Rules

What CA SOCCER LEAGUE has set, then how soccer is played.

This league's rules

The settings this league's scores and standings are worked out with on this site. The league's own rule sheet may cover more; ask its officers.

Standings: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss.
Ties in the standings: Teams level on points are separated by most wins, then head-to-head, then goal differential (each game counts up to 5 goals), then most goals scored, then a coin flip recorded by the league. Head-to-head counts only when the tied teams have all played each other equally.

How soccer is played

A plain-language summary of the IFAB Laws of the Game, 2025/26, written by LeagueBucket¹. It is not an official rulebook: where they differ, the league's own rules and the governing body's current rulebook apply.

The short version

Score more goals than the other team.

Only the goalkeeper may handle the ball, and only inside their own penalty area.
The ball is out only when all of it has crossed the line, on the ground or in the air.
A goal counts only when the whole ball crosses the goal line between the posts and under the bar.
A careless trip, push, kick or handball gives the other team a free kick; inside your own penalty area it is a penalty kick.
You cannot be offside from a throw-in, a goal kick or a corner kick.
A yellow card is a caution. Two yellows, or one red, and you are off and your team plays a player short.

1Field & EquipmentThe pitch, its markings and what players wear.

1.1The field

The field is a rectangle with a goal at each end, a halfway line and a centre circle. In front of each goal are the goal area (6 yards) and the penalty area (18 yards), with the penalty mark 12 yards from the goal line.

The lines belong to the areas they mark: a ball on the line is still in.
Small-sided fields are smaller and marked to suit; the league or venue sets them.

1.2What players wear

Each player wears a shirt, shorts, socks, shin guards and footwear. Shin guards must be covered by the socks. Nothing dangerous may be worn, jewellery included.

The goalkeeper's colours must be different from both teams and the referee.

2Players & SubstitutesHow many play and how players are changed.

2.1Number of players

A team has up to eleven players on the field, one of them the goalkeeper. A match cannot start or carry on if a team has fewer than seven.

Small-sided leagues set their own number on the field and their own minimum.

2.2Substitutions

A substitute comes on only when play is stopped, with the referee's permission, after the player being replaced has left. Recreational leagues usually allow unlimited substitutions with players returning; the top level of the game does not.

2.3The goalkeeper

Inside their own penalty area the goalkeeper may handle the ball. They may not pick up a ball a team-mate has deliberately kicked to them or thrown in to them, and they must release the ball within eight seconds of controlling it with the hands.

Holding the ball longer than eight seconds gives the other team a corner kick.
Handling a team-mate's deliberate back-pass gives the other team an indirect free kick.

3Length of the MatchHalves, half-time and added time.

3.1Two halves

A match is two equal halves of 45 minutes with a half-time break. A competition may shorten the halves, and recreational leagues nearly always do.

3.2Time lost

The referee adds time at the end of each half for time lost to substitutions, injuries and other stoppages. Many rec leagues instead run a clock that never stops.

4Starting & Restarting PlayKick-offs and how the ball comes back into play.

4.1Kick-off

Each half, and play after every goal, starts with a kick-off from the centre mark. Every player is in their own half and the opponents stay outside the centre circle until the ball is kicked. A goal can be scored straight from a kick-off.

4.2Ball in and out of play

The ball is out of play when all of it has crossed a goal line or touchline, on the ground or in the air, or when the referee stops play. It stays in play if it rebounds off a post, the crossbar or a corner flag.

4.3Throw-in

When the ball crosses a touchline, the team that did not touch it last throws it in from that spot. The thrower faces the field, has part of each foot on or behind the line, and throws with both hands from behind and over the head. A goal cannot be scored directly from a throw-in.

4.4Goal kick

When the attacking team puts the ball over the goal line without scoring, the defending team restarts with a kick from anywhere in its goal area. Opponents stay outside the penalty area until the ball is kicked.

4.5Corner kick

When the defending team puts the ball over its own goal line without a goal, the attacking team kicks from the corner nearest to where it went out. Defenders stay 10 yards away until it is kicked.

4.6Dropped ball

When the referee stops play for something that is not an offence, such as an injury or the ball hitting the referee, play restarts with the ball dropped for one player.

5ScoringWhat counts as a goal.

5.1A goal

A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, between the posts and under the crossbar, provided the scoring team has not committed an offence in doing it.

5.2Deciding the match

The team with more goals wins; equal goals is a draw. A competition that needs a winner may play extra time and then kicks from the penalty mark.

6OffsideThe positional rule, and when it does not apply.

6.1Offside position

A player is in an offside position when they are in the opponents' half and nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. Hands and arms are not counted. Being in that position is not an offence by itself.

6.2Offside offence

A player in an offside position when a team-mate plays the ball is penalised only if they then become involved: playing the ball, getting in an opponent's way, or gaining an advantage from being there. The other team gets an indirect free kick.

There is no offside straight from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner kick.
Many small-sided and indoor leagues play with no offside at all.

7Fouls & MisconductWhat is penalised and how.

7.1Fouls that give a direct free kick

A direct free kick is given when a player carelessly, recklessly or with excessive force kicks, trips, pushes, charges, jumps at, strikes or tackles an opponent, and also for holding, for impeding an opponent with contact, and for handball.

7.2Handball

It is an offence to deliberately touch the ball with the hand or arm, or to touch it with a hand or arm that has made the body unnaturally bigger. A goal also does not stand if the scorer handled the ball, even by accident, just before scoring.

