An exhibition game (also known as an exhibition match or simply exhibition, or a demonstration or demo event) is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor (such as tournament or season rankings, or prize money) regardless of the outcome of the competition. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively Quality of play is generally valued over the end result. In association football a common equivalent term is friendly match. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered The term scrimmage is also sometimes used, especially with regard to team sports, but is ambiguous because it has other meanings even in that context. Team sport refers to Sports that are practiced between opposing teams where the players interact directly and simultaneously between them to achieve an objective Another (uncommon) synonym is preparation match. This article deals with the general meaning of the term "synonym"
Throughout the world, many team and one-on-one sports and games feature exhibition matches. For example, two professional snooker or chess players, or two ice hockey teams, may play an exhibition to settle a challenge, to provide (compensated) entertainment, or often to raise money for charities. Snooker is a Cue sport that is played on a large Baize -covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team Sport played on Ice. The definition of charitable organization, and of charity varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates
In some sports, especially in North America, exhibition games also take the form of a handful of pre-season games that are intended to familiarize teammates with each other and prepare for upcoming matches. In professional sports, pre-season games also help teams decide which players to keep for the regular season. Professional sports, as opposed to amateur Sports are those in which athletes receive payment for their performance
Given the highly competitive nature of professional sports (and the frequent lack of disciplinary action by officiating bodies for rules or sportsmanship infractions during exhibitions), "friendly" matches are not always the exemplars of good will and fair play than the term might suggest.
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Football (soccer)
In football, most club sides play a number of friendly matches (or "friendlies") before the start of each season to "warm up" the players before they return to competitive action. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered There is generally nothing competitive at stake and some rules may be changed or experimented with (such as unlimited substitutions and no cards). Although most friendlies are simply one-off matches arranged by the clubs themselves, some teams do compete in short tournaments, such as the Emirates Cup, Teresa Herrera Trophy and the Amsterdam Tournament. The Emirates Cup is an annual two-day pre-season football tournament held at Arsenal 's Emirates Stadium in London, England. The Teresa Herrera Trophy (Trofeo Teresa Herrera is a friendly football tournament played annually since 1946 in La Coruña, Galicia, Spain. The Amsterdam Tournament is an annual Association football tournament played in the pre-season hosted by AFC Ajax. Although these events may involve sponsorship deals and the awarding of a trophy and may even be broadcast on television, there is little prestige attached to them.
International teams also play friendlies, generally in preparation for the qualifying or final stages of major tournaments. This is essential, since national squads generally have much less time together in which to prepare. The biggest difference between friendlies at club and international level is that international friendlies mostly take place during league seasons, not between them. This has on occasion led to disagreement between national associations and clubs as to the availability of players, as international friendlies can occur in the most vital parts of league seasons, and may cause injury and fatigue to top players.
