Skip To Main Content

Laurier Recreation - Waterloo Campus

7v7 Outdoor Soccer Rules

Team Composition 

  • Rosters may not be larger than 14 total players
  • A maximum of 7 of players including the goalkeeper are permitted on the field at one time
  • For the Co-Ed league, there can be no more than 5 players of any one gender on the field at one time
  • A game may not proceed with less than 5 players. An exception can be made if an injury occurs during a game

Game Procedures 

  • Each game will consist of two 20-minute periods. The league (convenor and referee) has the discretion to shorten the game if it starts late
  • Teams will switch ends for the second half of the game
  • A coin toss will decide which team starts with the first kickoff. The team that does not start with the ball at the beginning of the game will start with the ball at the beginning of the second half. If a coin is not available, the team captains may play rock, paper, scissors
  • Goals are scored when the whole ball passes over the goal line between the goalposts and under the crossbar
  • Games can end in a draw if no goals are scored, or an equal number of goals are scored
  • During playoffs, games that end in a draw will be decided through a series of 5 penalty kicks. Each player on the roster including the goalkeeper must shoot before a player may take a second shot. The team with the most successful penalty kicks will be determined the winner. If it is tied after 5 shooters, the penalty kicks will continue in sudden death format, however each team will receive an equal number of kicks
  • Default score will result in 1-0
  • If both teams default, it will result in a score of 0-0
  • Substitutions for goalkeepers must be done during stoppages, whereas substitutions for outfield players may be done on the fly

Rules of Play

Small Sided Laws of Ontario Soccer will be used with the following adaptations 
  • Games will be played on 1/3rd of a regulation soccer field
    • The goalkeeper’s box is an imaginary 5 by 12-foot box that extends from the touchline into the field of play. When possible, the box will be marked with short pylons
    • The referee will determine whether a goalkeeper has gone to far into the field of play to retrieve a ball. The referee can choose to first award a warning, and second can enforce a violation
  • The start of the match, after a goal, and the start of the second half will begin with a kickoff
    • You can score a goal directly from a kickoff
    • The defending team must begin 5 metres away from the ball prior to it being put in play
  • Dropped balls occur when the referee has whistled for a temporary stoppage and play is being restarted
    • The referee will drop the ball where play was stopped and assign a team to restart the play
    • If the play was stopped inside the penalty area, the ball will be placed nearest to where the ball was located when the play was stopped and along the penalty area line that is parallel to the goal line
  • Referees may play advantage to a team when a violation has occurred. For example, the referee may play advantage until they have deemed a player to have returned onside
  • There are no offsides in 7v7 soccer
  • Fouls include the following: kicking an opponent, tripping, jumping at an opponent, charging, striking an opponent, pushing, slide tackles, contacting an opponent before touching the ball, holding an opponent, spitting, handling the ball deliberately and the goalkeeper handling the ball outside the penalty area or when passed to by a teammate
    • Fouls will be called at the discretion of the referee and may include any attempts
    • Additional disciplinary action may also be enacted such as a game ejection or suspension depending on the severity of the foul
  • Free kicks will be awarded for fouls that occur beyond the goalkeeper’s box, unless the referee deems the play a clear scoring chance or the infraction is deemed within the box
    • All free kicks are indirect
    • All defending players must be at least five (5) metres from the ball
  • Penalty kicks are rewarded for fouls within the box, or that the referee has deemed a clear scoring chance. Penalty kicks are taken 10-feet from the goal line
    • The goalkeeper must stay on their line until the kick has been taken