12th man (football) 12th man (football) The 12th man or 12th player is a term for fans of teams in eleven-a-side sports games, particularly association football (soccer) or American football. As most football leagues allow a maximum of eleven players per team on the playing field at a time, referring to a team's fans as the 12th man implies that they have a potentially helpful role in the game. Infrequently, the term has referred to individuals having a notable connection to their football team. In Canadian football, 12 players are usually on the field at one time and the term 13th man is
Australian football at the 1956 Summer Olympics the Olympic Games. To an outsider, the game features elements of association football, gaelic football, and rugby. It is played on a grass surface with an oval ball, in four 20-minute quarters. Also, at the time of the Olympic Games, a team consisted of eighteen players and two reserve players (each of whom could substitute for a player on the field, with the substituted player being unable to resume their place on the field under any circumstances). Like today, the goals consisted of an inner and outer pair of posts, where the scoring was six points for a goal (between