playing <in/on> a football team

[ilmath]

Hi,
what's the most correct?
I thought that just to play in (ex: play in the mud, play in a competition...) was correct, till i found 'playing on a football team'...

Help, please

 

[sdgraham]

These existing threads should help you:

Preposition: in/on the team
She plays on / in the rugby team.

 

[Rover_KE]

I haven't time to read the above links, but I hope one or both of them mention 'playing for a/the team'.

 

[ain'ttranslationfun?]

I think to play "in" is GB &"on" (a team) is US.

 

[Biffo]

I haven't time to read the above links, but I hope one or both of them mention 'playing for a/the team'.

Yes a player is on a team but plays for a team.

 

[George French]

One plays for the club in one or more of the teams.

As you get older you move down from the first team to the second team. Some years later you end up in the veterans.

To summarise: one plays for a club and you are put into a team by the selectors..

GF..

Or something like that..

 

[Biffo]

Summary

We all disagree.


ilmath - This just goes to show how important context is in English. Please give us a complete sentence, not just an isolated phrase.

 

[Egmont]

One distinction I see - I didn't notice it in the linked threads, but one of them consisted largely of more links, and I couldn't follow all of them - is that "team" has two meanings: the group of players who are on the field* (or could be) in a given game, and an organization. Thinking of it as an organization, one plays for the team. Thinking of it as players on the field in a given game, one plays on the team, at least in AE.

As Biffo posted, context is important. Here, it is essential.

_____________________
*Or court, pitch, ice, whatever.

 

[ilmath]

Summary

We all disagree.


ilmath - This just goes to show how important context is in English. Please give us a complete sentence, not just an isolated phrase.

OK. Here is context.
That is a correction done by a teacher in "collège". The context is 'speed-dating' to get to know classmates.Each pupil had to introduce himself and another one had to speak at the 3rd person and transform each sentence. In colour, you see the mistakes the teacher corrected but... the last sentence 'he plays on a football team' surprised me because of 'on a football team' instead of 'in a football team'. NOW, following all your kind answers, it is clear that both on/in are correct in this case and that the use of prepositions depends on whether you come from U.S (on) or UK (in). AM I WRONG?

He was born on June 5th. /He lives in Manchester. / His address is 3 Glennwood Lane. / He likesfootball/playing football and he loves listening to music/ He plays on a football team. …)

 

[ilmath]

if the guy lives in Manchester, I suppose he should say: I play in a football team/for a football team...

 

[Rover_KE]

...unless he lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA, in which case he'd probably say 'I play on a football team'.

 

[ilmath]

... of course, I should have thought of the possibility... actually, I thought about it but wasn't sure whether an American Manchester could exist...pardon my ignorance!
Anyway, now I am less ignorant about on/in a football team!

Thanks everybody!!!