Heading in grassroots youth football: what the rules say now

The short version

• Deliberate heading is out of affiliated grassroots matches at Under 7 to Under 11, including affiliated school matches.
• It was phased in over three seasons: Under 7 to Under 9 in 2024-25, Under 10 in 2025-26 and Under 11 in 2026-27.
• A deliberate header gives the opposition an indirect free kick. There is no disciplinary sanction for the header itself unless the offence is persistent, when a caution can follow.
• Heading returns at Under 12, at the move from primary to secondary school.
• In training, heading should not be introduced at all up to Under 11.
• From Under 12 there are limits on how often and how many. The FA publishes bands for Under 12, Under 13, Under 14 to Under 16 and Under 18, and then for adult amateur football.

What changed, and when

The FA took an IFAB trial to remove deliberate heading in matches at Under 12 and below in 2022, having brought in heading guidance for youth football in 2020 and for training across the professional and amateur game in 2021. After two seasons of the trial, a new rule was introduced (opens in a new tab) to phase out deliberate heading in matches in all affiliated grassroots youth football from Under 7 to Under 11, across three seasons: Under 7 to Under 9 from 2024-25, Under 10 from 2025-26 and Under 11 from 2026-27.

For grassroots football, that covers leagues, clubs and affiliated school matches. The 2026/27 FA Rules exclude matches involving Under 7 to Under 11 teams of clubs participating in the Premier League, EFL, WSL or WSL2 unless the relevant participants agree otherwise. This season is the final step in the grassroots phase-in, so deliberate heading is now removed from affiliated Under 7 to Under 11 match play.

What happens in a match

The change is about deliberate heading, and the restart is specific.

• Deliberately heading the ball is an offence, punishable by an indirect free kick.
• The free kick is taken from the point where the ball was deliberately headed.
• If a player deliberately heads the ball inside their own penalty area, the referee stops the game and restarts with an indirect free kick to the opposition, from the nearest point on the side line of the penalty area where the offence happened.
• There are no disciplinary sanctions for a deliberate header, unless it is a persistent deliberate offence, which could then result in a caution.

That last point matters for touchline temperature. A child who deliberately heads the ball, out of instinct rather than intent to break a rule, has given away a free kick and nothing more. Accidental contact with the head is not the offence.

The other restart change

Alongside heading, throw-ins were replaced at these age groups. A pass-in or dribble-in is awarded when the ball leaves the pitch over the touchline, whether on the ground or in the air, and the Standard Code (opens in a new tab) lists pass-ins and dribble-ins as the sideline restart from Under 7 to Under 11, with throw-ins from Under 12.

• The ball is stationary on the touchline at the point where it left the pitch, and only the kicker may be off the pitch.
• Opponents stand at least 5 yards from that point.
• The ball is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves, and the kicker may touch it again before anybody else does.
• A goal cannot be scored directly from a pass-in.

The stated aims are more time with the ball at players' feet, more effective playing time, and less time with the ball in the air.

Heading in training, by age group

Training guidance is separate from the Under 7 to Under 11 grassroots match rule. The current England Football age-group guidance (opens in a new tab) relevant here says:

• Under 7 to Under 11. Heading should not be introduced in training at this age. The priority is mastery of the ball and the body, and coaches are asked to spend the time on other skills.
• Under 12 and Under 13. Heading remains a very low priority, but limited heading may be introduced. The FA strongly advises a maximum of one session a week, with light balls, a maximum of five headers, self-serve or from short distances, and always unopposed.
• Under 14 to Under 16. Basic concepts with limited repetition: no more than one session a week that includes heading practice, and no more than 10 headers per player per session, using a variety of distances.
• Under 18. Contested headers are introduced as the game starts to resemble the adult game. Match balls can be used, though light balls still have a place when practising technique. The recommendation stays at 10 headers per session and one session a week.
• Adult amateur football, up to and including Step 5 of the National League System and Tier 3 of the women's pyramid, follows the same recommendation of 10 headers in one session a week, with players asked to monitor their own heading activity.

One thing worth knowing if you go looking for the original documents. An older FA heading guidance chart, still online, says one heading session a month at Under 12 rather than one a week. The figures on this page follow The FA's current live guidance page, read on 24 September 2026. If your club is working from a printed chart, check the date on it.

What it means if you coach

• Below Under 12, heading itself should not be introduced. The guidance is not "go easy on heading"; it is that heading should not be introduced. England Football Learning does set out what to coach instead (opens in a new tab): scanning, timing, movement and positioning, which prepare players for heading when it arrives.
• At Under 12 and Under 13, any introduction is deliberately small: light balls, a maximum of five headers, self-serve or short-distance delivery, always unopposed, and no more than one heading session a week.
• Practical point: count the headers. A drill that looks brief can pass the published maximum per player quickly.
• Watch the type as much as the number. The FA cites a study in the professional game which observed that headers following a long ball or cross of roughly 35 to 45 metres were likely to produce the highest loads on a player's head, and suggests practising technique from thrown passes.
• Check the balls. A scuffed ball holding water is heavier than it should be.

What it means if you are a parent

In the affiliated grassroots game covered by this page, deliberate heading is not part of Under 7 to Under 11 match play, and heading itself should not be introduced in training before Under 12. Accidental contact still happens and is not the offence. If a coach is teaching heading to an Under 10 side, that is contrary to the current guidance and is a reasonable thing to raise with the club.

Heading guidance and concussion are related but separate. Our guide to concussion in grassroots football covers what to do when a player takes a knock, which is the situation with the more urgent answers.

Why the rules changed

The FA's stated aim is to make the game as safe as possible while research continues, and it says the guidance will be reviewed and updated as understanding improves. Its brain health section (opens in a new tab) carries the wider material.

Elsewhere in the UK

These are the grassroots match rules and training guidance used in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own heading guidance through their own associations.