal line.

• If you have any questions you can get them answered quickly by posting them on the About Football Forum!