GENERAL AYSO Region 498 Futsal LOTG Reference documents: FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game (LOTG) USSF Amendments and Corrections to the LOTG USFF Futsal Laws of the Game USFF Modifications to the FIFA Futsal LOTG ALL THE FIFA FUTSAL LOTG APPLY EXCEPT AS MODIFIED IN THIS DOCUMENT. Four Second Rule: A key aspect of Futsal is that most restarts must be made within 4 seconds. The start and control of the 4 second count is administered by the referees. Players DO NOT have to wait for the referee to start the count before putting the ball into play. AYSO REGION 498 MODIFICATIONS Law 1: The Pitch. The pitch uses basketball court markings and/or an extended area marked by tape. Touchlines are the side lines of the basketball court or other gym floor markings and/or tape markings. Goal lines are the basketball base line or other gym floor markings and/or tape markings. Goals will be placed centered on the goal lines. The penalty area shall be marked by tape, as shown in Annex A. There will be no second penalty mark. Since the radius of center circles on basketball courts are only 2 yards, the three yard distance requirement on kickoffs will be enforced via judgment of the referee. Substitution Zones. Formal substitution zones will not be marked, however, players are expected to respect the spirit of entering and leaving the pitch in an area about 5 yards from the halfway line. Law 2: The Ball. All divisions will play with a standard size 4 futsal ball. Law 3: The Number of Players. The number of players on a team shall not exceed the maximum squad size in the table below. Games will be played as shown below. Division X vs X Minimum Maximum Squad Size Squad Size U5, U6 3 v 3 5 6 U7, U8 4 v 4 6 8 U10, U12, U14 5 v 5 7 9 U16, U19 5 v 5 7 10 In all divisions, the minimum number of players to start a match and to continue a match shall be three. There will be no timeouts. Goalkeepers. U10 and above: One player from each team MUST be designated as goalkeeper and will wear a colored shirt or pinnie to indicate this position. The goalkeeper will be allowed the use of hands only within the penalty area. U8 and below teams will not have goalkeepers.
Substitutions. Substitutions are permitted at any time during play under the following conditions: the player leaving the field is completely off the pitch before the substitute enters the pitch players and substitutes enter/leave the pitch in an area about 5 yards from the half way line on the bench side of the pitch. Any of the substitutes (i.e. from the bench) may change places with the goalkeeper without informing the referee or waiting for a stoppage in the play. Any player on the field may change places with the goalkeeper, but the change must occur during a stoppage and the referee must be informed before the change. A player on the field or substitute replacing the goalkeeper must be clearly identifiable (i.e. different color jersey or pinnie). At halftime, teams will swap benches to ensure substitutions are always performed from a teams defensive half of the pitch. Law 4: The Players Equipment. The referee s judgment concerning all equipment discrepancies is final. The basic equipment must comply with: A player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player (including any kind of jewelry). This includes all metal in the hair, body piercing, and hard plastic on kneepads. The basic compulsory equipment is shirt, shorts, stockings (socks), shinguards, and footwear. Shinguards must be completely covered by the outer sock. No putting the sock on, then shinguard, then sock pulled down over. Footwear is to be a regular athletic shoe. No CLEATS or turf shoes allowed. Long pants may be worn under the uniform, but should be under the shinguards and socks. It is the referee s decision on whether long pant can be worn in lieu of shorts and/or cover shinguards. Law 5: The Main Referee. Whenever possible two referees will officiate a game; one on each side line. If only one referee is officiating a game, he/she should be on the side line across from the team benches. The referee(s) will be certified AYSO referee(s) and will wear uniform and badge accordingly. Law 6: The Second Referee. See Law 5. Law 7: The Duration of the Match. No change from FIFA - The match lasts two equal periods of not exceeding 20 minutes. Any agreement to alter the duration of the periods of play must be made before the start of play and must comply with the competition rules. The advised duration for games is U5 and U6 2 x 16 mins, U7 and U8 2 x 18 mins, U10 and up 2 x 20 mins
Playing Time - The coach is responsible for ensuring all players play at least half of each game and that all players play approximately three quarters of a game before any player plays the whole game. Law 8: Start and Restart of Play. FIFA Futsal LOTG modified Kick Off to: Home team the team listed first on the game schedule Home team take bench closest to main gym entrance Home team kick-off in the first half no coin toss. U8 and below ball kicked in any direction to be in play U10 and up - ball kicked and move forward to be in play A goal may not be scored directly from a Kick-Off. Opponents must be at least 3 yards from the ball on a Kick-Off until it is in play. Drop Ball no change to FIFA Futsal LOTG. Law 9: Ball In and Out of Play. FIFA Futsal LOTG with the addition that any ball that strikes any object connected to the ceiling (such as basketball goals or light fixtures) shall be deemed a dead ball. Dead balls shall be placed back in to play by a kick-in by the team that did not last touch the ball prior to it striking the object. Law 10: Method of Scoring. No change to normal soccer rules. Law 11: Offside. There is no offside in Futsal. Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct. Offences by players may lead to both direct and indirect free kicks, depending upon the offence committed. Once the ball is collected and set, direct and indirect free kicks must be taken within four seconds. KOs, PKs, and dropped balls are not subject to the 4 seconds rule. Slide Tackles: Slide tackles are part of the game, however, there is an increased risk of injury when playing on gym flooring. To mitigate this risk the LOTG for AYSO Region 498 are modified to add extra sanctions for poorly judged and/or executed slide tackles. If a player slide tackles the ball, or attempts to slide tackle the ball, there are 3 conditions that may occur: Contact by the tackler with anyone. o Sanction - direct free kick to the opponents and potentially caution or send-off the tackler. NO Contact - by the tackler with anyone. o Sanction - direct free kick to the opponents. No one else around - no offence. Cautions (yellow card): The offending player serves a two (2) minute penalty and the team must play down for two minutes.
