RULES

1. The competition shall be called Old Catton Small-Sided Summer Tournament. 

2. The competition shall be sanctioned by the Norfolk FA. The competition, all clubs, players and other persons shall be subject to the rules & regulations of that Association. 

3. The sanctioning of this competition shall automatically accord to all participating clubs the status of affiliate clubs. 

4. The Management Committee shall have the power to apply, act upon and enforce the rules of the competition and shall have jurisdiction over all matters affecting the competition, including any not provided by these rules. 

5. The competition shall be divided into the following age groups: 

a. Saturday 7th June 2025 Under 7 Mixed, Under 9 Mixed, Under 9 Girls and U11 Girls 

b. Sunday 8th June 2025 Under 8 Mixed, Under 10 Mixed, Under 10 Girls and Under 12 Girls   

AGE IS TAKEN AS REGISTRATION FOR 2024/25 SEASON. 

6. Players shall be dressed in uniform shirts and shorts, the goalkeeper shall wear colours which distinguish them from the other players. All players to wear shin pads and appropriate footwear.  

7. No metal studded boots or blades to be worn unless the Management Committee decides otherwise due to inclement weather.  

8. The competition will be played on a league basis initially with the teams divided into two groups. 3 points will be awarded for a win, 1 for a draw. If teams end up level on points the team with the best goal difference will take precedence. If that is equal, the team scoring the most goals will take precedence. If that is equal the two teams will have a play off. The top four teams from each group will then qualify for the quarter-finals, with the winners playing the fourth place team 2nd v 3rd etc of the opposite group. In age groups where there are only enough teams to make one group the top four teams will play in semi-finals 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd, the winners from each semi-final will form the final. 

9. As a club we believe the Under 7 & Under 8 age groups will be played on a non-competitive basis. The organisers will keep no match scores and no group table. Each player in this group will receive a medal to acknowledge their participation in the day. After a team has completed their games they are asked to come to the score tent to receive their medals. 

10. Duration of matches will be 8 minutes straight (no half time) with 4 minutes extra time in the knockout stage if the scores are level at end of normal time. If the scores are still level after extra time a penalty shoot-out (5 Penalties per side) will take place with the players from each team who are on the pitch at the end of extra time. In the event of a penalty shoot-out, only the players, officials and one representative from each team are allowed on the pitch. 

11. Each team will be allowed rolling subs which can be used with the permission from the referee at any time, players can only play for one team. 

Team sizes are as per below:
Under 7 - 5v5 Mini Soccer (9 Players)
Under 8 - 5v5 Mini Soccer (9 Players)
Under 9 - 7v7 Mini Soccer (11 Players)
Under 9 Girls - 5v5 Mini Soccer (8 Players)
Under 10 - 7v7 Mini Soccer (11 Players)
Under 10 Girls - 5v5 Mini Soccer (8 Players)
Under 11 Girls – 5v5 Mini Soccer (8 Players)
Under 12 Girls – 5v5 Mini Soccer (8 Players) 

12.Referees will be appointed by the competition. 

13. The back pass rule WILL apply. In the case of a back pass a free kick will be given from the edge of the goal area nearest to the offence. 

14. The ball MAY be propelled over-head height. 

15. The No Heading rule applies.  

16. All free kicks are DIRECT with the opposing players standing at least 2 metres from the ball.  

17. Start of play will be from a kick off from the centre spot with the first team on the fixture sheet starting play, teams CANNOT score direct from the kick off. 

18. The goalkeeper may drop kick the ball out of their own goal area.  

19. The goalkeeper CANNOT score from a drop kick.  If a goal is scored by this means the game will be restarted with a goal kick to the opposition, with the defending team retreating to the halfway line  

20. Goal Kicks - A player of the defending team kicks the ball from any point within the penalty area. Opponents must retreat to their own half until the ball is in play. The defending team does not have to wait for the opposition to retreat and has the option to restart the game before should they choose to.  

21. The goalkeeper MAY leave the penalty area where they will be treated as an outfield player. 

22. Kick/Dribble ins - When the ball leaves the field of play it will be returned from the point of where it went out, the ball must be still, defending players must be a minimum of 2 meters from the ball.  A goal can be scored where a player dribbles the ball in but not direct from a kick in. The standard Corner kick rule applies. 

23. There will be NO offside. 

24. BLUE CARD: The blue card system will replace the normal yellow card, these are timed suspensions where the offender instead of being shown a yellow card will be shown a blue card and will have to leave the pitch for a set period of time, this being 2 minutes, this player cannot be replaced for this period of time so there team will continue to play with a player short. 