International friendlies give team managers the opportunity to experiment with team selection and tactics before the tournament proper, and also allow them to assess the abilities of players they may potentially select for the tournament squad. Players can be booked in international friendlies, and can be suspended from future international matches based on red cards or accumulated yellows in a specified period. Caps and goals scored also count towards a player's career records. A cap is an appearance for a select team such as a school county or international team in sports In 2004, FIFA ruled that substitutions by a team be limited to six per match in international friendlies, in response to criticism that such matches were becoming increasingly farcical with managers making anything up to 11 substitutions per match. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (French for International Federation of Association Football) A substitute is a player in Association football who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player
In the UK and Ireland, "exhibition match" and "friendly match" refer to different types of matches. The types described above as friendlies are not termed exhibition matches, while annual all-star matches such as those held in the US MLS or Japan's J. League are called exhibition matches rather than friendly matches. An all-star game is an Exhibition game played by the best players in their Sports league. Major League Soccer ( MLS) is the top-flight professional Soccer league in the United States and Canada with 14 teams 13 in the U The, or, is the top professional Football (soccer league in Japan and one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football A one-off match for charitable fundraising, usually involving one or two all-star teams, or a match held in honour of a player for service to his/her club, may be described as exhibition matches but they are normally referred to as charity matches and testimonial matches respectively. A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports notably Football (soccer and especially
Ice hockey
Under the 1995-2004 National Hockey League collective bargaining agreement, teams were limited to nine preseason games. The 1995–96 NHL season was the 79th Regular season of the National Hockey League. The 2003–04 NHL season was the 87th Regular season of the National Hockey League. The National Hockey League ( NHL) is a professional Ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America The NHL collective bargaining agreement is the basic contract between the National Hockey League (NHL team owners and the NHL Players Association (NHLPA designed In an organised Sports league, a season is the portion of one Year in which regulated Games of the sport are in session From 1975 to 1991, NHL teams sometimes played exhibition games against teams from the Soviet Union, and in 1978, played against World Hockey Association teams also in pre-season training. The 1975–76 NHL season was the 59th season of the National Hockey League. The 1990–91 NHL season was the 74th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The World Hockey Association (French Association Mondiale de Hockey) was a professional Ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 Like the NFL, the NHL sometimes schedules exhibition games for cities without their own NHL teams.
In 1992, goaltender Manon Rheaume played in a preseason game for the Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the first woman to suit up for a major pro sports team in North America. The 1992–93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. This article is about the goaltender in Ice hockey. For the similar position in other sports see Goalkeeper. Manon Rhéaume (born February 24, 1972) is a Canadian Goaltender and Olympic Silver medalist who was the first - and as The Tampa Bay Lightning is a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa Florida.
The Flying Fathers, a Canadian group of Catholic priests, regularly tour North America playing exhibition hockey games for charity. The Flying Fathers are a group of Canadian Roman Catholic priests who regularly tour North America as a hockey team playing Exhibition Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page One of the organization's founders, Les Costello, was a onetime NHL player who was ordained as a priest after retiring from professional hockey. Fr Les Costello ( February 16, 1928 – December 10, 2002) was a Canadian Ice hockey player
American college hockey teams occasionally play exhibition games against Canadian college teams as well as against USA or Canadian national teams. (In men's hockey, the senior national teams are selected from NHL and other pro players, and college teams would be overmatched against those teams even if they were allowed to play them. The National Hockey League ( NHL) is a professional Ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America However, the national under-18 teams are made up of amateurs. )
Baseball
Major League Baseball's preseason is known as spring training. In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the Regular season. All MLB teams maintain a spring-training base in Arizona or Florida. The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The teams in Arizona make up the Cactus League, while the teams in Florida play in the Grapefruit League. In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the Regular season. In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the Regular season. Each team plays about 30 preseason games against other MLB teams. They may also play exhibitions against a local college team or a minor-league team from their farm system. Part of the History of baseball series Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of Professional baseball leagues in North
Several MLB teams used to play regular exhibition games during the year against nearby teams in the other major league, but regular-season interleague play has made such games unnecessary. Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues introduced in. The two Canadian MLB teams, the Toronto Blue Jays of the American League and the Montreal Expos of the National League, met annually to play the Pearson Cup exhibition game; this tradition ended when the Expos moved to Washington, D. The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League ( AL) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in Franchise history Creation of the franchise In 1960 Montreal lost its International League team the Montreal Royals (an affiliate of The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League ( NL) is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball The Pearson Cup was an annual mid-season Major League Baseball exhibition game between former Canadian rivals the Toronto Blue Jays and the Montréal C. for the 2005 season. 2005 Major League Baseball season Headline events of the year Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros to win the World Series It also used to be commonplace to have a team play an exhibition against Minor League affiliates during the regular season, but worries of injuries to players, along with travel issues, have made this very rare. The annual MLB All-Star Game is played in July between players from AL teams and players from NL teams. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic" is an annual Baseball game between players from the National League
Basketball
National Basketball Association teams play about seven preseason games per year. Nowadays, NBA teams almost always play each other in the preseason. However, from 1971 to 1975, NBA teams played preseason exhibitions against American Basketball Association teams. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The American Basketball Association ( ABA) was a professional Basketball league founded in 1967, and eventually merged in part with the National In the early days of the NBA, league clubs sometimes challenged the legendary barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters, with mixed success. The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism and Comedy. The NBA has played preseason games in Europe and Asia. In the 2006 and 2007 seasons, the NBA and the primary European club competition, the Euroleague, will conduct a preseason tournament featuring two NBA teams and the finalists from that year's Euroleague. EuroLeague WomenThe Euroleague (EL is one of the professional Basketball competitions in Europe, with teams from thirteen different European countries [1]
Traditionally, major college basketball teams would begin their seasons with a few exhibition games. College basketball most often refers to the American Basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA They would play traveling teams made up of former college players or, on occasion, other countries' national teams. However, in 2003, the National Collegiate Athletic Association banned games with non-college teams. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations Some teams have begun scheduling exhibition games against teams in NCAA Division II and Division III. Division II (or DII) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States.
