How many defenders are on a soccer team

The penalty area is also referred to as the yard box. The goalkeeper can only use their hands to touch the ball inside their own penalty area. Any defending player who breaks a Law of the Game - commits a foul, as it is known - inside the penalty area, gives the opposition a penalty kick.

A penalty sees the ball placed on the penalty spot 12 yards from the centre of the goal. Any player, including the goalkeeper, can take the penalty while the opposing goalkeeper tries to stop the ball going into the goal.

Only the taker and the defending goalkeeper are permitted inside the penalty area. If the ball crosses the goal line but does not go into the goal, and was last touched by a player from the defending team, a corner kick is awarded to the attacking team and is taken from the corner of the pitch nearest to where the ball left the playing area.

If an attacker last touched the ball, a goal-kick is awarded with the ball placed on the edge of the six-yard box the smaller rectangle inside the penalty area and must be kicked by the defending team, traditionally by the goalkeeper. If the ball crosses the touchline, a throw-in is awarded to the team which did not touch the ball last.

This is the only time outfield players are permitted to touch the ball with their hands. They must return the ball into play while holding it with both hands and with both feet on the ground.

Failure to do so results in a foul throw , meaning the other team are given the throw. The goalkeeper must be designated before the start of the game, and wears a different colour shirt, shorts and socks to their teammates. All outfield players on the same team wear the same shirt, shorts and socks, known collectively as a strip.

Headgear is not a required piece of basic equipment with all players usually wearing only shin guards and no other form of protective padding. Goalkeepers wear specifically designed gloves in order to improve their grip on the ball. A referee is appointed before each game and enforces the Laws of the Game. They have two assistant referees - one placed on the touchlines on opposite sides of the pitch and in opposite halves.

A fourth official is present for professional games. The referee can punish foul play by awarding a free-kick against the team of the offending player. If the foul occurs in the penalty area, a penalty kick is given to the attacking team. If the attacking team commits a foul in the penalty area, a free-kick is given to the defending team.

The referee signals to players using a whistle, and is the only official inside the playing area. There is no limit on how many fouls a player can make as in basketball, nor is there a penalty box as in ice hockey. If a player commits what the referee thinks is a serious infringement, the referee can show the player a yellow or red card. A yellow card is a warning known as a booking, and if the same player commits a offence that the referee thinks deserves a second yellow card, that player is also shown a red card.

If a player is shown a red card, they must leave the pitch immediately. A player can be shown a red card without having first been shown a yellow card if the referee thinks the rule infringement was serious enough. If a goalkeeper is sent off, a substitute goalkeeper can be sent on to replace them, but an outfield player must be taken off as part of the exchange so that the team plays with 10 players.

A team can have up to four players sent off and still finish the match. However, referees are instructed to stop matches prematurely if a team is reduced to fewer than seven players.

Previously, television replays were not used to help referees make a decision. When you apply numbers to specific formations, you can better identify where players line up on the field.

Every position has a different job to do in order to keep the team machine in tip-top shape. That does not mean, however, that players may only stay in a specific zone or take on a completely limited set of responsibilities. As the individual player and team grows and becomes more skilled, they can get more creative and bring more fluidity to their style of play. Check out these general guidelines for defensive, midfield and offensive positions. These special rules only apply in the designated penalty area.

When a goalie steps outside their penalty box, they must function like a regular field player. Also, they cannot use their hands to play the ball if a teammate passes it directly to them during gameplay or off a throw-in. Soccer goalies wear specialized soccer goalie gear , including gloves, and often opt for long sleeves for additional protection. They wear a different color jersey than the rest of the team, so everyone on the field can tell them apart from other positions youth teams may use a pinnie to designate the goalie.

They can also wear shorts and pants made specifically for the position. More specifically, there can be center backs, fullbacks, wingbacks and one sweeper. As you could probably guess, midfielders, or halfbacks, play mostly in the middle of the field.

Mids usually see the most action during a game. Their main objective is to score as often as possible. They are usually the quickest on the field and must have exceptional ball control. They should be able to take a shot from all angles, even directly off a pass. The overarching responsibilities for each position on the field stay the same, but it is the ability to flow as a unit and show creativity that truly makes soccer a beautiful game.

Typically, these field players are broken out into three key zones, with the formation being set up from back to front defense to midfield to forward. That means a formation has four defensive players, four midfielders and two forwards. Sometimes coaches will divide the three main sections further, causing formations such as a , with one sweeper, four defensive players, three mids and two forwards; or a , which has four defenders, four mids, one second striker and one striker.

PSSG rules allow a team to play a legal game shorthanded with a minimum of 7 players. Teams may have as many players on their roster as they want. All rosters must be finalized by the second week of the regular season. Players added after the second week that are not on the team roster or waiver will not be eligible for playoffs.

Players may only be on one roster per league. During the regular season a game will be considered played in full when second half starts. No games will be rescheduled for weather or for any other reasons once the second half starts in any game. Each team shall field 11 players on the field at one time no more than 7 men. PSSG rules allow a team to play a legal game shorthanded with a minimum of 7 players, with at least 2 female.

There is no maximum limit on the amount of females on the field at one time. In the playoffs, a player can only participate and play for one team. If a player is found playing on two or more teams in the playoffs all games are subject to forfeit.

Shin-guards are strongly recommended. We also require matching colored shirts. We can supply them, but if you have jerseys let us know. Referees will check for dangerous equipment, referee's opinion is final. Players will not be allowed to enter play until correction has been made. Teams will have until 10 minutes past the designated start time to field a legal team. Shorthanded teams may play a legal game with a minimum of 7 players, with at least 2 of them being females.

Teams fielding less than 7 players or without at least 2 women will receive a forfeit. Teams who agree to play under these conditions will loose the option of receiving a forfeit win. Teams may pick up players during the regular season in order to field a full team. Substitutes will not be allowed during playoffs.

