Hey everyone, today I wanted to talk about something I got curious about – how wide are football goal posts? I mean, we see them all the time on TV, but I never really stopped to think about their actual size. So, I did a little digging and measuring, and here’s what I found out.
First, I tried to remember the games I watched. The professional ones, you know, the NFL games, those goal posts look massive! So, I went online to check. Turns out, for the pros, the goal posts are 18 feet 6 inches wide, which is about 5.64 meters. And the crossbar, that horizontal part, is 10 feet, or 3.05 meters, off the ground. The whole thing extends way up, like 45 feet total!
- Professional (NFL):
- Width: 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 meters)
- Crossbar Height: 10 feet (3.05 meters)
- Total Height: 45 feet (13.72 meters)
Then I thought about the regular 11-a-side football games, the ones they call “full size.” I looked that up, too. The goal posts there are even wider – 24 feet wide, which is about 7.32 meters. The crossbar is a bit lower, 8 feet, or 2.44 meters, from the ground. These are the ones you see everywhere, from professional matches to the local park.
- Full-Size (11-a-side):
- Width: 24 feet (7.32 meters)
- Crossbar Height: 8 feet (2.44 meters)
I also found out that college football in the US, the NCAA games, uses the same size goal posts as the NFL – 18 feet 6 inches wide. But for high school games, it’s different again. They use wider goal posts, 23 feet 4 inches, or about 7.1 meters. The height isn’t as strict, usually around 12-15 feet for the side posts, making the whole thing about 22-25 feet tall.
- High School:
- Width: 23 feet 4 inches (7.1 meters)
- Side Post Height: 12-15 feet (3.7-4.6 meters)
- Total Height: 22-25 feet (6.7-7.6 meters)
Making Sure It’s Fair
I realized it’s not just about size, it’s also about making sure everything is fair. So, they use strong materials for the goal posts, usually steel that’s been treated so it doesn’t rust. And the dimensions are super specific, depending on whether it’s a professional, college, or high school game.
So, that’s what I learned about football goal posts! It’s pretty interesting how something so common has so much thought put into its size and construction, huh? Let me know what you think, or if you have any other questions about football fields!
