The goal line is the chalked or painted line dividing the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

from the field of play in

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

. In

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 with ...

the goal lines run parallel to the end lines, while 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 (e ...

they run parallel to the dead lines. In both football codes the distance is measured from the inside edge of the end line to the far edge of the goal line so that the line itself is part of the end zone. It is the line that must be crossed in order to score a touchdown. If any part of the ball reaches any part of the imaginary vertical plane transected by this line while in-bounds and in possession of a player whose team is striving toward that end of the field, this is considered a touchdown and scores six points for the team whose player has advanced the ball to, or recovered the ball in, this position. This is in contrast with other sports like Association football and ice hockey, which require the puck or ball to pass completely over the goal line to count as a score. If any member of the offensive team is downed while in possession of the ball behind his own team's goal line, this is called a safety and scores two points for the

defensive team In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. If, during the course of play, a loose ball travels past the goal line and is recovered within the

, then it is a touchdown if recovered by the team that scores in that end zone, or a touchback if recovered and downed by the opposing team In the event of a kick recovered in one's own end zone, the entirety of the ball must pass the goal line in order for the ball to be considered a touchback, and to not be in the field of play.

References

See also