American football American football American football, referred to as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, which is the team controlling the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with or passing the ball, while the defense, which is the team without control of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and aims to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four
United States national American football team United States national American football team The United States National American football team represents the United States in international men's American football competitions. It was controlled by USA Football, and was recognized by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) until the 2015 split between IFAF Paris and IFAF New York. The United States is the most successful team at the IFAF World Championship, winning on all three of their entries in the tournament, most recently when hosting the event in 2015. The U.S. team suffered its first defeat at the 2017 World Games, being represented by college players. The