Five-a-side football - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Five-a-side football is a variation of association football in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper), rather than the usual eleven on each team. Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are played indoors, or outdoors on AstroTurf

AstroTurf

AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...

or artificial grass pitches that may be enclosed within a barrier or "cages", as a result preventing the ball from leaving the playing area and keeping the game flowing.

Rules

Generally the rules for small sided games are much the same as the 11-a-side game with the following additions;

The ball is not allowed to go over "head height" or else the opposition is awarded an indirect free kick.
The penalty area is significantly different from regular football: it is semi-circular in shape, only the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball within it, and he or she is not allowed out.
Goalkeepers are only allowed to roll the ball out to another player. The goalkeeper may only kick the ball if it is in the course of making a save.
A backpass
Back-pass rule
The back-pass rule refers to two clauses within Law 12 of the Laws of the Game of association football. These clauses prohibit the goalkeeper from handling the ball when a team-mate has intentionally "kicked" the ball to him, or when handling the ball directly from a team-mate's throw-in...

may not be picked up by the goalkeeper.
There are no offside rules, eliminating the need for linesmen.
Headers may or may not be allowed.
Yellow cards may result in the offending player being sent to the "sin bin" for a pre-determined length of time. Red cards work in the same way as the 11-a-side game.
Charging/sliding tackles are forbidden.

Additionally, metal studded boots or blades cannot be worn, as it damages the playing surface. Players are also required to wear shin pads but this is usually at the discretion of the referee.

Five-a-side is commonly played informally, and the rules are therefore flexible and are sometimes decided immediately before play begins; this is in contrast to futsal

Futsal

Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...

, for which official laws are published by FIFA.

The English F.A.

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

have drawn up a full list of laws for the small-sided game which expands upon the rules outlined above and includes minimum/maximum pitch dimensions as well as technicalities on free-kicks and other parts of the game.

Futsal

is a version of indoor five-a-side football officially sanctioned by the football world governing body Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

Indoor soccer

Indoor soccer or arena soccer, or six-a-side football in the United Kingdom, is a game derived from association football adapted for play in an indoor arena such as a turf-covered hockey arena or skating rink. The most important difference in play is that the indoor field is surrounded by a wall...

is an indoor game played primarily in North America, typically with six-a-side teams.

Beach soccer

Beach Soccer

Beach soccer

Beach soccer, also known as beach football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand. The game emphasises skill, agility and shooting at goal....

is a variation on five-a-side football in that it is played on a sandy surface. Rules do not greatly differ from those found in regular five-a-side football.

Six-a-side football

A variation with increased pitch size and number of players on a team. In this variation there are five outfield players and one goalkeeper on the pitch for each team at any one time. Rules do not greatly differ from those found in five-a-side football.

Seven-a-side football

This is another variation with increased pitch and team size; in this case with six outfield players and a goalkeeper on each side. The rules generally do not differ from those of five-a-side.

Organisations

There are many operators of five-a-side football in the UK, who run and organise small-sided football leagues at outdoor and indoor venues across the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Sponsorships

In recent years a few 5-a-side teams have found themselves with sponsorship deals amounting up to thousand of pounds contracts. Sponsors feel with the vast numbers of participation in 5-a-side football rising in the UK that it is a good place to advertise and tend to sponsor competition winners or league winners at local facilities so that they know that their deals are with the best 5-a-side teams around the area.

Rules

Futsal

Indoor soccer

Beach soccer

Six-a-side football

Seven-a-side football

Organisations

Sponsorships

See also