Badminton vs. Football — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on March 18, 2024
Badminton is a racquet sport played indoors, focusing on agility and precision, while football is a team sport played outdoors, emphasizing physical strength and teamwork.
Difference Between Badminton and Football
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Key Differences
Badminton is a fast-paced racquet sport that requires two or four players to hit a shuttlecock back and forth over a net, with the aim of landing the shuttlecock in the opponent's court. It is known for its requirement of agility, reflexes, and precision, with matches taking place indoors to avoid wind affecting play. Badminton courts are smaller, and the equipment used includes racquets and a lightweight shuttlecock, often made of feathered material.
Football, on the other hand, is a globally popular team sport that involves two teams of eleven players each, competing to score goals by getting a ball into the opposing team's goal. Played on a large outdoor field, football emphasizes physical endurance, teamwork, and strategy. The sport is known for its physicality and requires players to be adept at handling the ball with their feet, except for the goalkeeper who can use hands within the penalty area.
While badminton matches are characterized by short, intense bursts of activity and require individual skill within singles or coordination in doubles, football matches last longer and involve continuous physical exertion, with players covering significant distances on the field. Football teams must work together cohesively, utilizing different positions and roles, from defenders to forwards, to achieve success.
The scoring systems in these sports also differ significantly. In badminton, points can be scored by either side when the shuttlecock lands in the opponent's court or if errors are made. Matches are typically played in a best-of-three-games format, with 21 points needed to win a game. Football scores through goals, with each goal counting as one point, and matches are played over two halves, each lasting 45 minutes, with the team scoring the most goals winning.
Badminton's origins trace back to ancient civilizations but it was formalized as a sport in 19th-century England. Football, with its modern rules, also originated in England in the 19th century, evolving from games played in various forms for centuries. Both sports have grown in popularity and have established international governing bodies, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for badminton and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for football, which organize world championships and maintain the sports' rules and integrity.
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Comparison Chart
Playing Environment
Indoors, to avoid interference from wind
Outdoors, on a grass or artificial turf field
Equipment
Racquets and shuttlecock
Football, cleats, shin guards
Player Formation
Singles or doubles
Teams of eleven players
Skills Emphasized
Agility, reflexes, precision
Physical endurance, teamwork, strategy
Duration
Best-of-three-games, 21 points to win a game
Two halves, 45 minutes each, most goals to win
Field of Play
Smaller court divided by a net
Large field with goals at each end
Origins
Ancient civilizations, formalized in 19th-century England
Evolved from ancient games, codified in 19th-century England
Governing Bodies
Badminton World Federation (BWF)
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
Global Popularity
Popular in Asia and Europe
Globally popular, with strong followings in all continents
Physical Contact
Minimal, indirect through shuttlecock
Direct, with rules governing contact
Compare with Definitions
Badminton
Racquet Sport.
Badminton is a competitive racquet sport that tests players' agility.
Football
Team Sport.
Football is a popular team sport with a massive global fanbase.
Badminton
Shuttlecock.
The player hit the shuttlecock with precision, scoring a point.
Football
FIFA.
FIFA is responsible for organizing the Football World Cup.
Badminton
Agility and Precision.
Success in badminton relies on agility and precision.
Football
Goal.
He scored a goal from the halfway line, electrifying the stadium.
Badminton
BWF.
The BWF organizes international badminton tournaments.
Football
Teamwork and Strategy.
The team's victory was a testament to their teamwork and strategy.
Badminton
Indoors.
Badminton courts are indoors to prevent wind from affecting the game.
Football
Outdoors.
Football is traditionally played outdoors on a large field.
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players per side).
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used.
Badminton
A game with rackets in which a shuttlecock is hit back and forth across a net.
Football
Any of various forms of team game involving kicking (and in some cases also handling) a ball, in particular (in the UK) soccer or (in the US) American football
A football club
A football match
Badminton
A sport played by volleying a shuttlecock back and forth over a high narrow net by means of a light, long-handled racket.
Football
A ball used in football, either round (as in soccer) or oval (as in rugby and American football) and typically made of leather or plastic and filled with compressed air.
Badminton
(uncountable) A racquet sport played indoors on a court by two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs of players (doubles), in which a shuttlecock is volleyed over a net and the competitions are presided by an umpire in British English and a referee in American English.