If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to call our office so as to help us schedule your opponent a game. However, this does not mean that your team will not receive the loss as a forfeit. The winning team will choose a goal to defend and the loser will kick-off. Consists of the ball being placed at midfield on the center spot. The ball is in play once it is touched forward by any player. All substitute players must notify the referee before entering the game.

Substitutions may occur during the following instances:. Players involved in an illegal substitution are subject to a caution yellow card if the referee deems necessary. If a team is currently playing a game shorthanded and has a player arrive late, the entering player must receive permission from the referee before entering the field and may not enter during play.

In playoffs no non-roster players will be allowed to play. Play will be divided into two 2 25 minute halves for coed and two 2 40 minute halves for men's leagues, separated by a very brief halftime. There will be a running clock maintained by the referee. The clock will stop only during serious injury time-outs.

If time wasting is being employed by a team, the offending player may be cautioned yellow card , at referee's discretion. A game will be considered played in full when second half starts. Goals may be scored on direct kicks. All players on the field other than the goalie must be behind the ball and outside of the penalty area until it is kicked.

The goalie must remain on the goal line until the ball is kicked. An indirect free kick must be touched by a player of either team other than the person who takes the kick before a goal is scored.

The person throwing in the ball must throw the ball overhead with both hands and keep both feet remaining on the ground out-of-bounds or on the line until the ball is released. Fighting is not allowed and will NOT be tolerated.

All parties involved in fighting will be sent off red carded from the game and subject to ejection from the league at PSG staff discretion. Two yellow cards in the same game or one red card require the ejected player to leave the field and surrounding area. Any player who receives a red card will receive an automatic 1 game suspension for the team's next scheduled game.

All proceeding rules for 11v11 apply unless stated or clarified below. Normal soccer laws apply with the exception that 6 v 6 is played on a smaller field with a smaller goals and the following rules:. Any of the above rules are subject to change at any time without notice at the discretion of Players Sports Group.

Shin guards are strongly recomended for play in PSSG leagues. All teams must wear unifying colors, either the t-shirts that PSSG provides or their own jerseys. For facilities with artificial turf grass, shoes with cleats must be soccer shoes. Football shoes or other shoes with a front cleat are not permitted. All teams should bring a game ball to play with.

At the beginning of the second half, the teams will switch sides and the team that did not kickoff at the beginning of the game will kickoff. No games will be rescheduled for reasons once the second half starts in any game. Each game will consist of two 20, 25 or 28 minute halves depending on league with a running clock. Halftime is about 1 minute long. The clock may be stopped for injuries and situations under the discretion of the referee.

Kickoffs are taken from the center spot and may be kicked directly backwards. A player other than the one who takes the kickoff from either team must touch the ball before the kicker can touch it a second time. A violation of this rule will result in a re-kick. Kickoffs are direct kicks and a goal can be scored directly. A foul may be called and a direct free kick may be awarded when a player commits or attempts to commit any of the following:.

When the free kick is taken, the penalized team shall give the kicker at least 5 yards clearance. Slide tackles by field players are not allowed. Repeated slide tackles may result in a yellow or red card. A slide to save a ball when an opponent is not in the immediate vicinity is legal.

Goalkeepers may slide tackle within their own penalty area only. All kicks free kicks, corner kicks, goal kicks, kickoffs, kick-ins are direct. However non-penal fouls that occur within the penalty area will bring the ball out to the top of the box for a direct kick not a penalty kick. If a player commits a foul to take away an obvious scoring opportunity, the player should be cautioned or sent off.

If in the opinion of the referee that the foul was not intentional, he may yellow card the player. If a player commits an intentional foul to prevent an obvious goal scoring opportunity he may be sent off.

If, in the referee's judgment, a player exhibits particularly dangerous or aggressive behavior, or repeatedly commits fouls that threaten the safety of other players persistent infringement , that player may be given a yellow card and a two minute penalty.

A yellow card for anything is an automatic 2 minute penalty for the player shown the card except the goalkeeper. Another field player may serve the 2 minute penalty on behalf of the keeper.

If a goal is scored against the short-handed team during the penalty, the penalty is over and the penalized player may return to the game. If a two minute penalty is called against the same amount of players on both teams at the same time, each team may replace the penalized players for at least two minutes and play at full strength.

If in the event of a second yellow card to the same player or a serious penalty or offence, deemed so by the referee, that player will be red carded and the team is given a five minute penalty.

If a goal is scored against the short-handed team during the penalty, the penalty is over and the penalized team may return to full strength. Extended suspensions are possible for fighting or severe conduct as well.

If a five minute penalty is called against the same amount of players on both teams at the same time, each team may replace the penalized players and play at full strength. Fighting will absolutely not be tolerated. Additional game suspensions will be enforced by the PSG office staff. At the end of the regular season teams will be seeded for a single elimination tournament. During the season, wins are worth 3 points, ties are worth 1 point, and a loss is 0 points. Teams with the same amount of points are separated by the following criteria:.

If there is a tie involving 3 or more teams and one of them has a forfeit, that team loses the tiebreaker and the tie breaking criteria starts over with head to head result for the remaining two or more teams. During the regular season, tie games will stand. Instead, games will go into a shootout. Each team will choose 5 players minimum 2 females for coed leagues to shoot in the first round. If a team is playing shorthanded with only one female, she may shoot twice in the first round of five.

Any player is eligible to participate in the shootout regardless of whether they were on the field at the end of the game or not. Teams will take turns shooting. At the end of the first 5 shooters, the team with the most goals wins. If the score is tied after 5 shooters, the shootout turns into sudden death. Once a team is done using all of their players, both teams may start over and use players for a second time.