Ninh explains the RULES of Gaelic Football. Gaelic Football is an Irish
sport
played with two teams of 15 players each. The game is played on a field that’s
generally a maximum of
145m x 85m. These are the goals which are 6.5m wide
and the crossbar which is 2.5 m above the ground.
Unlike in soccer
the posts extend above the crossbar just like in Rugby. The exact same goals and
field dimensions
are used in Hurling. The object of the game is for your team to score more overall
points than the opposing team.
To score, a player must kick the ball into the goal or over the crossbar.
If they successfully kick the ball under the crossbar into the net,
this is a ‘goal’ and is worth three points. If a player kicks .
or fists the ball over the crossbar, but between the posts, this is a ‘point’
and this scores 1 point.
The game is played in 2 x 30 minute halves for a combined playing time of 60 minutes.
Highest combined score at the end of time, wins. Any game that results in a draw
must be replayed. Wait, there’s more isn’t there?
Oh yeah. Gaelic football looks complicated and moving the ball around
the field is the most difficult part to understand.
There’s a lot of things you can and can’t do to move the ball up the field in
Gaelic Football
You can move the ball by kicking it out of your hands. Kicking it along the
ground.
And running with the ball in his hands, so long as it’s no more than four steps.
If after 4 steps you want to keep the ball, you must hop the ball
ball off your foot to be eligible to take another 4 steps. This is known as soloing,
You can also choose to solo the
ball by bouncing it from the ground,
but you are not allowed to bounce the ball twice in a row. Therefore, most players alternate
between hopping it from the foot
and bouncing it on the ground. A player can catch the ball with his hands in the air.
A player can hand pass passing to a teammate, where you slap the ball with an open palm.
And a player can fist the ball, where you strike the ball to a teammate with a
clenched fist.
However, a player CANNOT touch a ball on the ground with his hands
or lift it with his knees. And a player cannot throw the ball.
There are 15 members of the opposing team who are trying to take the ball away from you
so that they can score themselves.
They are allowed to make shoulder-to-shoulder contact so long as the opponent has
possession of the ball,
or if no-one has the ball, be shoulder-to-shoulder to the opponent nearest the
ball.
They are also allowed to use their hands to block shots, or to knock the ball out of
your grasp. If you’re used to Australian Rules Football,
this may seem very familiar. But there’s a few other things you’ll need to
understand before playing or going to a game.
For example: Free Kick A free kick
is a restart in play, usually after a foul.
If a foul occurs, a free kick is awarded either at the spot of the foul, where the ball lands
after a foul, or the 13m line for fouls inside the 13m area.
A player has to declare whether to play the ball out of his hands, or from the ground.
or from the ground. Foul If a player commits any of
these infractions, a foul is assessed and the other team is awarded possession of
the ball
by way of a free kick. A player can be cautioned with a yellow card,
sent off with a black card but a substitute may replace him,
or a Red Card where you are sent off without a substitute replacement.
Penalty Kick If a foul was committed on a player with a legitimate chance to score,
a penalty shot will be given the attacking team. The ball is placed on the
ground at the 13 m line
and only the goalkeeper can guard the net. Just like in soccer,
it’s one kick only and any goals scored count towards the overall score.
Substitution. A team is allowed to substitute up to 5 players per game.
Very similar to soccer, the players must wait in the substitution area
and players must enter or exit at the designated area
and only in a stoppage of play. To the uninitiated,
Gaelic Football seems ridiculously complicated. But once you understand the
rules,
it becomes a pretty cool sport to watch. If you have found this video at all helpful,
please like, share with your friends, comment and subscribe.
It takes me ages to make one of these videos and good karma is always
appreciated
If you’re also on Reddit, you can post the video and discuss it there. But in the meantime,
enjoy Gaelic Football!
Ninh Ly, www.ninh.co.uk, @NinhLyUK