Soccer Centers uses the official Fifa rules with the following exceptions
Soccer Centers Rules
On this page you can find the official Laws & Rules for all leagues and tournaments held at Soccer Centers. You can find the general rules below. To find the rules for our 3v3 tournaments, or 5v5 tournaments and our leagues you can click on one of the buttons below.
All the leagues, tournaments and games will be played with the official Fifa soccer rules. The leagues mentioned up here have exceptions to the Fifa rules. You can find the Fifa rules by clicking on this link.
*If a team needs a change in their game schedule, the league director must be notified a minimum of 48 hours in advance.
Teams that have to forfeit a league game due to insufficient time given must pay the ref fee for the missed game. This will be applied to your total balance.
For schedule questions please contact:
kellylawrence@soccercenters.com
General rules for all our Leagues:
Player uniforms, jerseys, protective casts & jewelry:
All players must wear shin guards, or will not be allowed to play.
All players must wear jerseys/shirts during play. If both teams are wearing the same color, a coin flip in pool play will determine which team must change. In playoffs, the higher seed will have the option.
Players wearing protective casts must receive written approval by the League & Tournament director. If the referee on the field of play deems a player’s protective cast is unsafe in any way, the player will not be allowed to play until the Tournament director allows the player to play.
No jewelry will be allowed, including earrings of any type, rope necklaces and bracelets. The only exception will be players wearing medical bracelets.
Substitution: Substitutions can be made on the fly.
Kick Offs / Kick Ins / Direct and Indirect Kicks / Goal Kicks / Penalty Kicks:
Kick Offs
May be kicked in any direction. You cannot score directly from a kick off (ball must be 100% over the mid-line to be considered on the offensive half of the field). The kick off is an indirect kick.
Kick-ins
The ball shall be kicked into play from the sideline, rather than thrown in. The ball is considered in play when the ball is touched and changes position. This is an indirect kick, and a goal cannot be scored from this kick.
Direct and in-direct kicks
All dead-ball kicks (kick-ins, kick-offs, free kicks) are indirect with the exception of corner kicks and penalty kicks. Indirect kicks must only change position before the ball will be considered in play. If a free kick is awarded within five yards of the opposing goal box, the ball will be moved back to five yards from the box. It is the referee’s discretion where the ball will be placed.
Goal kicks
May be taken from any point of the end line. All Goal Kicks are indirect kicks.
Penalty kicks
Shall be awarded if, in the referee’s opinion, a scoring opportunity was nullified by an infraction (the infraction does not automatically result in a red card). Penalty kicks are DIRECT kicks taken from the center of the mid-line with all players (on both teams) behind the mid-line. Penalty kicks are dead ball infractions. If a goal is not scored, the defense obtains possession with a goal kick.
Five-Yard Rule
In all dead-ball situations, defending players must stand at least five yards away from the ball. If the defensive player’s goal is closer than five yards, the ball shall be played five yards from the goal box in line with the direction of play prior to the penalty.
Goal Scoring
A goal may only be scored from a touch (offensive or defensive) within the team’s offensive half on the field. The ball must be completely on the offensive half of the field, and cannot be touching the mid-line (Example: kick-off). If a player in their defensive half kicks the ball across the midline and the ball hits another player (offensive or defensive) in their offensive half, and the ball goes in the goal, a goal will be awarded. If a ball is kicked from the defensive half and is not touched before the ball rests in the goal, a goal kick is awarded to the defensive team. A goal cannot be scored from an indirect kick, such as a kick-in from out-of-bounds. See below for “Plane of the Goal / Net Interference.”
Goal Keepers / Off-sides / Slide Tackling / Hand Ball Clarification:
There are no Goalkeepers in 3v3 Soccer, we don’t play with offside and no slide tackling is allowed. If a player is sliding for the ball, contact with any player(s) from the other team is NOT ALLOWED. If a player slides and contact is initiated, a free kick shall be awarded. This does not prevent players from sliding to stop/intercept a ball where contact is not initiated during the slide. Example: a player may slide to save a ball from going out-of-bounds.
Hand Ball Clarification
Deliberate handling of the ball that denies a team of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity will result in the following: (1) A penalty kick (at the discretion of the referee) (2) A yellow or red card given to the player committing the hand ball (at the discretion of the referee).
Field Dimensions
The playing field is about 55 by 95 feet for ages U9 and higher. U8 age groups play on a smaller field. The goals are approximately four feet high and 8 feet wide.
The Goal Box
There are no goalkeepers in 3v3. The goal box is approximately ten feet wide by six foot long located directly in front of the goal. The goals are four feet high by eight feet wide. There is no ball contact allowed within the goal box, however, all players may pass through the goal box as long as they do not touch the ball while in the box. If the ball comes to a rest in the goal box, or on the goal box line, a goal kick is awarded regardless of who touched the ball last. Any part of the ball or player’s body on the line or inside the plane of the box is considered in the goal box and an extension of such. If a defensive player touches the ball after it has entered the goal box, the plane of the goal box, or an extension of the goal box (such as any part of the ball or player’s body on the line or inside the plane of the box), a goal will be awarded to the offensive team. If an offensive player touches the ball after it has entered the goal box, the plane of the goal box, or an extension of the goal box (such as any part of the ball or player’s body on the line or inside the plane of the box), a goal kick will be awarded to the defensive team, and a goal will not be counted if scored. The plane of the goal box extends upward infinitely. The referee’s judgment call and ruling on the field will not be overturned.
