A football is a ball used to play one of the various sports known as football. Each code of football uses a different ball, though they all belong to one of two different basic shapes:

1. a sphere: used in Association football (soccer) and Gaelic football;
2. a prolate spheroid ('oval-shaped'):
• either with rounded ends: used in Rugby football and Australian rules football,
• or with more pointed ends: used in American football and Canadian football.

The precise shape and construction of footballs is typically specified as part of the .