Football
A briefcase containing authentication codes and other items that allow the US president to authorize a nuclear strike at any time
Wherever the president travels, a military aide stays close with the football
Whose fingers would we prefer to have on America's nuclear football?
Badminton
(countable) A cooling summer drink made with claret, sugar, and soda water.
Football
A game played by two teams of 11 players each on a rectangular, 100-yard-long field with goal lines and goalposts at either end, the object being to gain possession of a ball and advance it in running or passing plays across the opponent's goal line or kick it through the air between the opponent's goalposts.
Badminton
A game, similar to lawn tennis, played with shuttlecocks.
Football
The inflated oval ball, slightly pointed at both ends, that is used in this game.
Badminton
A preparation of claret, spiced and sweetened.
Football
Soccer.
Badminton
A game played on a court with light long-handled rackets used to volley a shuttlecock over a net
Football
Rugby.
Football
The ball used in soccer or rugby.
Football
(Informal) A problem or issue that is discussed among groups or persons without being settled
The issue of tax reform became a political football.
Football
(general) A sport played on foot in which teams attempt to get a ball into a goal or zone defended by the other team.
Roman and medieval football matches were more violent than any modern type of football.
Football
Association football: a game in which two teams each contend to get a round ball into the other team's goal primarily by kicking the ball. Known as soccer in Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
Each team scored three goals when they played football.
Football
American football: a game played on a field of 100 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide in which two teams of 11 players attempt to get an ovoid ball to the end of each other's territory.
Each team scored two touchdowns when they played football.
Football
Canadian football: a game played on a field of 110 yards long and 65 yards wide in which two teams of 12 players attempt to get an ovoid ball to the end of each other's territory.
They played football in the snow.
Football
Australian rules football.
Football
Gaelic football: a field game played with similar rules to hurling, but using hands and feet rather than a stick, and a ball, similar to, yet smaller than a soccer ball.
Football
Rugby league.
Football
Rugby union.
Football
(countable) The ball used in any game called "football".
The player kicked the football.
Football
(uncountable) Practice of these particular games, or techniques used in them.
Football
An item of discussion, particularly in a back-and-forth manner
That budget item became a political football.
Football
The leather briefcase containing classified nuclear war plans which is always near the US President.
Football
To play football.
Football
An inflated ball to be kicked in sport, usually made in India rubber, or a bladder incased in Leather.
Football
The game played with a football{1}, by two opposing teams of players moving the ball between goals at opposite ends of a rectangular playing field. Outside the United States football refers to soccer, and in England, also to rugby, but in the United States the shape of the ball and the rules of the game are different.
Football
Soccer or rugby.
Football
Something which is treated in a rough manner, usually as part of a dispute; as, a political football.
Football
Any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal
Football
The inflated oblong ball used in playing American football
Common Curiosities
What skills are emphasized in badminton and football?
Badminton emphasizes agility, reflexes, and precision, while football focuses on physical endurance, teamwork, and strategy.
What equipment is needed to play badminton and football?
Badminton requires racquets and a shuttlecock, while football requires a ball, cleats, and shin guards.
How do the playing environments of badminton and football differ?
Badminton is played indoors to avoid wind interference, whereas football is played outdoors on grass or artificial turf fields.
How do the scoring systems in badminton and football work?
In badminton, points are scored when the shuttlecock lands in the opponent's court, with 21 points needed to win a game. In football, goals are scored by getting the ball into the opponent's goal, with each goal counting as one point.
Can both sports be played by amateurs and professionals?
Yes, both badminton and football can be played at various levels, from casual amateur play to highly competitive professional levels.
What are the origins of badminton and football?
Both sports originated in England; badminton was formalized in the 19th century, and modern football rules were codified in the same century.
What is the duration of a typical match in both sports?
Badminton matches are played in a best-of-three-games format, while football matches consist of two 45-minute halves.
Which governing bodies oversee badminton and football?
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) oversees badminton, while the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) governs football.
How do team formations differ in badminton and football?
Badminton can be played in singles or doubles, while football is played with teams of eleven players.
How does physical contact compare in badminton and football?
Badminton involves minimal physical contact, as players hit a shuttlecock over a net, while football includes direct physical contact between players within the rules of the game.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
