Football Goals, Balls and Pitch Sizes - 12th Feb 2014

The size of football goals, footballs and pitch sizes has changed in recent times.

The changes have been introduced by The FA to focus on small sided games, to introduce a clear and progressive pathway from mini soccer through to adult football and to bring player development into line with European countries.

Small sided games of five-a-side and seven-a-side will be played up to the age of under 10s. Nine-a-side games will be adopted by the under 11s and under 12s.

The five-a-side and seven-a-side teams will use the smaller 12 x 6ft goal posts whilst the nine-a-side teams will use the slightly larger 16 x 7ft goals. Pitch and football sizes have also been reduced in line with the new game formats.

Research has shown that players get more touches and develop better technical skills playing small sided games.
All games up to the age of under 11s will be in a non-competitive format by the season 2015/16. This will eliminate the win at all cost attitude and put the focus back on enjoyment and player development.

The infographic to the right shows what size goals, footballs and pitch sizes you should be using (click on the image to vie a larger illustration).


Peter Hart
The Soccer Store
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