BOYS & GIRLS FOOTBALL 

HANDBOOK 
Tournament Rules & Regulations 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

EVENTS:  
GIRLS: Friday 2nd March, 9:00 am until 3:00 pm 
BOYS: Saturday 3rd March, 9:00 am until 3:00 pm 
 
 
Competition Rules and Regulations 
 
1. Rules 
As  per  the  guidelines  set  out  by  the  British  Schools  of  the  Middle 
East Handbook. 
 
2. General Information 
a. All matches will be played on grass 
b. Players  should  ensure they are wearing football boots and shin pads. 
Children will not be allowed to play without them. 
c. Kings School Al Barsha will provide all officials 
d. Pitch Dimensions: 60 x 40 yards  
e. Goal Size is 6 foot x 12 foot 
f. Match balls will be size 4 
 
3. Referees 
a. There will be one referee and one assistant referee per pitch. 
b. In  any  game,  the  referee  will  have  the  authority  to  administer  the 
rules  of  play.  The  referees decision is final. Only the Team Coach may 
approach  a  referee  for  clarification  of  any  rules  or  disputes  on  the 
pitch. This may only be done at half time or full time. 
 
4. Number of players 
a. In the boys tournaments, the team must be solely made up of boys. 
b. In the girls tournament, the team must be solely made up of girls. 
c. Seven-a-side with a squad number of 10. 
 
5. Key rules 
a. The  pass  back  rule  DOES  APPLY.  Should  the  goalkeeper  handle  the 
ball  from a pass from one of his/her own team, an indirect free kick is 
awarded where the ball was picked up 
b. No off side 
c. All other football rules apply 
 
6. Duration of the game 
a. Each game will be 7-minutes each way.  
b. All pool matches will be centrally timed.  
c. Teams change ends at half time with a 2-minute changeover. 
 
7. Pool Phase 
a. There  are  16  competing  schools,  the  teams  will  be  divided  into  4 
pools of 4. 
b. Each pool will be selected randomly by the host school. 
c. No extra time shall be played during the pool phase.  
d. Each  team  will  play  3  games  in  a  round-robin  competition  to 
determine places for play-off finals. 
 
 
 
 8. Starting the game 
a. A coin toss will determine kick off at the start of the game. 
b. The  referee  will  perform  the  toss  with  both  team  captains  present. 
The  captain  whose  team  is  named  first  on  the  playing  schedule  will 
call ‘heads or tails’. The winning captains team will kick off. 
 
9. Substitution 
There  is  no  limit  to  the  number  of  substitutions  that  can  be  made  by  a 
team  provided  that  players  used  do  not  exceed  the  maximum  squad 
number of 10. 
 
10. End of the Game 
a. There  will  be  a  hooter  to  signal  the  end  of  time  but  the  referees 
whistle will determine the end of the game. 
b. Three cheers and handshakes are encouraged. 
c. Team managers shall shake hands. 
d. It  is  expected  that  team  captains  and  managers  shake  hands  with 
the match officials. Coaching is permitted during play from the side. 
 
11. Match Points 
a. The following points will be awarded during pool play: 
b. Win: 3 points 
c. Draw: 1 point 
d. Defeat: 0 points 
e. At  the  conclusion  of  the  pool  phase,  the  teams  in  each  pool  are 
ranked  one  through  four  based  on  their  cumulative  match  points, 
and identified respectively as winner, runner-up, third and fourth.   
f. If,  at  the  completion  of  the  pool  phase,  two  teams  or  more  are  level 
on  Match  Points,  the  following  criteria  will  be  used  in  the  following 
order  until  one  of  the  teams  can  be  determined  as  the  higher 
ranked:  
i. The result between the two teams; 
ii. Goal difference. 
iii. Goals scored. 
iv. Goals conceded 
g. If  none  of  the  above  produce  a  result,  a  penalty  shoot-out  will  take 
place.  5  members  of  the  team  take  1  shot  each,  alternating  with the 
other  team,  followed  by  sudden  death  if  scores  are  even  after  5 
penalties.  
 