Plane of the Goal / Net Interference:
A goal will be awarded if the ball strikes the netting portion of the goal, even if the ball is then returned back into the field of play without completely crossing the goal line. If the ball strikes the cross bar or goal posts, and simultaneously strikes the netting portion of the goal, the referee’s judgment will determine whether the netting prohibited the ball from crossing the goal line (which should be awarded a goal); or whether the bar or post prohibited the ball from crossing the goal line (which should NOT be awarded a goal). The referee’s judgment call and ruling on the field will not be overturned. In simple terms, the net should not be the source that will prohibit a shot from scoring as a goal.
Delay of games / forfeits / overtime
Delay of Game
The referee has the official time on the field and holds the right to take necessary action if he/she feels that a team is delaying the game. Any player may be cautioned with a yellow card if it is deemed by the referee that the player is intentionally wasting time, such as if a player intentionally kicks the ball long distances away from the playing field in order to waste time. The referee has the official time on the field.
Forfeits
Teams are given five minutes from scheduled game time, or from delayed start time due to unforeseen circumstances, before the referee issues a forfeit. The Soccer Tournament Director must approve all forfeits before the game is considered an official forfeit. The Kick It Tournament Director has the option to replay a forfeited game if deemed necessary. Any team forfeiting three games during pool play may be removed from the tournament. Any team forfeiting one game during the playoffs may be removed from the tournament.
Play-off Penalty Kick’s
If there’s no winner after the official game time the game will go to shout-outs. A coin toss will decide team-kicking order. The three players from each team remaining on the field at the end of the game will be the only players to kick for their team. The remaining three field players after overtime regulation will rotate, alternating teams with each kick. The first round of shootouts will consist of each player kicking once (round of 3 players shooting per team). The team with the most goals after the first round will be considered the winner. If the score remains tied after the first round of penalty kicks, the same 3 players will alternate in the same order in a sudden death penalty kick format until one-team scores unanswered. If one team has received a red card during the game and finishes with 2 players on the field, a remaining roster player (other than the red carded player) must be chosen to kick in the rotation of penalty kicks. If the red-carded player is the last remaining roster player, one of the two field players must kick twice.
Game Balls / Sizes:
Teams are responsible for providing game balls. The ball size for each group is as following:
- U8-U12 = Size 4
- U13 & up = Size 5
For post-season events, such as Summer 3v3 or Summer 5v5, where the ball-size has increased for certain age groups during league play (U12), the increased size should be used. Any disputations over ball size must be settled prior to the start of the game.
The following Tiebreakers will decide who the winner is:
- Points
- Head-to-head
- Goal differential
- Goals against
- Goals scored
- Shout-out
When there are 3 teams with the same amount of points (3-way tie) the goal differential, goals scored or goals against will decide who wins.
Roster:
Every team has to hand in a roster with all the player names and their Date of Birth
League Rules:
1. Duration of the game – 40 minute running clock.
2. Free/ unlimited substitutions are made on “the fly”
3. Kick off – may be taken in any direction.
4. Balls crossing the touch-line on the ground or in the air will be put in play via kick-in. Defending players must provide a 5 yard distance from the point of occurrence.
5. No corner kicks. Balls crossing the goal line will be put into play accordingly from that spot.
6. Goal may be scored ONLY from offensive half of the field.
7. NO GOAL may be scored from kick off (start of game)
8. Restart after goal scored will be from half way mark. No off sides.
9. No slide tackling.
10. Free Kicks- defending players may set up a wall 5 yards from the point of infraction.
11. Referees – There will be no abuse of the referees tolerate, verbal or otherwise. Any indication of such behavior by a coach or parent will result in immediate removal from the tournament site. No verbal abuse of any player, coach or referee will be tolerated. Please keep all comments (cheering) positive.
12. Teams must be ready to enter the field at least 5 minutes prior to their scheduled game.
13. FIRST WHISTLE STARTS THE CLOCK ON ALL FIELDS and GAME ENDING WHISTLE ENDS GAMES ON ALL FIELDS.
7v7 League Rules
- Kick-ins no throw-ins
- Keepers are not allowed to punt
- No off-sides
- No slide-tackling
- Keeper can’t kick the ball over the half-way line with a goal kick
- Keeper can’t throw the ball over the half way line when the ball is in play
- No scoring allowed from own half
- 5 yards distance by every restart
- Substitutions on the fly
- All youth league games are 40 minutes long (2 x 20 minutes running clock)
- All adult league games are 50 minutes long (2 x 25 minutes running clock)
- The referee can decide to add a little break in between first and second half
- Teams don’t need official uniforms
- Players in adult leagues need to bring a valid ID. Players in our youth leagues need to have a valid state pass, a HS ID or a valid ID
