Tournament Rules and Guidelines

ROSTER AND ELIGIBILITY (Last Updated: April 1st, 2023)

All players must be 18 or over and must sign a liability release waiver prior to any form of participation in any events hosted by Equal Sports Project.

    GAME RULES

    All games will be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game issued by the USSF and is available for viewing at http://www.ussoccer.com/Referees/Laws-of-the-Game.aspx. All rules apply with a few exceptions:

    5v5 or 7v7 Indoor Soccer

    • 20 minutes per game (may vary depending on tournament)
    • A team will field 5 players (4 and 1 goalie) or 7 players (6 and 1 goalie). For CoEd, at least two female must be on the field at all times and highly recommend having 3 to 4 players. 
    • Each team may have up to 10 registered players
    • Unlimited number of substitutions are allowed, but only on a dead ball. Referee must be notified. 
    • If the ball touches the ceiling nets, it's an indirect free kick
    • If the ball hits the net behind the goal, it's either a goal kick or a corner
    • If the ball touches the side nets, the ball will restart from the sideline
    • No slide-tackling
    • No direct shooting from kick off (at least one pass mandatory)
    • Goalie cannot pick up the ball with his hands if passed back from a teammate 
    • Goalie is allowed to throw the ball passed the half way line, but cannot punt or drop kick at any time
    • One yellow card: player will sit out for 3 minutes and cannot be substituted with another player. 
    • One red card or two yellow cards: player will be suspended for the rest of the game. Suspended player's team must play a man down for the remaining minutes of the game. Suspension will be determined depending on the severity of the situation. Suspension will be reviewed by the Equal Sports Project board. 

    7v7 Outdoor Soccer

    • 20 minutes per game (may vary depending on tournament)
    • A team will field 5 players (4 and 1 goalie) or 7 players (6 and 1 goalie). For CoEd, at least two female must be on the field at all times and highly recommend having 3 to 4 players. 
    • Each team may have up to 10 registered players
    • Unlimited number of substitutions are allowed, but only on a dead ball. Referee must be notified. 
    • No slide-tackling
    • No direct shooting from kick off (at least one pass mandatory)
    • Free kicks (including goal kicks, and corner kicks) and penalty kicks are direct. 
    • Goalie cannot pick up the ball with his hands if passed back from a teammate 
    • Goalie is allowed to throw the ball, punt, or drop kick passed the half way line
    • No offside
    • One yellow card: player will sit out for 3 minutes and cannot be substituted with another player. 
    • One red card or two yellow cards: player will be suspended for the rest of the game. Suspended player's team must play a man down for the remaining minutes of the game. Suspension will be determined depending on the severity of the situation. Suspension will be reviewed by the Equal Sports Project board. 

    GROUP STANDING

    Game points will be appointed as follows:

    Win = 3 points

    Draw = 1 point

    Loss = 0 points

    In the event of a tie, the following tie breakers will be used:

    • Tournament goal differential
    • Tournament total goals scored
    • Tournament Points in head to head competition in games between tied teams
    • Goal differential in head to head competition in games between tied teams
    • Goals Scored in head to head competition in games between tied teams

    PLAYOFFS

    1st Place team from each group will advance to the Finals

    In case of tie, game will go to overtime. Additional 5 minutes will be provided for overtime. If the game is still tied, game will conclude with penalty kicks. 

    UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENTS

    • We highly recommend all field players to wear their event jerseys, if provided. 
    • Shin guards are recommended, but not mandatory
    • All players must wear soccer appropriate footwear to play. NO CLEATS are allowed. Only turf shoes or sneakers permitted. 
    • Size 5 Soccer Ball will be provided for game play. Teams should bring their own ball for warm up. 

    FAILURE TO SHOW AND FORFEITS

    There will be no grace time allowed for teams not at the field of play at the scheduled time of kick-off. The opponent team will be awarded a 3-0 win for the game. 

    CONDUCT

    Players and spectators are expected to conduct themselves within the spirit and laws of the game. Players or spectators ejected from a game by the referee will be required to leave the field area. Severe misconduct that is abusive, harassing, insulting, or offensive will result in disqualification from the remainder of the tournament.