Five-a-side Football - Rules

Rules

Generally the rules for small sided games are much the same as the 11-a-side game with the following additions;

• The ball is not allowed to go over "head height" or else the opposition is awarded an indirect free kick.
• The penalty area is significantly different from regular football: it is semi-circular in shape, only the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball within it, and he or she is not allowed out.
• Goalkeepers are only allowed to roll the ball out to another player. The goalkeeper may only kick the ball if it is in the course of making a save.
• There are no offside rules, eliminating the need for linesmen.
• Headers may or may not be allowed.
• Yellow cards may result in the offending player being sent to the "sin bin" for a pre-determined length of time. Red cards work in the same way as the 11-a-side game.
• Charging/sliding tackles are forbidden .

Additionally, metal studded boots or blades cannot be worn, as it damages the playing surface. Players are also required to wear shin pads but this is usually at the discretion of the referee.

Five-a-side is commonly played informally, and the rules are therefore flexible and are sometimes decided immediately before play begins; this is in contrast to futsal, for which official laws are published by FIFA.

The English F.A. have drawn up a full list of laws for the small-sided game which expands upon the rules outlined above and includes minimum/maximum pitch dimensions as well as technicalities on free-kicks and other parts of the game.