American football
National Football League teams play four or five pre-season exhibition games a year, for which ticket prices are the same as for regular-season games. The National Football League exhibition season refers to the NFL 's pre-season games before the NFL regular season starts The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. These exhibition games are allegedly for the purpose of helping coaches narrow down the roster to the regular-season limit of 53 players; however, they also pad the profits of the team owners, as players are not paid regular-season salaries for exhibition games. The NFL has played exhibition games in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia (including the American Bowl in 1999) and Mexico to spread the league's popularity. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Exhibition games are quite unpopular with many fans, who resent having to pay regular-season prices for two home exhibition games as part of a season-ticket package. Numerous lawsuits have been brought by fans and classes of fans against the NFL or its member teams regarding this practice, but none have been successful in halting it. [2]
College football teams do not play exhibition games, although many play a public intrasquad game in the spring. College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, Colleges and military academies
Australian rules football
Australian rules football has been introduced to a wide range of places around Australia and the world since the code originated in Victoria in 1858. Australian rules football has been introduced to a wide range of places around Australia and the world since the code originated in Victoria in 1858 Australian (rules football, or simply known as football, footy or Aussie rules, is a Team sport played between two teams of 18 players Much of this expansion can be directly attributed to exhibition matches by the major leagues in regions and countries where the code has been played as a demonstration sport. An exhibition game (also known as an exhibition match or simply exhibition, or a demonstration or demo event is a sporting event A demonstration sport is a sport which is played in order to promote itself most commonly during the Olympic Games, but also at other sporting events
Auto racing
Various auto racing organizations hold exhibition events, more specifically, races that do not count towards the season championship. The NASCAR Nextel Cup series holds one exhibition event annually, the invitation-only Budweiser Shootout at the start of the season. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States. Pole position winners from the previous season compete in the event which awards cash prizes only, and no points towards the Nextel Cup championship. A second event, the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge is also a non-points paying race, however, it is falls under the category of all star events. The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston until 2004 then the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge from 2004 until 2007 is a race open to race winners An all-star game is an Exhibition game played by the best players in their Sports league. NASCAR also held exhibition races previously at Suzuka and Twin Ring Motegi. Suzuka International Racing Course ( Suzuka Circuit for short is a co-host of the Formula One Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix, and Twin Ring Motegi is an automobile racing track located at Motegi, Japan.
Other historical examples of non-championship races include the Marlboro Challenge in IndyCar racing and the TOCA Touring Car Shootout in the British Touring Car Championship. The Marlboro Challenge was an All-star style event of the CART series from 1987-1992 sponsored by Marlboro. The British Touring Car Championship is a Touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. Until the mid-1980s there were a significant number of non-championship Formula One races.
See also
External links
- International football (soccer) friendlies results, 1872-present
- Article about NBA vs. ABA exhibitions
- Collegehoopsnet article about the 2003 NCAA ruling
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