Introduction
In football, there are several specialized positions on the field. One of these positions is in the line of the defense, between the opponent’s offense and the own team’s goal. This position is occupied by the goalkeeper. The primary role of a goalkeeper is to defend his team’s goal, thus preventing the opponent from scoring a goal. Furthermore, the goalkeeper is the only player on the field, who is permitted to touch the ball with his hands or arms on open play (only within the penalty area). Each team is required to have a goalkeeper present on the field at all times during a match. Because a goalkeeper is forced to use his hands and arms in order to protect the goal, protection gear was created. Along padded clothes, the most important piece of equipment is the football gloves. Football gloves are very useful in a game.
About the equipment
Most goalkeepers also wear goalkeeper football gloves in order to improve their grip on the ball, and to protect themselves from injury. There are now football gloves that have features designed to prevent injuries, such as sprained fingers. Gloves now include "finger saves," which help prevent injuries such as jammed and sprained fingers. Finger saves are a type of hard plastic put in the back of the finger part of the glove. Though football gloves are not mandatory attire, it is uncommon for goalkeepers to opt against them due to the advantages they offer. At UEFA Euro 2004, Portuguese goalkeeper, Ricardo famously took them off during the quarter-final penalty-shootout against England and became the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a World Cup Finals penalty shootout.
NFL
Football gloves are also used in NFL. NFL is the National Football League, the highest level of professional American Football in the United States of America and it is considered the top professional American football league in the world. American football is different from European football, also known as soccer. If you could compare it to something, the closest sport in the world would be rugby, although when it comes to rules or equipments, the two sports are nothing alike. A part of the American football equipment is represented by the football gloves. Many receivers wear gloves that have a sticky rubber palm, called tact gloves, or are covered with a sticky substance like rosin or a sticky spray. Linemen also wear gloves - they don't have to catch the ball, but they do have to use their hands to fight off opposing linemen. The gloves worn by linemen usually have thick padding in them to better protect their fingers and hands, which can sometimes get caught up in another player's face mask or be stepped on in a pile of players. Players are not permitted to put any type of gel or "stick 'ems" on their gloves.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, football gloves are a very handy protective gear, used in several football sports throughout the world. Without them, there would be a lot of injured players on the field.
