Soccer Field Dimensions

SOCCER FIELD DIMENSIONS – PROOF OF SOCCER ATHLETICISM

Although soccer is the number-one sport around the globe, it’s also one of the most polarizing. Especially when speaking to an NFL-loving American, many do not believe that soccer players are true athletes. With low-scoring games, very little physical contact, and more flopping than a fishing competition, some are not so convinced about the physical prowess of soccer players.

Are they wrong, or do soccer players really have it easy? To understand this, one must understand the game. Firstly, let’s have a look at the soccer field dimensions. You can tell a lot about an athlete from the size of the field on which they play. After all, who would you say is in better shape: A marathon runner or someone who runs the 40-yard dash? With its impressive dimensions, soccer players are definitely in the marathon category. Understanding the field dimensions and how this element of the sport affects players will assist you in making highly informed decisions when enjoying legal soccer betting action.

Affording to FIFA laws, which MLS often adheres to colloquially though are not bound to, a soccer field, or “pitch” if you’re in England, is a minimum of 110 yards (330 feet) in length, to a max of 120 yards (360 feet), with a width minimum of 70 yards (210 feet) to a max of 80 yards (240 feet). By contrast, an NFL field, goal line to goal line, is only 100 yards (300 feet) wide, with a width of 53 1/3 yards (160 feet).

COMPARING PROFESSIONAL FIELDS OF PLAY

Contrast this with other sports. Major League Baseball typically has long fields, with home plate to dead center typically stretching an average of 370 feet, or 123.3 yards. However, baseball players are practically standing still until a ball is hit. And with NFL football players, only a few players on the team are running every play (skill positions/non-linemen), and the average distance is only 20 yards per play, which equates to about 20 yards every minute.

Compared to the NFL and MLB athletes, soccer players are literally running circles around them. Soccer athletes are constantly on the move for 90 minutes of action and often 30 minutes of overtime. This 120 minutes is double the length of an NFL game, at only 60 minutes, and the teams also get to alternate between offense and defense, whereas soccer players perform double duty.

The only sport to come close is NBA basketball. The players are constantly running and playing offense and defense, but the field sizes aren’t even close. A basketball court is 28 meters (91.8 feet) long by 15 meters (49.2 feet) wide.

Soccer players might have a reputation in some circles as not being the toughest, grittiest athletes out there, but by sheer athletic demand alone, rest assured that they are in better shape than most other athletes on the planet. They’re constantly maneuvering around a huge field, and they often play double the length of other sporting matches.