Down (gridiron football)

A down is a time in which a play happens in gridiron football. The team with the football has a number of downs (four in American football, three in Canadian football) to go ten yards or more towards their opponent's goal line. If they do not go that far, the ball is turned over to the other team. A lot of times, if a team reaches their final down they will punt to their opponent, which makes their opponent to begin from further down the field; if they are close enough, they might instead try to score a field goal.