American football, known in the United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for its physical roughness despite being a highly-strategic game. The object of the game is to score points by advancing the pointed, oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's end zone. The ball can be advanced by carrying it (a running play) or by throwing it to a teammate (a passing play). Points can be scored in a variety of ways, including carrying the ball over the goal line, throwing the ball to another player past the goal line, tackling an opposing ball carrier in his own end zone, or kicking the ball through the goal posts on the opposing side. The winner is the team with the most points when the time expires and the final play ends.

Outside the United States, the sport is referred to as American football (or a translation thereof) to differentiate it from other football styles. In Australia and New Zealand, the game is known as "gridiron" football, although in the United States the term gridiron refers only to the playing field itself.