Inaugural Cornucopia Cup Futsal Feast Tournament Rules & Regulations

Futsal is a fast-paced game, played indoors (no walls), using a slightly smaller low-bounce ball. Rules limit physical play which is largely not allowed in this finesse game.

General Futsal Rules:

1.)    5 v 5 (4 field players plus a Goalkeeper) (36 yards x 18 yards basketball court)

2.)    25-minute games running time.  Note: no half time

3.)    There is no offsides in futsal.

4.)    Game ball sizes: U8 - U12 – size 3, U-13 & older – size 4.

Substitutions: 

o   All substitutions are on the fly, this includes goalkeeping substitutions.  Referees will not stop play for substitutions.

o   A substitute may not enter the match until the player leaving the match is at the touchline in the substitution zone. 

o   Any substitute who enters the field of play before the player being replaced has completely left the field of play may be shown a yellow card.

o   All substitutions must take place in the technical area (in front of the team bench) or at the halfway line.

Restarts:

Kickoffs: are indirect.

A ball over the sideline out of bounds is a kick in. There are no throw-ins in futsal. A kick-in will be used to restart play.

Kickins: are indirect. The ball must be placed on or no more than 10 inches behind the line and the kick must be taken within 5 seconds. A kick-in that goes directly in the opposing teams’ goal untouched results in a goal kick for the opposing team.

Goal Clearances: Are indirect.

A goalkeeper must use his/her hands to roll, bounce, or throw the ball from anywhere inside the penalty area to outside the penalty area.  The ball cannot be played in the air into the opposing teams penalty area directly from the goal clearance. This takes the place of a goal kick. Goalie has 5 seconds to roll ball out after retrieving the ball.

Corner Kicks: are direct. The ball must be placed directly on the corner spot and the kick must be taken within 5 seconds.

Free Kicks: may be indirect or direct in compliance with FIFA laws. 

Indirect Free Kicks: dangerous play, obstruction, goalkeeper takes more than 5 seconds to release the ball from his or her hands, stoppage for a card.

Direct Free Kicks: Tripping, tackling an opponent, slide tackle, charges an opponent, strikes or pushes an opponent, holding an opponent, hand ball.

Penalty Kicks: are taken from the penalty spot located at the top of the goal box arc.  Any foul inside the goalie arc area will result in a penalty kick.  All players other than the shooter and goalie must be behind the midline while a penalty kick is being taken.

Distance: Opponents may not be closer than 10 feet to the ball during a restart.

All restarts (excluding penalty kicks) must be taken within 5 seconds once the ball is placed. 

Any ball that hits the ceiling or basketball hoop is out of play and is given to the team that did not touch the ball last.  Play will be restarted with a goal clearance by the opposing goalkeeper.

Accumulation Fouls:

All fouls are recorded on the scoreboard.  On a teams 6^th foul of the game the opposing team is awarded a penalty kick.  And all subsequent fouls in that game result in a penalty kick.  Accumulated fouls are reset at the start of each match. Please note that foul tallies are not reset for overtime and are carried into the 5-minute golden goal OT period.

Overtime:

Overtime will be played only in the playoff elimination round. Not during preliminary 3 games or consolation games. Overtime will use one 5- minute period with 2 field players plus a goalkeeper (3v3) golden goal sudden death rule in effect. If the game remains tied at that point, sudden death penalty kicks will determine the winner. One shooter for each team and it continues until one team’s shooter converts and the opposing team does not match.

Goalkeeper:

o   Arc circle marks the penalty/goalie area.

o   All goal clearances are taken from anywhere inside the goal area.

o   Must wear a different color shirt.

o   No punting, and no drop kicks permitted.

o   Cannot throw the ball in the air directly into opposing teams penalty arc area.  If a ball thrown into the opposing teams penalty arc area an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposition at midfield.

o   May not hold the ball for more than 5 seconds.

o   Cannot touch the ball with their hands via a kick-in from their own team or a deliberate kick by a teammate. Penalty is an indirect free kick

Event Guidelines:

o   US Soccer DOB Year Age Matrix is in effect for this event.

o   Player passes are NOT required for players. The official roster form takes the place of an official roster. Or you can use your teams league roster and cross off any players not participating.

o   Maximum of 11 players on a team’s roster. A team’s roster can be extended with permission from the tournament director a minimum of 1-hour prior to the first scheduled game.

o   Teams must be ready to play at the start of the scheduled game time or game will be declared a forfeit. A forfeit has a 5-0 score. A minimum of 3 players is required to start the game one of which must be a goalkeeper. If a team is unable to field 3 players 5 minutes after the scheduled start time, the game will be forfeited; a 5-0 win and four points will be awarded to its opponent.

o   1st team to be lined up for the opening kick-off will be rewarded with the opening ball possession and their defensive field side of choice. If both teams are set and ready at the same time the referee can do a coin toss to determine side. This is up to the referee’s discretion.

o   Red cards: Two yellow cards in one game is equivalent of one soft red card. The recipient of two yellow cards will be suspended for the duration of that game. The recipient of the hard red card, (non- yellow), will be suspended for the duration of that game as well as the team’s next game. In addition, a “hard” Red card will deduct 1-point from the teams’ total points in the standings. A Red Card results in the offending team having to play man-down for 2 minutes or released earlier if a goal is scored on the offending team. (Does not include soft red w/ 2 yellow cards issued to a single player) Note: Includes both players & coaches.

o   Referees: There will be one referee per court/game.

o   Team Standings will be posted at the tournament headquarter location. All game results will be submitted to the tournament headquarters tent by each courts scorekeeper. 

Scoring for all age divisions:

·         Win= 3 points

·         Tie= 1 point

·         Loss= 0 points

·         Shutout= 1 points (as long as score is not tied at 0-0)

·         Maximum of 5 goals per game for goal differential in tiebreakers.

Playoff Selection

Seeding is done using the point system referenced above for all brackets.

Brackets with two groups totaling 6 teams: The top 4 ranked teams with the most points earned will play in semi-finals with a chance to advance during playoffs to the championship game. The bottom 2 teams #5 & #6 with the lowest point totals will play in a consolation game against one another.

Brackets of 5 teams will use the same point system. All teams each play 4 preliminary round games.. Then only the top 2 seeds based on points earned advance to the championship game.

Brackets of 4 teams will play 3 preliminary round games against each other. Then seeding is based on points. All 4 teams make the semi finals.

In case of a tie in total points, the following procedure will determine the advancing (or winning) team: (Starting with letter A and last ordered tiebreaker is letter I)

a) Highest number of points.

b) Winner of head-to-head competition. Not valid if more than two teams are tied.

c) Winner of most games.

d) Goal differential (goals scored minus goals allowed – maximum of 5 per game).

e) Fewest goals allowed

f) Most shutouts

g) Most games scoring a goal

h) Minus 1 additional point for each hard red card tallied in 3 preliminary round games

i) Sudden Death Penalty kicks (1 player from each team until there is a winner) except any eligible player may be chosen to kick.

Championship Awards will be given to the 1st place team in each age division at the end of the tournament day. Runner-up Awards will be given to all 2nd place teams in each age bracket as well.

Coach/or Manager Name: _________________________________    Date: _____________