Haverford Soccer Club-Futsal Rules

Law l: Field of Play

• The playing court will be on a regulation basketball court-either half of full depending on age level
• The penalty area is the basketball three point shot line. (oversized for Futsal)
• The playing court is marked with lines. The two longer boundary lines are called touchlines, the two shorter lines are goal lines
• Safety: Both teams are responsible for ensuring that the playing field and environment is safe before the game and goals must be anchored

Law 2: Ball

• The ball is provided by the league for each game. Outdoor soccer balls are not permitted. Game ball sizes are:  

Law 3: Players

• A game is played between two teams
• All players will receive equal playing time, regardless of gender and travel/non-travel player status
• The number of players per team is determined by the age level of the team and the size of the court on which they are playing.

Law 4: Player Equipment 

• A player must not use any equipment that is dangerous to themselves or other players.
• Only shoes with rubber soles are permitted. No cleats or turf shoes allowed. “Futsal” shoes are permitted
• All jewelry must be removed. You may cover a stud earring with a band-aid 
• All players must wear shin guards
• Any eye wear containing glass, metal, or any sharp edges are prohibited

Law 5: Substitutions

• All substitutions are on the fly or when the ball goes out of bounds. On an out of bounds play, the team in possession of the ball does not need to wait until the substitution is complete to do the kick in.
• Substitutions may be made during the flow of play-as players enter the court the departing player must be within 3 steps of the bench. This includes goalkeepers
• Substitutions are unlimited
• Refs will not stop play for substitutions 
• Players switch bench sides after the half to allow for faster substitutions

Law 6: The Referee

• Each game will be controlled by a referee
• Referees will have full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game

Law 7: Start and Re-Start of Play

• The Home team will have kick off; the visiting team will choose their end of the court
• Kick off starts play at the beginning of the game and after any goal
• A goal may be scored directly from the kick off
• There are no timeouts

Law 8: Ball in and out of Play

• The ball is out of play when it has crossed the entire touchline
• The ball is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves, tapped balls are not in play, the ball must move
• Restart is a Kick In, Goal Clearance or Corner Kick

Law 9: The Method of Scoring

• A goal is scored if the ball completely crosses the goal line between the goal posts no other infraction has occurred.

Law 10: Fouls and Misconduct

• A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits one of the following: kicks or attempts to kick an opponent, trips or attempts to trip an opponent, jumps at an opponent, charges an opponent, strikes or attempts to strike an opponent, pushes an opponent, holds an opponent, spits at an opponent, slides to play the ball when it is being played or attempted to be played by an opponent.
• SLIDE TACKLING is NOT allowed
• A penalty kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the above offenses in his own penalty box
• An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper commits one of the following offenses: touches or controls the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately passed by a teammate, touches or controls the ball with his hands after it has been kicked to him from a teammate on a kick in, or holds the ball for longer than 4 seconds. Restart at the top of the key / arc
• An indirect free kick is also awarded if the following occur: a player plays in a dangerous manner, deliberately impedes the progress of an opponent when the ball is not being played, or prevents the goalkeeper from releasing the ball from their hands. The indirect free kick is taken from the place the infraction occurred unless it is in the penalty area and then the ball is brought out to the penalty area line / arc
• Cautionable offenses: unsporting conduct, dissent, persistently infringes the laws of the game, delaying restart of play, failing to respect the required distance on a free kick, slide tackling another player
• Sending off offenses: guilty of serious foul play, guilty of violent conduct, spits at an opponent, denies the opponent an obvious goal scoring chance through using their hands (except for the goalkeeper), denies the opponent an obvious goal scoring chance by an offense punishable by a free kick, use of offensive or foul language, or a 2^nd caution

Law 11: Free Kicks

• For direct and indirect free kicks:
  • All opponents must be 3 yards from the ball on a free kick until the ball is played
  • The kicker cannot touch the ball again until the ball has been touched by another player

Law 12: Accumulated Fouls

• All Direct Free Kicks are accumulated
• When you exceed 5 fouls in a ¹/2 of the game, one of two restarts are required:
  • If in the penalty area, a penalty kick from the free throw line
  • If anywhere else, a penalty kick from the top of the arc
• The ball must be kick at the goal, no passing on the penalty kick.

Law 13: Penalty Kick

• A Penalty Kick is granted for any offense for which a direct kick is awarded that occurs inside the penalty box
• Penalty Kick is taken from the basketball free throw line
• Goalkeeper remains on goal line until ball is kicked
• All other players besides kicker and goalkeeper must be behind the ball

Law 14: The Kick In

• To be taken in place of a throw in
• A goal cannot be scored directly from a kick in- it must be touched by another player first(offensive of defensive)
• Ball must be stationary before kicking it in/dribbling in
• All opponents must be 3 yards from the ball
• The player must take the kick within 5 seconds of having possession of the ball
• The kicker cannot play the ball again until it has been touched by another player

Law 15: Goal Clearance

• A goal clearance is awarded to the defending team when the attacking team plays the ball over the end line or the goalkeeper catches the ball in the penalty area.
• The goalie may not score a goal directly from a goal clearance – it must be touched by a player
• Drop kicks and punts from the goalkeeper are not allowed.  All goalie clears must be underhanded, like in bowling
• Goalkeeper may throw the ball from any point in the penalty area
• All opponents must be outside the penalty area
• Goalie cannot hold ball more than 4 seconds

Law 16: Corner Kick

• A corner kick is awarded to the attacking team when the defending team plays the ball over the end line
• A goal may be scored directly
• Opponents must be 3 yards away.
• The kick must be taken within 4 seconds

Additional Game Rules

• Borrowing of players
  • Borrowing of players is permitted during the regular season
  • Borrowing of players is NOT permitted during the playoffs
  • If a team needs to borrow a player, they should reach out to the coach prior to reaching out directly to any players
  • If a team is borrowing a player, we ask that you borrow travel for travel or non-travel for non-travel. Teams shouldn’t borrow travel players to replace non-travel players
  • In no instance should the borrowed player play more than those on the borrowing team’s roster
• Game Times
  • We have 50-minute windows for most games
• Two 20-minute halves, running clock (no injury time added)
• 2-minute half time
• 5-6 minute “transition” from one game to the next
  • Due to limited gym time, games will start at their scheduled times
  • Referees will start the clock at the assigned game time.
  • If necessary, referees will “shave” time off the second half clock to ensure games end on time
  • There is no “warm up” time
  • Coaches are responsible for having their players on the court, ready to start at the schedule start time
  • After the games end, please ensure your players (and their families) are ushered off the court so the next game can start on time
• Referees will try to assist with teams/parents leaving the court so other games can start on time
• Heading the Ball
  • Heading the ball is allowing in the Middle School and High School Divisions. Coaches should limit the number of headers taken by players under the age of 13