Grand Rapids Area Soccer Club

Tournament Rules

Futsal is played on a basketball court, with a futsal ball (a smaller and heavier ball than a regular soccer ball).

THERE IS NO SLIDE TACKLING IN FUTSAL.
Although some contact is unavoidable, futsal is largely a non-contact sport. Legal contact shall not be careless, reckless or excessive.
There are no off-sides in futsal.

Player Equipment

Players must wear flat soled tennis shoes or indoor futsal shoes. No cleats.
All players must wear shin guards.
Players will not be allowed to wear any jewelry.
Teams must wear the same color shirts.
Home team must change color in the event of shirt color conflict.
Goalkeepers must wear a different color shirt from the other players (we will have pullover pinnies available).

Additional Notes

Substitutions

Substitutions will be made on the fly and are unlimited.
Subs enter as players step off the playing surface.
Goalkeeper substitutions can only be made when the ball is out of play and the referee has given permission.

Start of Play

Home team has kickoff.
Opposing team waits outside of the center circle and the ball will be deemed in play once it has been touched.
Back kick is allowed. (Ball does not have to move forward past the center line.)

Out of Bounds

Ball will be out of play when it has wholly crossed the goal line or touchline.
If a ball goes out-of-bounds on the sidelines, then it will be a kick-in to restart play. NO THROW-INS
The ball will be placed on the sideline where it went out-of-bounds and the player will have 4 seconds to kick the ball back into play or it becomes opponent’s ball. Ball must start from a stationary (not moving) position.
All kick-ins will be indirect. Defense must give 4 yards.
Balls out-of-bounds on the end lines for the offensive team will be a corner kick. Normal soccer rules apply. (Kick is direct.) Defense must give 4 yards.
Balls out-of-bounds on the end line for the defensive team will be a goalkeeper throw instead of a goal kick. (No punts or drop-kicks allowed.)
The goalkeeper will throw the ball in, in place of a goal kick. The ball must touch either a player or the floor prior to crossing half court. (See penalty below.)
Balls hitting the ceiling or lights is out of play. The play shall be restarted with a kick-in on the nearest touch line. The opposing team will take the kick-in.

Goalkeeper

The goalkeeper may not use his/her hands outside their own penalty area (we will use the three point shot circle)
Keeper may slide in own penalty area but only when playing the ball.
Keeper may not kick the ball after releasing it until another player has played it (no punts or drop-kicks allowed).
The goalkeeper will throw the ball in place of a goal kick. No punts or drop-kicks allowed. The ball must touch either a player or the floor prior to crossing half court. An indirect free kick from the center mark is awarded to the opposing team if this does not happen.
Goalkeeper has 5 seconds to return ball to play.
The ball is not in play until it clears the penalty area. If the ball is received inside the penalty area, then the goalkeeper throw is taken again.

Fouls & Penalties

All foul restarts shall be awarded an indirect free kick, except for fouls that occur in the penalty area or fouls resulting from dangerous play.
Fouls will result in either an indirect free kick or a penalty kick. A penalty kick will be taken from the 6-meter mark.

Offside Rule

Games

Due to time constraints, all games must begin and end as scheduled. Arrive 15 minutes prior to your kick-off. Please have your team in the Servery (cafeteria) and ready to play at the scheduled time.
At least 3 players per team are needed to start. Teams not ready to start their game may forfeit that game (recorded as 5-0) and have the game shortened.
If a team must wait for players, the game will be shortened accordingly to end at the scheduled time.
There will be no overtime for regular games.
All players should play at least half of the game.

Coaching