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4 v 4 Rules and guidelines

Frosty Caps Youth 4v4 Tournament Guidelines and Rules

COVID POLICIES:

To avoid crowding and loitering, do not come into the building earlier than 20 minutes prior to the start of your first game. Please do your best to leave the building as soon as your games are over 

If you are feeling unwell and showing symptoms of any sort, please do not come 

 

REGISTRATION:

The coach, manager, or whichever adult is in charge of each team must register their team and all members on line prior to playing in their first game. This must be done before the tournament registration deadline. 

Managers will check in with firm team rosters twenty minutes before the first game at the Fieldhouse front desk or designated check in area.  If there are changes to the online roster, parents of players will need to register online or at the front desk to be eligible to play.

The age division selected should be of the birth year of the oldest player on the team. Younger players are permitted to play in older divisions, but older players are not permitted on younger division rosters.

Girls may be rostered within the boys divisions, but no boys may be rostered within the girls divisions

The maximum number of players permitted per roster is eight; however we recommend six to maximize playing time and touches on the ball

No new players may be added to the rosters once teams check in

Field & Goal Dimensions:

  • Field is 25-35 yards (length) x 15-25 yards (width)
  • Goal size is 4 feet (height) x 6 feet (width)
  • Penalty arch is 6 feet (length) x 12 feet (width)
  • No corner flags

Equipment:

  • All players must wear shinguards
  • Team shirt colors must match, but all teams should have TWO COLORS WITH THEM. In the event of a color conflict, the home team (listed first in fixture), shall change colors. NO pennies will be provided by the facility. 
  • Soccer ball size: u9-u12 = size 4
  • Ball size u13 and older = size 5
  • Match balls will be provided by the facility

Game/tournament format:

  • All teams play each other once in round robin format. Knockout stage will follow depending on number of teams in division
  • Each team is guaranteed at least three games
  • Games are 20 minutes in length. Game lengths may be shortened/extended by five minutes based on scheduling conflicts or number of teams in the division. Exact game length will be announced with the final schedule posting
  • Games during group play that are tied at the end of regulation shall end in a tie; in the knockout stages, ties at the end of regulation will go directly to a penalty shootout
  • Teams playing in a final may shorten their game time length if both teams are in agreement

Points are as follows:
Win = 3
Tie = 1
Loss = 0

Knockout seed placement tiebreakers:

  • 1). Head to head
  • 2). Goal differential (maximum 5)
  • 3). Goals for
  • 4). Goals against
  • 5). Penalty kicks 

Penalty kick shootout:

  • Coin flip determines which team kicks first
  • Taken from the center circle on an open goal
  • Best out of 3, followed by sudden death if needed
  • All players besides kicker must be behind halfway line

In-match Specifics and Rules:

4v4 with no goalkeepers

Substitutions- are unlimited and on the fly

Sliding- sliding is allowed, but NO slide tackling

Restart of Play:

  • Any ball that goes out of bounds past a sideline is restarted with a kick-in
  • All kick-offs, free kicks, kick-ins, goal kicks, and corners are DIRECT and used to restart play
  • Opposing players must be five yards away from the ball in any restarts or dead-ball situation

Goal Kicks:

  • Goal Kicks are direct, taken from anywhere inside the arc or from the goal line, and are allowed to go past the halfway line in the air
  • Goal Kicks can be passed in OR dribbled in

Scoring: 

  • You can score from anywhere on the field and from behind the halfway line.
  • Any team that goes down by six goals is allowed to bring an extra player on the field. This is allowed to continue until the goal difference is five again

Goalkeeper Penalty:

  • There will be a penalty arc around the goal; players are allowed to step in the box, but if a defensive player is in the box or on the line and makes contact with a ball, a penalty will be awarded to the attacking team; likewise, an attacking player cannot touch the ball when it is in the box
  • If an attacking player is in the box or on the line and makes contact with the ball, this will result in a goal kick. If scored, no goal shall be awarded

NO OFFSIDES

Fouls, cards, and suspensions:

All infractions are restarted with a direct free kick UNLESS the infraction nullifies a clear goal-scoring opportunity and/or is a deliberate act that denies a team an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. In this case, a penalty kick would be awarded

Cards:

  • A yellow card is a soft one-minute penalty; a red card is a hard two-minute penalty
  • Players given a red card resulting from two yellows in one game cannot return to that match but can return the following game
  • Players give a straight red cannot return to that match and are suspended the following match
  • Any player receiving two red cards in the tournament is suspended from the rest of the tournament
  • No penalty kicks are automatically given after cards, unless, as mentioned earlier, they nullified a clear goal-scoring opportunity
  • For more serious misconduct, the amount of total games suspended will be decided at the discretion of the Tournament Director

FACILITY RULES: (listed in main lobby in detail)

  • Cleats are allowed
  • No spitting
  • No chewing gum or seeds.
  • Please clean up after yourself!
  • ENJOY YOUR SOCCER!