Ladies' Gaelic football

Ladies' Gaelic football (Irish: Peil Ghaelach na mBan) is a team sport for women, very similar to Gaelic football, and co-ordinated by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. The sport originated in Ireland and is most popular there, although it is played in other countries, often by members of the Irish diaspora.

Play

The game is very similar to the male form of Gaelic football, where two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a round ball towards goals at either end of a grass pitch. There are two main competitions in this sport; the National League which is staged during the winter-spring months and is used as a warm-up to the All-Ireland Championship which is played during the summer. The All-Ireland Final is played on the last Sunday in September or the first Sunday in October in Croke Park, Dublin, where the winners receive the Brendan Martin Cup. The National League and Championship are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association.

Differences from men's football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football (Irish: Peil Ghaelach; short name Peil or Caid), commonly referred to as football or Gaelic, is an Irish team sport. It is a form of football derived from traditional Irish ball games. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by passing the ball through the other team's goals (3 points) or a set of two upright posts separated by a crossbar 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) above the ground (1 point).

Players advance the football, a spherical leather ball, up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing, and soloing (dropping the ball and then toe-kicking the ball upward into the hands). In the game, two types of scores are possible: points and goals. A point is awarded for kicking or hand-passing the ball over the crossbar, signalled by the umpire raising a white flag. A goal is awarded for kicking the ball under the crossbar into the net, signalled by the umpire raising a green flag. Positions in Gaelic football are similar to that in other football codes, and comprise one goalkeeper, six backs, two midfielders, and six forwards, with a variable number of substitutes.