Send Offs (red card): Players sent off must leave the gym while the team plays down for four (4) minutes. Note: players without adult supervision are not required to leave the premises until parent/adult supervision is available; however, player cannot sit on the substitutes bench (sit one or two rows up the bleachers behind the team). Sanction Procedure: Penalized players must sit with their coach until their penalty has been served OR the penalized player s team concedes a goal. Only one penalized player may reenter the game for each goal conceded by his/her team. Only two penalty clocks per team shall be counting down at any given time, additional penalized players must wait with their coach until their penalty time can begin. The team strength will not be reduced to less than three players due to cautions. If the team strength is reduced below three players due to send offs, the match will be suspended by the Referee. Accumulated Fouls: Accumulated fouls will not be counted and the second penalty mark will not be used. Law 13: Free Kicks. All defending players must be at least five yards from the ball on all free kicks, except kick offs. Defending players must be at least three yards from the ball on kick offs. Players do not have to wait for the referee to restart play, unless directed to wait by the referee. When a free kick is taken from inside the penalty area the ball shall be deemed in play only after it has completely crossed outside the penalty area. The four second rule applies to free kicks Law 14: Penalty Kick. A penalty kick is awarded if a player commits an offence that would be punishable by a Direct Free Kick in the unmodified Laws of the Game within the penalty area regardless of the position of the ball, as long it is in play. The penalty kick is taken from the edge of the penalty area at the center of the goal. All players, except the defending goalkeeper, must be outside the penalty area, five yards from the ball and level with or behind the ball until the ball is kicked. FOR U8 AND BELOW: One defender may stand on the goal line, but cannot use their hands, except to protect themselves. Liberal allowance on protecting themselves is to be applied; i.e. bending down to pick up the ball is an infringement, but raising hands to cover head/face regardless of adjudged ability to move out of the way is not an offence at this age group. Law 15: Kick-In. A Kick-In replaces a throw-in in Futsal. The ball is to be placed on the touch line or within 10 inches of the touchline. The ball must be stationary and the Kick-In must be taken with 4 seconds. The ball is in play when kicked and moves, even if placed outside the pitch by up to 10 inches. A goal cannot be scored directly from a Kick-In. If the Kick-In is not taken within 4 seconds a Kick-In is awarded to the opponents. FOR U5 AND U6: To avoid confusion for youngest players, U5 and U6 will take a normal Throw In Law 16: Goal Clearances. Goal Clearances, also called keeper throws, are the Futsal equivalent to Goal Kicks. The ball is in play only after it has completely crossed the line
marking the penalty area. If the ball is touched by any player inside the penalty area after being thrown by the goalkeeper then the Goal Clearance is repeated. All attackers must be outside the penalty area on a Goal Clearance. A goal cannot be scored directly from a Goal Clearance. The four second rule applies. FOR U8 AND BELOW: Modified Goal Clearance is taken from either of the Basketball Low Post marks. The ball must completely cross outside the penalty area before it is in play. All attackers must be outside the penalty area on a modified Goal Clearance. A goal cannot be scored directly from a modified Goal Clearance. The four second rule applies. FOR U10 through U16 ONLY: On both Goal Clearances and balls being thrown of kicked (from his/her hands) by the GK after a save, the ball may not travel untouched beyond the halfway line. If the ball does cross the halfway line untouched the opponents are awarded an IFK at the location that the ball travelled over the halfway line. For U14 and above: ONE TOUCH RULE The goalkeeper is only allowed to play the ball ONCE, with hands or feet, in his own half until it is touched by an opponent. Examples of infringements are: The goalkeeper distributes the ball from a Goal Clearance to one of his own players, who plays the ball deliberately back to the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper plays the ball again. The goalkeeper distributes the ball to a teammate following a shot by the opponent. The ball is played to another player on the goalkeeper s team, who then plays the ball to the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper plays the ball again. The goalkeeper takes a Kick-In from within his own half, playing the ball to a teammate. The teammate then plays the ball to the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper plays the ball again. After a shot, the goalkeeper punts the ball and a teammate heads the ball back to the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper plays the ball again. Sanction: Indirect Free Kick from the place where the goalkeeper made the second touch. Notes: The ball only needs to touch an opponent to be playable by the goalkeeper; the ball does not have to be deliberately played by an opponent. Note: This law is not about where the ball is, but about where the GK is, to wit, in his own half. So the situation when the ball has travelled past the halfway line does not release the GK from this rule. On the other hand, a GK travelling past the halfway line and entering the attacking half of the pitch DOES release the GK from this rule while the GK remains in the attacking half. Law 17: Corner Kick. As for normal soccer but the kick must be taken within 4 seconds. A goal may be scored directly from a corner kick.
BLEACHERS JAMES CLEMENS SETUP Annex A 1. Blue lines indicate tape markings for Futsal Pitch 2. Red eclipse is storage location UNDER BLEACHERS
BLEACHERS LIBERTY SETUP Annex A 1. Blue lines indicate tape markings for Futsal Pitch 2. Red eclipse is storage location UNDER BLEACHERS 3. Letter A indicates the bleacher control A