11v11 SOCCER TOURNAMENT RULES Last Modified (8/1/07)

All teams entered in an 11 v 11 Soccer tournament must agree to abide by the following rules.

 All games will adhere to the rules set forth by FIFA with the following additions/clarifications:  

1.  Only the Tournament Directors can make decisions relating to the interpretation of the Tournament Rules. Any disputes relating to the interpretation of these rules will be resolved with the managers/coaches that are registered with the involved team(s). Parents or other individuals may not represent a team if not registered as a manager/coach with the involved team(s).

2.  Decision of the tournament directors are final and may not be appealed. 

3.  The tournament headquarters will be at the main tent at each venue.

4.  11 v 11 Soccer Inc, the tournament committee, US Club Soccer, and or any host affiliate shall not be responsible for any expense incurred by any team due to the cancellation, in part or whole, of this tournament.

5.  There will be no refund or reimbursement of expenses for cancellation or forfeiture of games.

6.   No game protests will be accepted.

7.  All referee decisions during the match are final and cannot be appealed, even by the tournament director. There are no match replays.

8.  US Club Soccer, USSYSA, or other USSF affiliate, foreign FIFA registered association player passes with player's signature (for associations that require signatures) and photo will be required to be in the possession of the team manager at the start of  each game. Prior to the start of each scheduled game, each team must present to the referee the team’s player cards so that the team maybe checked in to play and the game started as scheduled, when asked by the referee to do so.   Failure of a team to report within fifteen minutes of a scheduled kick off will be considered to have forfeited the game.

9.    Medical release forms will be required for all players.

10.  Players may be allowed to play in a soft cast, if the Tournament Directors give written permission. This permission must be applied for 30 minutes prior to the start of the match.

11.  The roster maximum, other than for small sided flights, will be 18 players.

12.  11v11 Soccer allows an unlimited number of guest players. Travel papers (permission to travel for USYSA teams, or an approved roster for US Club Soccer) and rosters must be filed and approved with appropriate state organizations and submitted at check-in, see the certification letter.

13.  All players are required to wear shin guards at all times during play. Players may not play without shin guards!

14.  Team managers will meet 15 minutes prior to the game to make sure team colors do not conflict. If there is a conflict, and a  mutual agreed change cannot be reached, a coin will be flipped. The winner of the flip will chose color, the loser must change jerseys. The first team listed on the schedule will get heads. If there is no game card the team name that would appear alphabetically first gets heads.

15.  The team listed first on schedule, will, from the perspective of the players bench:

      ·  Warm up on, and defend the left goal in the first half.

      ·  Begin the second half of the game with possession of the ball and defend the right goal.

      ·  Sit on the designated player side of the field during the game.

16.  The team listed second will:

      ·  Begin play by warming up, on right side of the field.

      ·  Begin the first half of the game with possession of the ball.

      ·  Sit on the designated player side of the field during the game.

      ·  Both teams will switch sides at the beginning of the second half of the game.

17.  All games will begin on time. A forfeit will be declared if a team cannot field a minimum of seven (7) players at start time.

18.  Preliminary, knockout, and quarterfinal games will consist of 35 minute halves (30 for U12) with a five (5) minute half time.

19.  All playoff games ending in a tie, after regulation, will go immediately to F.I.F.A. penalty kicks to determine the winner. There will be no overtime play. The PK round is golden goal beginning with the sixth kick. The coach may designate any 11 players as kickers,  this includes players on the bench at the end of regulation. The goalie does not have to kick. Should there still be a tie at the beginning of the 12th round the coach may reorder, but not replace, the original kickers.

20.  All championship games will be 35 minute halves with a five (5) minute half time.  If tied at the end of regulation,  F.I.F.A. penalty kicks will be used to determine the winner. Any player may take a penalty kick whether they were on the field of play or not at the end of the game. Only 11 may kick, the goalie does not have to take a kick.

21.     In case of inclement weather or field conditions, games may:

      ·  Be shortened

      ·  Go to F.I.F.A. penalty kicks

      ·  Be canceled

      ·  There will be no refund or reimbursement of expenses for cancellation or forfeiture of games.

22.  All games will be played with an official size #5 ball, expect for U11 (#4). Game balls will be provided by the Tournament for all  games.  Team balls will not be permitted as game balls except when tournament balls are unavailable.

23.     The following rules of conduct apply:

      ·  All coaches have complete responsibility for the conduct of their players, bench, friends, and spectators at all times.

      ·  If, in the opinion of game officials, a game must be terminated for misconduct of players, bench, friends or spectators, the

         offending team can be suspended from further play and forfeit that game and all remaining games. In this event, all previous

         games will be adjusted to a 0-1 loss for the team.

      ·  Should a team withdraw from competition, the next game will result in a 01- loss. If the team has played previous group games

         all previous group games will be changed to a 0-1 loss. This is our attempt to mitigate a goal differential disadvantage for the

         teams yet having played the team that withdrew.

      ·  Should a team miss its first game and then play the remainder of its group games, the initial score will be recorded as a 0-3 loss.

25.  The following point system will be used to determine 1st in each group and the wild card selection during preliminary rounds:

·                     Three (3) points for each Win

·                     One (1) points for each Tie

·                     Zero (0) points for each Loss  

26.  Tie Breaker Rules:

(a)  Head to Head except for a three way tie         

(b)  Goal differential (max 5 per game)

(c)  Head to Head, if there are 2 teams left after Goal Differential                

 (c)  Total goals scored (max per game 5)              

(d)  Fewest goals allowed one team is tied.

(e)   Most wins (1 win beats 3 ties)

(f)   Most Shutouts

(g)   Coin toss or other random selection process if more than one team is still tied.

27.  Wild Cards Selection: The first criteria for wild card selection will be group placement and total group points. For example, any second place team will advance to the tournament championship bracket before any 3rd place team advances. The teams with the

      best group placement and most points advance. If there is a tie, the tournament’s tie breakers apply, see #25 above.  Due to time and team availability issues, penalty kicks will not be used to determine final group or wildcard positions.

28.  Coaches may substitute on any stoppage with the referee’s permission.  The referee may deny a substitution if he/she believes it will interrupt play or is being used as a tactic to delay play.

29.  No player may compete in the Tournament on more than one team.

30.  In the event of an unusual circumstance that results in significant loss of game time, the lost game time may be rescheduled at the discretion of the Tournament Directors. The rescheduling of the lost game time is subject to field availability. An example of an unusual circumstance would be a major injury to a player, which prevented the use of the playing field or extreme weather which forces the closing of the park. The Tournament defines a significant loss of game time as more than half of the game. Any accumulation of time delays due to minor/moderate injuries to several players would not constitute an unusual circumstance nor will these delays be considered lost game time. An accumulation of time delays resulting from the normal course of a game will not be considered lost game time.

31.  Weather can play havoc with any outdoor event. The most likely weather events are rain and thunder storms.  Lightning is a serious threat to players, coaches, guests and staff. Should we clear the fields due to the threat of lightning teams must go to their cars. We cannot allow participants into buildings, under bleachers, tents, or other so called shelters.  The safest place for attendees is your vehicle. We will alert everyone as soon as possible regarding delays and cancellations.

      ·  Text Messaging: We use text messages to alert teams of delays, cancellations and revised schedules. Every team is required to have a cell phone number with text messaging capabilities in our system. Almost every cell phone produced in the past few years has text message capabilities. All you have to do is enter your cell phone number and select your service provider.

We use this to notify teams regarding playoff schedules and weather delays.