Why haven't football measurements gone metric?

[otk]

Not that I'm moaning, but we still talk about the six yard box, the eighteen yard box. The penalty spot is still twelve yards out and goals are twenty four feet wide by eight feet high

Has there been special dispensation given to football to keep imperial measurements?

Or do they talk about the goals being 7.56 metres, or whatever it is, wide on the continent, for example?

 

[Sajerz]

I think you've answered your own question there.

 

[Amsterdam Albion]

Good question , don't know!

 

[Man of Harveys]

Interesting point - 12 yards isn't exactly 11 metres. But a penalty in German is called "elfmeter" (I'm sure you don't need a translation). Does the distance vary slightly from here to there? Is that maybe why Germany always win their penalty shootouts and England lose theirs? *runs away to avoid airborn plastic chairs heading in his direction*

 

[strings]

I was under the impression that they had for the purposes of rules on pitch dimensions etc., however it just had not translated to football speak.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

Been metric for years here!

 

[otk]

Been metric for years here!

Could I ask what you call the six yard box, the eighteen yard box and how far out is the penalty spot?

Cheers

 

[Cian]

Image:Football pitch metric.png - Wikimedia Commons

standard metric pitch measurements (allegedly, as it is the wiki)

 

[otk]

Image:Football pitch metric.png - Wikimedia Commons

standard metric pitch measurements (allegedly, as it is the wiki)

Nice one

Thanks

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Because, despite the fact that the UK adopted the metric system in the 1970s, there is still a media campaign about which maintains the myth that it's a new-fangled European conspiracy to subdue the plucky old Brits, and thus the readers of such esteemed (and inexplicably popular) publications continue to stick doggedly to their ancient measurements.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

It's odd, though, that what was called the twentyfive when I learned to play rugby is now universally known as the twentytwo.

Do continental referees pace out nine paces at freekicks?

 

[Marc]

we hav'nt gone metric in Cricket yet either!

 

[otk]

we hav'nt gone metric in Cricket yet either!

You're right, as the distance between wickets is still a chain, as in 1/8 of a furlong

 

[otk]

It's odd, though, that what was called the twentyfive when I learned to play rugby is now universally known as the twenty two

I was chatting to my mates in the pub tonight and one made the same point. I think it used to be 25 yards, which now has become 22 metres, as in a '22 drop out...'

 

[Lord Bracknell]

You're right, as the distance between wickets is still a chain, as in 1/8 of a furlong

A pedant writes:-

A chain is 1/10 of a furlong. A furlong is 1/8 of a mile.


This is, of course, the beauty of the imperial system ... inconsistency.

16 ounces in a pound; 14 pounds in a stone; 8 stones in a hundredweight; 20 hundredweights in a ton.

But 20 fluid ounces in a pint and 8 pints in a gallon. Except in America, of course.

 

[otk]

A pedant writes:-

A chain is 1/10 of a furlong. A furlong is 1/8 of a mile.


This is, of course, the beauty of the imperial system ... inconsistency.

16 ounces in a pound; 14 pounds in a stone; 8 stones in a hundredweight; 20 hundredweights in a ton.

But 20 fluid ounces in a pint and 8 pints in a gallon. Except in America, of course.

As I wrote that I was trying to do the maths, unsuccessfully, in my head. Of course a furlong is 220 yards and a mile is 8 of those, as in 1760 glorious yards

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Ah, the memories of primary school arithmetic in the old days ...


If 1 stone of apples costs 4s 8d, and apples weigh 4 ounces each, how many apples can you buy for 11d ? Do not use a pencil and paper to work out the answer.

And remember ... calculators hadn't been invented.

 

[steward 433]

Dunno LB Wasn't there 240 pence in the pound or something?

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

11.

 

[otk]

Ah, the memories of primary school arithmetic in the old days ...


If 1 stone of apples costs 4s 8d, and apples weigh 4 ounces each, how many apples can you buy for 11d ? Do not use a pencil and paper to work out the answer.

And remember ... calculators hadn't been invented.

11, as they are 1d. each