With London having terrorist attacks on July 7th, it seems very trivial for me to be thinking of football in any context. But I do have an article to write this week, so it will be about football (soccer) and American football in honor of Londoners. How are soccer and football similar and different?

Let’s start by saying that I will call football, as it is known around the world, soccer. What is often classified as American football for this article will be called football. I am choosing to call them these names because Bellaonline has a site called soccer, so I have very few readers who think of soccer as football.

One of the main differences between soccer and football is the use of the hands and feet. In soccer, the only person who can touch the ball with his hands is the goalie. The ball is kicked by the players to move it around the field, and ultimately into the opposition’s goal. In football, the ball is carried by hand or thrown by hand only. The only person allowed to kick the ball is the punter and the kicker. It is kicked to score a field goal after a touchdown or to turn the ball over to the other team. In soccer, kicking the ball to the other team is rarely done on purpose.

Both sports are played very hard. Football is played with full helmet, pads and other protection. Soccer is a shorts and jersey game, though players do wear shin guards. It is often full contact, but it is not supposed to be like football. Being a tackle sport, football is head on rough. Both sports are often thought of as brutal, and the players are all devoted to their sport making them compete harder.

The fans are very similar in their love of the sport. They have their teams they cheer for and teams they live to hate. It seems that the emotions run higher in soccer though. The soccer crowds have a higher violence rate than football crowds.

This is just a brief overview of how soccer and football are similar and different. We are currently looking for a soccer editor on Bellaonline. So if you can teach me more about soccer, apply today.

* The article was started right after the attacks. Due to a death in my family, it was postponed. Now Londoners are dealing with it again. Our thoughts are with you today.