1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Numbers on the Football Pitch – Science with a Kick

February 29, 2008

Why is the 11 metre point at 11 metres? Would a different distance have been better? And why are there 11 players on a team? Some fans may have asked themselves these questions, but who knows the answers?

https://p.dw.com/p/DFnv
Image: DW-TV

Physicist John Wesson and young football players are systematically looking into the secrets of the game. He has no high-tech laboratory, but uses mathematics and creative and even downright off-beat ideas. He applies everything from statistics to game theory to find a comprehensive scientific description of football.