How Goalposts and Nets Evolved

Goalposts

It has taken a long time for the present style of goal posts to evolve. Early forms of the game did not always require goals: the goal was often simply to get the ball across a distant line, or hit a certain wall, or merely to be in possession of the ball at the end of the game.

  • The Eton wall game used a garden door at one end of the pitch and an elm tree marked in white at the other
  • The goalposts at a match in Ireland were said to be two willow twigs in the ground, a small distance apart, with their tops twisted to form an arch. Poles rather than the Irish arch caught on during the 19th century.
  • The Cambridge rules allowed for two poles (of indeterminate height) to be placed 15 feet apart. A goal was scored if the ball passed between the posts at any height.
  • The Football Association ruled that a tape should be placed across the poles.
  • A cross bar was required between the poles
  • The 8 yards wide, 8 feet high goal posts became law.
  • The final ruling - posts shall not exceed 5 inches in width or depth. They can be square, round, half-round or rectangular.
  • Nottingham Forest were the first club to use elliptical posts (developed by a Nottingham company).
  • Elliptical posts were approved by the Football Association. Every League club in England subsequently adopted the elliptical posts.



The elliptical posts

These are different because the shape makes a rebound more unpredictable and they are stronger.

The modern cross bar is reinforced with a metal rod to give it more suppleness without breaking. Previously cross bars tended to sag. Today they are actually manufactured in a 'banana shape' so that when hung between the uprights the curve is straightened by the force of gravity.


Most wooden goalposts are made from hardwearing Douglas Fir. It needs only one pitch invasion to damage them. Also to prevent damage and accidents, goal keepers are banned from swinging on crossbars.

Instead of wood some goalposts are made of aluminium. They are much lighter and need less maintenance.

To score a goal the whole ball must pass between the goal posts, under the cross bar and across the goal line (which is, of course, part of the perimeter line).


Nets - 1892Goal post with nets

Anyone who has played football, or any other goal scoring game, will know how difficult it is to judge whether or not a goal has been scored. Yet it was not untill 1892 that nets were finally approved of by the Football Association. That same year they were first used at a Cup Final at the Oval between West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa. Until then a goal scoring shot could send the ball flying into the crowd or even bounce it back off spectators behind the goal.

Today there are two types of nets used: the conventional 5 inch square mesh and the more recent anti-vandel nylon nets with a closer hexagonal mesh.

Even so nets have not completely stopped disputes, especially when a rebounding ball is involved.