12. Playoff Phase 
a. The  top  2  placed  teams  at  the  end  of  the  pool  stage  will  qualify  for 
the  cup  competition  and  compete  in  3  playoff  games  to  determine 
positions 1 through to 8. 
b. The  bottom  2  placed  teams  at  the  end  of  the  pool  stage  will  move 
forward  into  the  playoff  challenge  for  positions  9  through  to  16. 
Teams  will  compete  in  3  playoff  games  to  determine  their  final 
position. 
 c. Based  on  the  final  ranking  in  each  pool,  the  knockout  phase 
structure will be as follows... 
 
LOSERS WINNERS
CUP 
PLAYOFFS 
POSITIONS 1-8

5th Place Semi  Cup Quarter 

5th Place Final Cup Semi Final Cup Final
Final Final
Winner 5SF1 Vs  5SF1: Loser QF1 Vs  QF1: 1st Pool A vs  SF1: Winner QF1 Vs  Winner SF1 Vs 
winner 5SF2 loser QF2 2nd Pool D winner QF2 winner SF2
QF2: 1st Pool C Vs  3rd Place 
7th Place Final 2nd Pool B  Playoff
Loser 5SF1 Vs loser  5SF2: Loser QF3 Vs  QF3: 1st Pool D Vs  SF2: Winner QF3  Loser SF1 Vs loser 
5SF2  loser QF4  2nd Pool A  Vs winner QF4  SF2 
QF4: 1st Pool B Vs 
2nd Pool C 
 
 
LOSERS CHALLENGE  WINNERS
PLAYOFFS 
POSITIONS 
9-16
13th Place  9th Place  9th Place Semi 
13th Place Final 9th Place Final
Semi Final Quarter Final Final
Winner 13SF1 Vs  13SF1: Loser 9QF1  9QF1: 3rd Pool A vs  9SF1: Winner QF1  Winner 9SF1 Vs 
winner 13SF2  Vs loser 9QF2  4th Pool D  Vs winner QF2  winner 9SF2 

9QF2: 3rd Pool C 

15th Place Final Vs 4th Pool B 
11th Place Final

Loser 13SF1 Vs  13SF2: Loser 9QF3  9QF3: 3rd Pool D  9SF2: Winner QF3  Loser 9SF1 Vs loser 
loser 13SF2  Vs loser 9QF4  Vs 4th Pool A  Vs winner QF4  9SF2 
9QF4: 3rd Pool B 
Vs 4th Pool C 
 
 
 
 
13. Extra Time: Playoff Games Only 
a. In  the  event  that  scores  are  tied  at  the  end  of  normal time, during a 
quarter  final  or  semi  final  game,  the teams will play for an additional 
5  minutes.  If  the  teams  are  still  deadlocked  at  the  end  of extra time, 
the result will be decided by a penalty shoot out. 
b. In  the  event  that  scores  are  tied  at  the  end  of  normal  time  in  the 
final,  two  5  minute  periods  of  extra  time  will  be  played  (with  a  2 
minute  break  between  each  period)  before  resorting  to  a  penalty 
shootout to determine the winner. 
 
 
14. Penalty Shootout 
a. In  the  event  that  scores  are  tied  when the final hooter sounds at the 
end of extra time, the following procedure will be followed: 
i. The referee will blow their whistle to stop play. 
ii. All players to remain on the pitch. 
iii. No substitutes can be made. 
iv. The  Team  Coach  will  select  5  players  to  take  1  penalty  each 
and submit their names and order to the referee 
v. The  referee  will  perform  a  coin  toss  with  both  Team  Coaches 
to determine who takes the first penalty. 
vi. Each  team  will  alternate  5  penalty  kicks.  If  one  team  is  not 
ahead  on  goals  after  these  5  kicks,  the  shootout  will  proceed 
to sudden death. 
 
15. Point allocations: 
Competition points for the tournament will be awarded as follows: 
 
PLAYOFF RESULT  PLACING  POINTS 

Cup Final Winner  1st  16 

Cup Finalist  2nd  15 

3rd Place Match Winner  3rd  14 

3rd Place Finalist  4th  13 

5th Place Final Winner  5th  12 

5th Place Finalist  6th  11 

7th Place Final Winner  7th  10 

7th Place Finalist  8th  9 

9th Place Final Winner  9th  8 

9th Place Finalist  10th  7 

11th Place Final Winner  11th  6 

11th Place Finalist  12th  5 

13th Place Final Winner  13th  4 

13th Place Finalist  14th  3 

15th Place Final Winner  15th  2 

15th Place Finalist  16th  1