# Fields size: who’s checking?



## Venantsyo (Oct 9, 2018)

The issue is mostly for 7v7 and 9v9.
 I am sure we have all come across fields that are the size of a fussball table so my question is: Who is supposed to enforce the rules on dimensions? 
Should visiting teams always carry a measuring tape?
And finally, should the issue be brought up to the ref before the game?


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## Soccer (Oct 9, 2018)

Venantsyo said:


> The issue is mostly for 7v7 and 9v9.
> I am sure we have all come across fields that are the size of a fussball table so my question is: Who is supposed to enforce the rules on dimensions?
> Should visiting teams always carry a measuring tape?
> And finally, should the issue be brought up to the ref before the game?


The clubs are supposed to check.  This is for every league.  I have seen large fields for 7v7.  But small 9v9 is not the norm.  City's will only stripe one size, or if it is turf then one size is built into the turf.  If you go by the Cal South Guidelines, I think you would be shocked at the smallest field size allowed.


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## timbuck (Oct 9, 2018)

Did you play a team that shoots from the kick off?


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## RedHawk (Oct 9, 2018)

timbuck said:


> Did you play a team that shoots from the kick off?


Translation.  Did you play the Blues?


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## LifeisGood (Oct 9, 2018)

I have been told that "recommended" dimensions are 60 x 40 yards for 7v7 and  70-75 x 50 for 9v9, although there are ranges.  Our club puts a smaller 7v7 field inside the 9v9 in a different color. 

For many tournaments, it seems like they usually only have 1 size for both 9v9 and 7v7, and it's 9v9 size. I am guessing because it's easier, less time for field prep, and either  age group can play on it.

I don't think the refs give a hoot what size the fields are.  It's the coaches, players, and parents.


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## Surfref (Oct 9, 2018)

LifeisGood said:


> I have been told that "recommended" dimensions are 60 x 40 yards for 7v7 and  70-75 x 50 for 9v9, although there are ranges.  Our club puts a smaller 7v7 field inside the 9v9 in a different color.
> 
> For many tournaments, it seems like they usually only have 1 size for both 9v9 and 7v7, and it's 9v9 size. I am guessing because it's easier, less time for field prep, and either  age group can play on it.
> 
> I don't think the refs give a hoot what size the fields are.  It's the coaches, players, and parents.


As a ref, I have noted in the Match Report to the league that I thought a 7v7 or 9v9 field was either too small or too large, or the goals the wrong size.  I have even mentioned it to coaches and have got back apologies for answers, "sorry, they lined the field a little too big" or "it is a little small, I will talk to our guy that lines the field."  I have gone back to work games a few weeks later and the fields were the correct size, so I know that saying something to the coach and/or the league works.


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## Zdrone (Oct 9, 2018)

...





Surfref said:


> or the goals the wrong size.


I recall a couple years ago that they started a game (11v11) with one 21 and one 24 foot goal.  Parents and coach mentioned it to the ref before the game but he started it anyways.
The 3 refs checked at half and appeared confused but ended up not doing anything about it. 
 Team that was ahead at half was shooting on the 21 foot goal and would have been fine with swapping it out.


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## jpeter (Oct 9, 2018)

Min youth futsal field is 25m/82' long & 15m/49' wide


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## GunninGopher (Oct 9, 2018)

CalSouth's:
7v7: https://media.calsouth.com/data/Downloads/Referees/ModificationstotheLOTG_7v7Small-SidedGames.pdf
9v9: https://media.calsouth.com/data/Downloads/Referees/ModificationstotheLOTG_9v9Small-SidedGames.pdf


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## baldref (Oct 10, 2018)

Zdrone said:


> ...
> 
> I recall a couple years ago that they started a game (11v11) with one 21 and one 24 foot goal.  Parents and coach mentioned it to the ref before the game but he started it anyways.
> The 3 refs checked at half and appeared confused but ended up not doing anything about it.
> Team that was ahead at half was shooting on the 21 foot goal and would have been fine with swapping it out.


both teams get to use both goals equally. although not an ideal situation, i would play the game and put it in my report.


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## forsomuch (Oct 10, 2018)

Pretty sure that in all league bylaws that the duty of measuring field size is assigned to an elite group of dads whose kids played on the losing team.


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## Surfref (Oct 10, 2018)

I did a game last fall on a field that measured (walked it off) 96 yards wide and 140 yards long which is over the LOTG maximum size (90yds x 130 yds), so I reported it.  We played games with B18, B15 and G13.  The field was far too large for all of the teams especially the G13.  A couple weeks later I had games at the same field and it was lined much smaller and the correct size by the LOTG.  So, leagues do read the reports that referees submit.


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## GunninGopher (Oct 10, 2018)

I've done the field layout for clubs in the past. I had a coach one time ask me to squeeze a 9v9 field into a field that, in my opinion, wouldn't support it. The next week he called and said that the league got some complaints and asked me put a 9v9 inside the 11v11 field.

As a referee, I'm going to favor playing the games in most situations unless there is a safety concern. I'll note things such as what appears to be an out of specification field in my game report. I wouldn't expect to actually have to measure it, although if a team asked me to, I would be willing to pace it off and provide an estimate in my report.

If a coach came up on a field that was grossly out of specification and felt it was either unfair or unsafe, I'd suggest he/she carefully measure it off, and refuse to play. My expectation would be that the game would be rescheduled on their home field with the visiting (formerly home) team paying the referee fees (again). Of course, that team risks a forfeit.


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## Primetime (Oct 10, 2018)

Most fields are gonna be the 9v9 size for both them and 7v7.   I handle the fields for our club and we had the one size and after week one I got two complaints from other teams that it was too big for the very young 7v7s so I added a smaller field to which all my own coaches proceeded to complain, lol.   They all preferred the larger 9v9 field.   So I told them they could play on the larger field but they have to offer the other team the option for the smaller field and let them decide.   In the past 5 weeks and 49 games later  there has only been 1 single game played on the smaller 7v7 field and that was a tiny 2011 girls games.   So 96 out 98 coaches preffered to play their 7v7 games on a 9v9 field.   All the coaches gave the reason that more room was better for their team.   Myself personally I disagree,  I would've preffered the smaller field with less space, less time and more touches.    It may result in my team losing some game to big booting team but I'm not trying to forego development for winning some 7-8 year old games.


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## focomoso (Oct 10, 2018)

Primetime said:


> So 96 out 98 coaches preffered to play their 7v7 games on a 9v9 field.   All the coaches gave the reason that more room was better for their team.   Myself personally I disagree,  I would've preffered the smaller field with less space, less time and more touches.


I agree with your disagreement. The whole point of small-sided, smaller field games is to make things tighter and force decision making to be quicker.


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## twoclubpapa (Oct 10, 2018)

As a minimum I check the goal area and penalty area sizes at both ends when I check to see if the goals are properly anchored and eyeball where the penalty mark should be if it's not marked.  I've found on a number of "mixed use" fields that the goal areas and/or penalty areas are not the appropriate size for 11 v 11 games, but rather 9 v 9 or smaller contests.

The worst field marking I've ever come across was for a CIF playoff game on a noticeably skewed quadrilateral field where the penalty area and goal area sizes were different and incorrect at each end.  I informed both coaches of the issues, we played the game with the existing markings per the NFHS Soccer Rules Book and my match report reported the problems.


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## rainbow_unicorn (Oct 15, 2018)

jpeter said:


>


That chart is wrong.  Here is the correct one:


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