7.3Offences that give an indirect free kick

An indirect free kick is given for dangerous play, for getting in an opponent's way without contact, for stopping the goalkeeper releasing the ball, for offside, and for the goalkeeper handling a back-pass.

7.4Advantage

The referee lets play go on after an offence when stopping it would help the team that committed it, and may still caution or send off the player when the ball next goes out of play.

7.5Cautions and sending-off

A yellow card is a caution, shown for things like reckless fouls, unsporting behaviour, dissent, delaying a restart and persistent offences. A red card sends a player off for serious foul play, violent conduct, denying an obvious goal by an offence, abusive language, or a second caution. A sent-off player is not replaced.

Leagues usually add a suspension for a sending-off; that is the league's own rule.

8Free Kicks & PenaltiesHow set pieces are taken.

8.1Free kicks

A free kick is taken from where the offence happened, with the ball still. Opponents stay 10 yards away until it is kicked. A goal can be scored straight from a direct free kick; from an indirect one the ball must touch another player first.

The referee signals an indirect free kick with an arm raised above the head.

8.2Penalty kick

A direct-free-kick offence by a defender inside their own penalty area is a penalty kick, taken from the penalty mark 12 yards out. The goalkeeper stays on the goal line between the posts until the kick, with at least part of one foot on or level with the line when it is taken. Everyone else stays outside the penalty area and behind the mark.

9Officials & ConductWho decides, and what is expected of players.

9.1The referee

The referee's decisions on facts of play are final, including whether a goal was scored and the result. Recreational leagues may play with one referee, or none.

9.2Conduct

Dissent, abusive language and violent conduct are punished with cards whether or not the ball is in play. Leagues add their own penalties on top.

10League PlayWhat the league, not the Laws, decides.

10.1Points in the table

The Laws of the Game decide a match; the league decides what a result is worth in its standings.

In this league: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss.

10.2Teams level in the table

The league also decides how teams level in the standings are separated, commonly goal difference, goals scored and the results between the tied teams.

In this league: Teams level on points are separated by most wins, then head-to-head, then goal differential (each game counts up to 5 goals), then most goals scored, then a coin flip recorded by the league. Head-to-head counts only when the tied teams have all played each other equally.

Fouls and penalties at a glance

Careless or reckless foul: Tripping, pushing, kicking, holding or charging an opponent. Penalty: Direct free kick, or a penalty kick inside the offender's own penalty area.
Handball: Deliberately handling the ball, or with the arm making the body bigger. Penalty: Direct free kick or penalty kick.
Offside: Becoming involved in play from an offside position. Penalty: Indirect free kick to the other team.
Goalkeeper holds the ball too long: More than eight seconds with the ball in the hands. Penalty: Corner kick to the other team.
Back-pass handled: Goalkeeper handles a deliberate kick or throw-in from a team-mate. Penalty: Indirect free kick.
Second caution or serious foul play: Two yellow cards, violent conduct, or denying an obvious goal by an offence. Penalty: Sent off; the team plays a player short.

Other ways the game is played

Formats some leagues and events use. They are not this league's rules unless it says so.

Small-sided soccer (5, 6, 7 or 8 a side): Fewer players on a smaller field with smaller goals and shorter halves. Offside is often dropped, slide tackles are often banned, and substitutions are made on the fly or at any stoppage. Used by: Most adult recreational leagues and all young age groups.
Futsal: Five a side on a hard court with a smaller, low-bounce ball. Kick-ins replace throw-ins, there is no offside, and team fouls are counted each half. Used by: Indoor leagues playing to FIFA's Futsal Laws.
Indoor (arena) soccer: Played off the walls with no throw-ins, in short periods, with free substitutions and time penalties served off the field. Used by: Leagues in boarded arenas.
Co-ed rules: The league sets how many players of each gender must be on the field and, in some leagues, how goals by each are counted. Used by: Mixed adult leagues.
No slide tackling: Sliding to win the ball is a foul whether or not contact is made. Used by: Many adult and indoor leagues.
Extra time and kicks from the penalty mark: A drawn match that needs a winner goes to two extra periods and then to five kicks each from the penalty mark, continuing one each until one team leads. Used by: Cup games and playoffs.

Words used in the game

Advantage:: Letting play continue after a foul because stopping would help the team that fouled.
Caution:: A yellow card.
Direct free kick:: A free kick from which a goal can be scored without anyone else touching the ball.
Goal area:: The small box, 6 yards deep, from which goal kicks are taken.
Indirect free kick:: A free kick that must touch another player before a goal can count.
Offside:: Being involved in play from a position beyond the second-last opponent in the other team's half.
Penalty area:: The large box, 18 yards deep, where the goalkeeper may handle and where a defender's foul is a penalty kick.
Sending-off:: A red card; the player leaves and is not replaced.
Touchline:: A side line of the field.

Questions that come up

Is the ball out if it is on the line?: No. All of the ball has to be over the line.
Can I be offside from a throw-in?: No, nor from a goal kick or a corner kick.
The ball hit my hand by accident. Is that a foul?: Not always. It is an offence if you moved your hand to the ball or your arm made your body unnaturally bigger, and a goal you score right after it touches your hand does not count.
Can the goalkeeper pick up a pass from a team-mate?: Not one that was deliberately kicked to them or thrown in to them. A header or a chest pass back is fine.
How long can the goalkeeper hold the ball?: Eight seconds. After that the other team gets a corner kick.