Single (football)

In Canadian football, a single point or rouge is awarded when the ball is kicked into the end zone by any legal means, and unless it is a successful field goal attempt, the ball either leaves the end zone or is not returned out of the end zone by the defending team. After conceding a single, the defending team is awarded possession of the ball at the 35 yard line.

Singles are not awarded if a ball is downed in the end zone after being intercepted in the end zone, or fumbled outside the end zone. In these cases the defending team will be awarded possession of the ball at the 25 yard line.

Singles are not awarded in American football. In the American code, each of the circumstances described above will result in a touchback, and the defending team will receive possession at the 20 yard line.

The awarding of a single point for missed field goals in Canadian football is controversial, and the Canadian Football League has discussed abolishing it, although proposals to do so as recently as 2005 have always been soundly rejected. Some fans see the single as an inappropriate means of rewarding "failure," while others point out that Canadian football was always intended to be a game where field position was the key to success – the single should therefore be seen as a penalty against the defence for failing to stop the offence from gaining that field position and/or as a penalty for the privilege of resuming play at the 35 yard line instead of the goal line.