A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the

kicking A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of atta ...

of a ball into the field of play.

Association football

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence by the opposing side. For more serious offences, such as handball or serious foul play. a direct free kick is awarded, from which a goal may be scored directly against the opposing side. (If such an offence is committed in a team's own penalty area, a penalty kick is awarded instead). For less serious offences, such as offside, an indirect free kick is awarded, from which the ball must touch another player before a goal is scored.

American football

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), 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, the team wit ...

, after a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly di ...

is scored, the ball is put into play by a free kick. The team that was scored upon must kick the ball from their own 20-yard line and can punt,

drop kick A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it as it touches the ground. Drop kicks are used as a method of restarting play and scoring points in rugby union and rugby leag ...

, or

place kick The place kick is a type of kicking play commonly used in American football, association football (soccer), Canadian football, rugby league, and rugby union. Gridiron football Place kicks are used in American football and Canadian football for ...

the ball. In professional play, a kicking tee cannot be used – however, a tee can be used in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

or college football. Once the ball has been kicked, it can be caught and advanced by any member of the receiving team, and it can be recovered by the kicking team if the ball travels at least 10 yards and bounces at least once or a player of the receiving team touches the ball.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 29–30.NCAA Rule, 52–53NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 15, 46, 52–53. In

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

, after scoring a safety touch, the scoring team has the option of taking control of the ball and beginning play from their own 35-yard line, kicking the ball off from their 35-yard line, or accepting a kickoff from the 25-yard line of the team that conceded the score.CFL Rules 2011, p. 29. If a kickoff is chosen it must be a place kick, and the ball can be held, placed on the ground, or placed on a tee prior to the kick. As in American football, the ball must go at least ten yards before it can be recovered by the kicking team.CFL Rules 2011, pp. 36–39. Another example occurring in American football is the fair catch kick, a field goal attempted freely from the spot of a fair catch. Although the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) does not consider the play a free kick, the

National Federation of State High School Associations The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in In ...

(NFHS) and media analysts regard it as being a free kick. The kick must be either a

or a

, and if it passes over the crossbar and between the goalposts of the defensive team's goal, a

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

, worth three points, is scored to the offensive team. Under NFHS rules, kickoffs are also classified as free kicks.

Australian rules football

A free kick in Australian rules football is awarded after a player commits a penalty. The player must then kick the ball back to the other team. When a free kick is awarded, the player's opponent ''stands the mark'', standing on the spot where the umpire indicates that the free kick was paid or mark was taken. The player with the ball then retreats backwards so that the ball can be kicked over the player standing the mark; the player must retreat on the angle such that he, the man on the mark and the centre of the attacking goal are in the same straight line.

Rugby union

A free kick in

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

is usually awarded to a team for a technical offence committed by the opposing side. Once awarded a free kick, the team must decide how they wish to play it. Options include choosing to play a place kick, drop kick, punt, or take it as a scrum.

References

External links

*{{wiktionary-inline, free kick Terminology used in multiple sports