Youth soccer league rules: formats and playing time
Explore official youth match formats and playing-time rules, with sources, retrieval dates and notes. Choose an organisation to check its age bands and calculate equal minutes for your roster.
How to read this page
These pages use a sourced dataset snapshot. Check document dates for your season; official documents and applicable local competition rules take precedence. “Not specified” means the dataset has no value for that field, so check your local rules.
| Organisation | Country | Age bands covered | Minimum playing time rule? |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Soccer | United States | U6, U7, U8; U9, U10; U11; U12 | Recommendation — 50%, not mandated |
| AYSO | United States | 6U; 8U; 10U; 12U; 14U; 16U; 19U | Yes — half a match, with eligibility and arrival conditions |
| US Youth Soccer | United States | 6 years of age and under (U6); 8 years of age and under (U8); 10 years of age and under (U10); 11 years of age and under (U11); 12 years of age and under (U12); 13 and 14 years of age and under (U13, U14); 15 and 16 years of age and under (U15, U16); 17, 18 and 19 years of age and under (U17, U18, U19) | Yes — recreational-league definition only |
| The FA | England | Under 7 and Under 8; Under 9 and Under 10; Under 11; Under 12; Under 13 and Under 14; Under 15 and Under 16; Under 17 and Under 18 | Recommendation — Mini-Soccer; no mandated youth minimum in SCORY |
| Football Australia | Australia | Under 6 & 7; Under 8 & 9; Under 10 & 11 | Recommendation — equal time is a priority; no quantified minimum |
| Canada Soccer | Canada | U6-U7 (Fundamentals); U8-U9 (Fundamentals); U10-U11 (Learn to Train); U12-U13 (Learn to Train) | Recommendation — 50% target in the Standards, with a U7 exception |
| New Zealand Football | New Zealand | First Kicks (4-7 years); Fun Football (U8-U9 years); Mini Football (U10-U11 years); Mini Football (12-13 years); Youth Football (14-15 years); Youth & Senior Football (16+ years) | No minimum specified in the cited sheets |
| FAI | Ireland | 5-7 years old ('Me and My Ball'); 8-11 years old ('Me and My Skills'); 12-14 years old ('Me and My Team Mates') | No minimum specified in the cited plan |
The table distinguishes recommendations, requirements for recreational leagues and unspecified policies.
Browse the youth soccer rules dataset on GitHub. Corrections welcome: open an issue with the official source.
Use the free playing time calculator or build a 7v7, 9v9 or 11v11 plan in the free lineup builder.