Soccer Field vs. Football Field

Soccer and football are different games and those of us who are aware of the rules know the different systems in which both are played. Here we shall have a complete discussion on soccer field vs football field. On a cursory glance, both the fields might look the same but when we discuss them in detail you shall note the difference between the two!

Dimensions of a Soccer Field

Let’s first understand the soccer field dimensions (international matches).

Soccer field length in meters: A soccer field should be between 100 meters (min) and 110 meters (max) long

Soccer field width in meters: A soccer field should be between 64 meters (min) and 75 meters (max) wide

Soccer field length in yards: A soccer field should be between 110 yards (min) and 120 yards (max) long

Soccer field width in yards: A soccer field should be between 70 yards (min) and 80 yards (max) wide

According to FIFA standards, the length should be between 100 Yards to 130 Yards and the width should be 50 yards to 100 yards

How many feet long is a soccer field?

Soccer field length in feet: A soccer field should be between 330 feet (min) and 360 feet (max) long

Soccer field width in feet: A soccer field should be between 210 feet (min) and 240 feet (max) wide

How many square feet is a soccer field?

Square feet of a soccer field could be between 69300 sq ft to 86400 sq ft

Also read: Beer Pong Table Size & Dimensions Explained

Dimensions of a Football Field

Let’s first find out football field dimensions. Contrary to a soccer field, the dimensions of a football field are fixed.

Football field length in meters: A Football field should be 110 meters long

Football field width in meters: A Football field should be 48.8 meters wide

Football field length in yards: A Football field should be 120 yards long

Football field width in yards: A Football field should be 53 1/3 yards

How many feet long is a Football field?

So, find out how many feet is a football field.

Football field length in feet: A football field should be between 360 feet long

Football field width in feet: A football field should be between 160 feet wide

How many square feet is a Football field?

Square feet of a football field is 57600 sq ft

General Information

A soccer field and a football field of them look more or less the same but if you measure a soccer field you will notice that it is larger than the latter. As you can see, the length of both the fields is the same but they have a difference in width.

It is observed that the width of a football field is 53 1/3 yards, whereas the width of a soccer field is between 75 yards and 100 yards. Thus the surface area of the soccer field is larger than that of the regular football ground.

Soccer Field vs Football Field: Comparisons between Soccer fields and Football fields

There are some broader aspects based on which we can determine the size of the football field and the soccer field and draw comparisons between the two. Let us check them out.

Dimensions

The shape of a Soccer field vs an American Football field

The shape of the soccer field and football field is both rectangular and when you see them casually then it will seem like both are the same. But if you look closely, you will get to see that a soccer field has a length and width slightly more than that of a football field.

Length of a Soccer Field vs an American Football Field

The distance between the goal lines of the football field is 100 yards (91.44m). Include the 10-yard end zones then it gets increased to 120 yards.

The soccer field on the other hand has criteria for minimum and maximum length. It is calculated that the minimum measurement has to be 100 yards and the maximum up to 130 yards. The smallest soccer stadium for example is the Yankee Stadium.

Width of a Soccer Field vs an American Football Field

The length of the soccer and the football field is considerably variable but that is minor. In the case of the width of the two fields, we can cite this as a major factor of difference. The requirement of a football field width is 160 feet or 53 1⁄3 yards (48.8 m).

On the other hand, the width of a soccer field is kept as 80 yards maximum and 70 yards minimum. Generally, the width of the soccer field is 75 yards, and helpful for drawing up a comparison between the two!

Thus, based on the parameters given above, we can state that a soccer field is greater in size than a football field. The width of the soccer field is greater than the width of the football field which results in greater surface area for the former.

The surface of a Soccer Field versus a Football field

The surface of the football field and the soccer field is made of a tuft of green grass or artificial turf. The football games are most likely played on artificial grass than by the soccer teams. Statistics have shown that the NFL played 12 matches on artificial grass and 19 matches on natural grass. On the other hand, in MLS only six of the games are played on artificial grass.

