Youth football from Under 12: 9v9, 11v11 and what changes

The short version

• Under 12 and Under 13 play 9v9 with a size 4 ball. Under 14 upwards play 11v11 with a size 5 ball.
• Throw-ins replace the pass-in and dribble-in from Under 12.
• League tables start at Under 12. Below that, competitions may collect results and grading tables but cannot publish them outside permitted trophy events.
• Offside is introduced at Under 12, and deliberate heading returns to matches, with separate training guidance continuing above Under 11.
• Playing time is capped per game and per day, and the caps rise through the older age bands.
• The maximum permitted format is a ceiling, so a competition can run a smaller format if it chooses.

Formats, balls, pitches and goals

All of these come from the Standard Code (opens in a new tab), which sets the permitted format and the recommended sizes for every age group.

• Under 12 and Under 13. 9v9, size 4 ball. Recommended pitch 73 by 46 metres, with goals of 16ft by 7ft.
• Under 14. 11v11, size 5 ball. Recommended pitch 82 by 50 metres, with goals of 21ft by 7ft, though 24ft by 8ft is permitted.
• Under 15 and Under 16. 11v11, size 5 ball. Recommended pitch 91 by 55 metres, with goals of 24ft by 8ft. At Under 15, 21ft by 7ft is permitted.
• Under 17 and Under 18. 11v11, size 5 ball. Recommended pitch 100 by 64 metres, with goals of 24ft by 8ft.

Pitch sizes have a permitted range around the recommendation, and every pitch should have a minimum three-metre run-off. Artificial pitches are allowed where they are on the Football Foundation's register of football turf pitches and have been tested every three years by a FIFA accredited test institute. Overhead netting is allowed for mini soccer formats at a minimum height of six metres, but not for 9v9 or 11v11 affiliated matches.

What 9v9 looks like

England Football Learning (opens in a new tab) publishes a summary of the 9v9 format for 2026/27. Alongside the pitch and goal sizes above, it gives a minimum pitch of 64 by 37 metres, matches lasting up to 60 minutes, match officials required, goalkeepers, rolling substitutes, league tables and cups, throw-ins, heading allowed and offside introduced. There is no retreat line and no power play, both of which stop at the end of mini soccer.

How long they can play

• Under 12 and Under 13. Maximum 60 minutes per game, 120 minutes in a day.
• Under 14 and Under 15. Maximum 70 minutes per game, 150 minutes in a day.
• Under 16. Maximum 80 minutes per game, 150 minutes in a day.
• Under 17 and Under 18. Maximum 90 minutes per game, 180 minutes in a day.

These are maximums, and a shorter match can be arranged by the two clubs with the referee before kick-off. Halves must be equal, and half time cannot exceed 15 minutes. The daily figure is the one to watch at tournaments, where several games stack up in an afternoon.

What changes at Under 12

• Throw-ins return. The pass-in and dribble-in used from Under 7 to Under 11 stop at Under 12.
• League tables begin. From Under 12 a competition can run league tables and cups. At Under 7 to Under 11 it may collect results and grading tables but cannot publish them outside permitted trophy events. Our guide to how youth leagues work covers the competition side.
• Offside is introduced. It does not apply anywhere in mini soccer, and it arrives with 9v9. England Football Learning's 9v9 guidance (opens in a new tab) sets that out alongside the rest of the format.
• Heading returns to matches. Separate age-banded training guidance continues above Under 11. Our guide to heading in youth football has the detail.
• The ball and the pitch grow, from size 3 on a 7v7 pitch to size 4 on a 9v9 one.

Everything before that point is covered in our guide to mini soccer rules.

Squads, substitutes and short-handed teams

• A team needs six players to constitute a team at 9v9, and seven at 11v11. Playing with fewer is a breach of the competition's rules.
• By the competition's stated deadline before the Playing Season starts, a team must have at least nine registered players at 9v9 and eleven at 11v11.
• Substitution arrangements are chosen by the competition. For Under 12 to Under 16 the Standard Code's youth option is return substitutes, with the competition setting a limit of between three and seven, so a player who has been substituted can come back on. England Football Learning describes 9v9 as using rolling substitutes.
• At Under 17 and Under 18, a competition can instead choose the option without return substitutes. It selects, from the Standard Code's options, how many substitutes may be named and how many of those may be used.
• In all youth football the referee has to be told the substitutes' names before kick-off, and a player not named cannot take part.

That is a real change from Under 8 to Under 11 Mini-Soccer, where substitutions can roll on and off during stoppages with the referee's permission.

Age, and playing up

A player's age group is set by their age at midnight on 31 August. A child is allowed to play in the age group above their own, whatever the change of format, with one exception at the youngest end: a child who turns six after 31 August can only play at Under 7.

There is also a limit that catches people out. A child under 15 on 31 August cannot play in a match where any other player is two or more years older or younger than them. It applies to the whole match, not just the opposition.

Kit and small print

• Shirts must be numbered differently, and youth players' names must not appear on shirts.
• No player, including the goalkeeper, may wear black or very dark shirts, and goalkeepers must be distinguishable from all other players and the match officials.
• Every team registers its colours with the competition, and changing them mid-season needs permission.
• Each team identifies a captain, who may wear an armband and helps manage the on-field behaviour of their teammates.
• The home team provides goal nets, corner flags and at least two footballs fit for play.

Which laws apply

The Standard Code says matches are played under the Laws of the Game as determined by IFAB, except that mini soccer follows the Mini-Soccer and Youth Futsal Handbook and 9v9 follows The FA's Guide to 9v9 Football. So an Under 12 match is not simply a smaller 11v11 game: it has its own guide, and that is where a coach or referee should look for the detail, such as free kick distances, that this page does not cover.

Elsewhere in the UK

These are the formats and rules for affiliated youth football in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own through their own associations.