25. Any player sent off will take no further part in the competition. 

26. Procedure for taking penalties: Toss the coin to decide who starts, the players of both teams (only those 5 (or 7 for U9s & U10s) on the pitch at full time) can be selected to take one of the teams 5 penalties.  Penalty will be taken alternately with the team scoring the greater number being the winner. If the scores are still equal, the process is repeated in the same order until one team misses after both teams have taken the same number of penalties. 

28. The organiser’s decision is final 

1. The competition shall be called Old Catton Junior Small-sided Summer Tournament. 

2. The competition shall be sanctioned by the Norfolk FA. The competition, all clubs, players and other persons shall be subject to the rules & regulations of that association.  

3. The sanctioning of this competition shall automatically accord to all participating clubs the status of affiliated clubs. 

4. The management committee shall have the power to apply, act upon and enforce the rules of the competition and shall have jurisdiction over all matters affecting the competition, including any not provided by these rules.  

5. The competition shall be divided into the following age groups:- 

a. Saturday 7th June 2025 Under 11 Mixed, Under 13 Mixed  

b. Sunday 8th June 2025 Under 12 Mixed, Under 14 Mixed 

AGE IS TAKEN AS REGISTRATION FOR 2024/25 SEASON.

6. Players shall be dressed in uniform shirts and shorts, the goalkeeper shall wear colours which distinguish them from the other players. All players to wear shin pads and appropriate footwear. 

7. No metal studded boots or blades to be worn unless the Management Committee decides otherwise due to inclement weather. 

8. The competition will be played on a league basis initially with the teams divided into two groups; 3 points will be awarded for a win, 1 for a draw. If teams end up level on points the team with the best goal difference will take precedence. If that is equal the team scoring the most goals will take precedence. If that is equal the two teams will have a play off. The top four teams from each group will then qualify for the quarter-finals, with the winners playing the 4th place team, 2nd v 3rd etc of the opposite group.  

In age groups where there is only enough teams to make one group the top four teams will play semi-finals 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd, the winners from each semi-final will form the final. 

9. Duration of group matches will be 8 minutes straight (no half time) with 2 minutes extra time in the knock out stage if the scores are level at the end of normal time. If the scores are still level after extra time a penalty shoot-out will take place with the five players from each team who are playing at the end of extra time. In the event of a penalty shoot-out only the players, officials and one representative from each team will be allowed on the pitch. 

10. Each team will be allowed 5 players & 3 rolling subs which can be used with permission from the referee at any time, players can only play for one team only.  

Team sizes are as per below: 

Under 11 - Traditional 5-A-Side (Max 8 Players)
Under 12 - Traditional 5-A-Side (Max 8 Players)
Under 13 - Traditional 5-A-Side (Max 8 Players)
Under 14 - Traditional 5-A-Side (Max 8 Players) 

11. Referees will be appointed by the competition. 

12. The ball MAY NOT be propelled overhead height (of the referee); the penalty for this infringement will be a direct free kick from where the ball was last played. The goalkeeper will not be penalised if he deflects the ball overhead height whilst making a save. 

13. ALL FREE KICKS WILL BE DIRECT with the opposing players standing at least 2 metres from the ball. 

14. Only the defending goalkeeper is allowed in the goal area. An infringement by an attacking player will result in a roll out by the defending keeper. If a defender enters the goal area to gain an advantage a PENALTY will be awarded. 

15. The goalkeeper MAY leave the penalty area where they will be treated as an outfield player.   

16. The goalkeeper may distribute the ball with their feet from their area however, should the ball be propelled overhead height a PENALTY KICK will be given.  

17. When the goalkeeper distributes the ball, it must touch 2 outfield players before a back pass is permitted. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN A DIRECT FREE KICK 2 METRES FROM THE EDGE OF THE GOAL AREA. 

18. When the ball leaves the field of play it will be returned by rolling it underarm from the point of where it went out. If it is not returned underarm the advantage will go to the other side. 

19. There will be no offside. 

20. BLUE CARD: The blue card system will replace the normal yellow card, these are timed suspensions where the offender instead of being shown a yellow card will be shown a blue card and will have to leave the pitch for a set period of time, this being 2 minutes, this player cannot be replaced for this period of time so their team will continue to play with a player short. 

21. Any player sent off will take no further part in the competition. 

22. Procedure for taking penalties: Toss of a coin will decide who starts, the players of both teams (only those 5 on the pitch at full time) will take a penalty alternatively with the team scoring the greater number being the winner. If the scores are still equal the process is repeated in the same order until one team misses, after both teams have taken the same number of penalties. 

24. The organiser’s decision is final