Editing Goalkeeper (section)

==== Gridiron football ====
The term "goal-tend" was used in early descriptions of [[American football positions]] to describe the defensive position farthest back from the [[line of scrimmage]]. Eventually the term became obsolete and was replaced by the term ''defensive [[fullback (gridiron football)|fullback]]'', then to its modern term ''[[free safety]]'' (or ''[[return specialist|punt returner]]'' in kicking situations) {{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}. Unlike in soccer or Gaelic football, the goal-tend/safety does not physically protect the goalposts, as they are elevated above the ground and mostly out of the reach of any player (the [[National Football League]] also explicitly outlawed goaltending in [[1985 NFL season|1985]]; no such rule exists in other levels of the game {{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}). Also, unlike other codes of football, goal-tends have no special ball-handling privileges.

One situation in which a goalkeeper-like responsibility can arise is in [[Canadian football]], where a [[single (football)|single point]] is awarded for a kicked ball that is not returned out of the [[end zone]]. While standard practice is for defending teams to concede the single point, situations often arise where conceding that point could jeopardize a lead. A goal-tend can thus be employed to recover the ball and either return it out of the end zone or, generally if it is in the closing seconds of a game, [[punt (gridiron football)|punt]] the ball back into play or [[out of bounds]] to ensure the point is not conceded.