Playing up an age group: what the rules allow

The short version

• A child can play one age group above their own, even where the format changes, for example from 7v7 to 9v9.
• Not two age groups up. The rule allows the age group directly above.
• A child who turns six after 31 August can play only at Under 7 that season, not Under 8.
• Playing down is not allowed, with one exception for all-female teams in mixed competitions.
• The same rules apply to training as to matches.
• A child can be registered with two teams only if they are in different age groups.

How a child’s age group is set

Age groups in England run by school year. A child’s age group is set by their age at midnight on 31 August at the start of the season: a child aged 6 on that date, or who turns 6 during the season, is Under 7; a child aged 7 is Under 8; and so on. Our England age group rules guide sets out the format for each one.

No child under the age of six may play in a match of any kind.

What the rule allows

Rule 18(C) of the Standard Code permits a child to play in the age group directly above their own, irrespective of any change of format or competition structure. So an Under 11 player in 7v7 can play Under 12 9v9, and an Under 13 player can play Under 14 11v11, as long as everything else about their eligibility is in order.

The rule covers training as well as matches. A child training with an older age group is within the same rule as one playing matches for it.

The Under 7 exception. A child who turns six after 31 August is permitted to play only in the Under 7 age group that season. They may not play up to Under 8, however ready they seem. It is the one age group where playing up is ruled out for some children.

Playing down

A child cannot play in an age group below their own. The one exception is in Rule 4(F): an all-female team can apply to play an age group down in a mixed competition, provided the team has approval from its Sanctioning Authority, which is The FA or the County FA sanctioning the competition. That is a team-level application, not a choice made player by player.

Playing for two teams

Playing up sometimes means a child plays for their own age group and an older one. The Standard Code sets the limits.

• A child can be registered with more than one club only if the teams are in different age groups, and only within the age group rule above.
• A child cannot play for two teams in the same age group in the same competition in a season without first being transferred.
• Where a club has more than one team in the same age group, a child is registered for one of those teams. Rule 18(J) then allows them to play for the club in a younger or older age group, within the provisions of Rule 18(C).

The words “younger or older” do not widen the age groups a child is eligible to play in, because Rule 18(J) expressly makes them subject to Rule 18(C). In other words, the move still has to fit the age-group eligibility rules above, including the separate Rule 4(F) exception for all-female teams. If a club is unsure how that works with its registrations, eligibility questions are for the league’s management committee.

Our guide to player registration explains how registration works, and our guide to changing football clubs covers moving from one club to another.

Playing time

The Standard Code sets a maximum number of minutes per game and per day for each age group. For mini soccer, The FA’s Mini-Soccer Handbook (opens in a new tab) says children should not exceed the maximum playing time for their age in any one day, and that the club and/or the child’s parent or carer are responsible for making sure they do not. That matters particularly when a child plays for two teams on the same day.

For Under 12 and above, the Code gives a daily figure for each age group but does not say whether it applies to each player, or which age group’s figure applies to a child playing for two teams. Ask the league how it applies the limit.

Our guides to mini soccer rules and formats from Under 12 list the limits for each age group.

The two-year age gap rule

Rule 18(O) applies to competitions involving players in full-time secondary education. Under it, a child under 15 at the start of the season may not play in a match where any other player is two or more years older or younger. The Code does not say how the two years are measured, so if a child playing up could be close to that gap with anybody on the pitch, ask the league how it applies the rule.

Who decides

The Standard Code says what is permitted. It does not require any club to play a child up, and the club has to register the child properly for any team they play for. If there is a dispute about whether a child is eligible, the Standard Code sends it to the league’s management committee.

Some questions worth asking the club before agreeing:

• Which team will my child be registered for, and will they still play for their own age group?
• How will their playing time across both teams stay within the daily maximum?
• Who will they train with, and on which days?
• How long is the arrangement for, and how will it be reviewed?

Elsewhere in the UK

This page covers England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own age groups and eligibility rules through their own associations. Our UK age group rules hub links to each nation.