Confederate football, also known as Dixieball, is a form of gridiron football that shares origins with Canadian football and American football but has significant differences. Confederate rules football is mostly played in the Confederate States of America, Haiti and Puerto Rico, and is the most popular sport in the country.
Differences with American and Canadian football[]
Confederate football is played on a 100 yard by 50 yard field, like in American football, but only allows for three downs, like Canadian rules. Players are also prohibited from passing the ball farther than "a single down," meaning they can not pass the ball further than is necessary to score a first down. Confederate teams have fourteen players as opposed to eleven (American) or twelve (Canadian) and require at least six players on the line of scrimmage and no more than eight. Unlike both American and Canadian rules football, Dixieball allows for passing beyond the line of scrimmage, though no further than necessary to achieve a first down. Players are allowed to run with a caught ball as they please, even beyond the first down marker. The exception to the passing rule is that if the ball is brought within the ten yard line and it is First and Goal, a player may catch the ball anywhere within the end zone. Running touchdowns are worth four points, passing touchdowns are worth five points, and kicked or punted field goals through the uprights are worth three points.
Unlike American football, there is no point-after kick or two-point conversion, and there is no kickoff - after a score, the team that has taken over on offense receives the ball at their own twenty-five yard line. Teams may punt the ball to the opposition on third down if they have failed to gain a first, or they may punt or kick the ball through the uprights, either being legal.