Markings on football field versus soccer field

Since both the games are different hence are the markings and the rules of playing them.

The soccer games use the following markings:

1) 2 penalty areas
2) 2 goal areas
3) a halfway line
4) a center circle
5) 4 corner arcs
6) a penalty spot
7) a center spot

Markings on the football games are as follows:

1) 10-yard intervals
2) 2 End zones
3) 1-yard hash marks
4) 5-yard yard lines
5) 1-yard long scrimmage line
6) Numerals in multiples of 10

Thus, now we see that both the games are completely different because of the markings that are present on the ground.

Goalpost in Soccer field versus Football

If you have seen goalposts on the soccer and football field then you will be easily able to distinguish between the two. Further, some prominent criteria are present to differentiate between the goal posts of the two.

Requirements of goal post in soccer:

1) It is present in the middle of the goal lines on both ends of the field.
2) The crossbar must be maintained at 8 ft (2.44 m) above the ground at the lowest point.
3) There are vertical posts below the crossbars which are maintained at a width of 8 yards (7.32 m).

Requirements for football goal posts are as follows:

1) The goalpost is set up in the center of the goal line at each end of the field.
2) The crossbar is maintained 10 feet above the ground.
3) The vertical uprights that are placed above the crossbars are kept 18 feet 6 inches (5.6 m) apart and 35 feet (10.7m) long.

Hence we can see that there is a considerable difference between the two goalposts in both games. In the case of the game of soccer, the players try to enter the ball below the vertical post under the crossbar.

On the other hand in the case of football, the aim of the players is to between vertical posts above the crossbar.

Three major differences between football and soccer game

Now that we have thoroughly time through the point of differences between the soccer field and the football field it becomes easier for us to describe how we can differentiate between the two. The three major points of difference are as follows-

1) The width of the field
2) The markings on the field
3) The goalposts

Hence these are the main three differences that we can pick when we are describing and comparing the factors on which one can distinguish between the two fields.

Can we play soccer on a football field?

Yes, that is true! You can indeed play soccer on a football field. It will be interesting to note that all the schools and colleges in the United States mostly use this technique which is to build a football court and then permit soccer matches on the same field.

As we already saw that the length of both the football and the soccer field is more or less the same and hence that is not a problem at all.

The width of the soccer field is 50 yards minimum but only a few of them are of this dimension. Most soccer fields on the contrary are 75 yards whereas a football field is only 53 yards. Thus a little accommodation has to be made when you are combining both fields. The extra space in the width is provided by the team areas. Hence this way you can easily fit a football field inside a soccer field and play the match soccer within a football field.

FAQs

1) Are the MLS fields shorter than FIFA?

As we have already mentioned, the size of a soccer field varies from country to country! Although a standard size is taken for the field there is always a scope for little variation in its dimensions.

If we give the example of the Earlier Premier league then we can see that the European field is 115 yards long and 74 yards wide. FIFA has chosen this one as standard although it is very evident that other soccer fields in Europe have sizes more or less than that of the former.

We can see a similar situation occurring in the US as well! The MLS has standardized the size of the fields so that they can’t be less than 110 yards in length and 70 yards in width.

The American Soccer league like the Yankees Stadium has sizes of 10 yards greater in case of width and length.

To answer our question, the only way we can determine the size of the FIFA and MLS soccer fields is by taking a look at the average size. We see that both have smaller and bigger fields under their jurisdiction, the average size is about 115 yards in length and 74 yards in width.

The MLS fields are not smaller than those built by FIFA. Each of them has an individual preference and specification for the construction of the fields for the matches so that all players play on the same pitch. It is observed that National Leagues can be played on a smaller field than by MLS as specified by the FIFA rulebook.

2) What is a soccer field pitch?

We always use the term pitch but most of us do not understand what that is! A soccer pitch is simply the field on which we play soccer. The entire ground is the pitch for the match!