CCWF Tournament - March 15-16th

Rules of Play 

Men's and Women's Competitive

Format:

·   Goalkeeper and 5 field players

·   Goals are 3.6m wide and 1.2m high or 4.2m wide and 1.8m high (Pitches 1 and 2)

·   Goals can only be scored from your attacking half of the field

·   3 points for a win and 1 for a draw

·   A Horn will start and finish Games at the same time. Please be ready.

·   No Shoes with Studs allowed. Shin Pads MUST be worn. Jewellery and personal medical devices (such as Fitbits etc.) must be taped, covered or removed.

Rules of Play

All rules are to be read in conjunction with the FA UK Walking Football Laws of the Game – Feb 2024. The below Rules of Play are designed specifically for the Central Coast Walking Football Tournament and will override similar/same rules in the Laws of the Game document. If in doubt, please consult with the Tournament Director


 Walking/Not Walking


 Height Restriction 

·   The ball will not be allowed to go over crossbar height. This is determined by the Referee. A free kick is awarded against the team that last touched the ball, before it went high.

·   If the ball is deflected high by the keeper and stays in play it is returned to the goalkeeper to roll/kick out. 

·   If the keeper deflects the ball high and behind a corner is awarded.


 Heading

·   No heading of the ball is allowed at all. This is to prevent head collisions and head injuries. 

No Contact

·   Walking Football is a NO-Contact sport. 

·   Whilst tackling the ball is allowed, no tackling from behind or the side is allowed. 

·   Front on tackling with any contact is a foul. Block the Pass or the Shot instead.

·   Any painful or preventable contact will result in a free kick to the opposition as a minimum.

·   Reckless force in tackling will be punished with at least a sin bin. Serious foul play will be a red card with no return allowed. No slide tackles or sliding will be permitted. This will be considered a Red Card Offence.

·   4 Team "Running/Not Walking" Offences will result in a Penalty being awarded to the opposing Team

·   Players cannot play the ball whilst on the floor.

 

Number of Players 

·   Teams will be allowed to register any number of players on the day per Team, 6 players per team on the pitch at any one time, one of which must be the goalkeeper. 

·   Players must be the age of the age category they play in. One underage player may be allowed with the sole approval of the Tournament organisers. 

·   Women may play in the Men’s competition so long as they are no more than 10 years younger than the specific Men’s age category.


 Duration of Game 

·   20 minutes one way. No half time break.


 Substitutions 

·   There is no limit to the amount of substitutes allowed during a game and rolling substitutions will be permitted, a player who has been replaced may return to the pitch as a substitute for another player. 

·   Substitutions can be made at any time when there is a stoppage in play, as long as the referee is made aware and the substitute does not enter until the player they are replacing has left the field of play. 

·   Any outfield player may change places with the goalkeeper, provided that the referee is informed before the change is made and that the change is made when there is a stoppage in the game. 

·   If the referee deems a side is wasting time by asking for subs or taking too long no more substitutions will be allowed.


 Playing Area

·   Play will be within the fenced area. 

·   If the ball hits or touches the fence a ‘kick-in’ is conceded and the ball is kicked back into play from within 1 metre of the fence line. 

·   Goal kicks will be rolled underarm or kicked out by the keeper.

·   A player may not hold onto the fence. A free kick is awarded to the other team if a player holds onto the fence


The Penalty Area

·   During a game the outfield players of both teams are NOT allowed inside the penalty area.

·   Goalkeepers are NOT allowed to deliberately leave the penalty area in order to gain an advantage. If, in the act of attempting to make a save, a goalkeeper’s momentum carries him/her out of the penalty area, it will not be considered as deliberately leaving the penalty area to gain an advantage. 

·   If defenders deliberately go in and gain an advantage or the keeper gains an advantage by exiting the area a penalty kick is awarded.

·   If a forward deliberately enters or gains an advantage by entering the area the keeper restarts the game

·   If a player’s momentum takes them into the penalty area, following a shot which goes into the goal, the goal will be awarded so long as the ball goes into the goal before the player enters the penalty area. 

 

Penalty Kick

·        A Penalty Kick will be taken from the Penalty spot, as marked on the Pitch, outside of the Penalty Area as per the referee’s direction

·        All Players must remain at least 3 metres from the Penalty spot and no closer to the Goal line.

 

Back-pass

·   The goalkeeper is allowed to pick up the ball following a back pass from a team mate. 

·   The goalkeeper can pass the ball to the player who has just passed the ball to them.

·  However, Goalkeepers cannot receive the ball back directly from a team mate to whom they have just passed the ball. The player who has received the ball from the Goalkeeper MUST pass the ball to another field player BEFORE the ball is passed back to the Goalkeeper. If this rule is infringed then, a free kick is awarded 3 metres outside the Goal area.

.
 Goalkeepers

·   The goalkeeper is not allowed to punt or dropkick the ball out of their hands.

·   The ball must be rolled under arm or dropped to the floor and kicked out.

·   Goal kicks may be kicked or thrown out to restart play


 Offside

·   There is NO offside during a game. 

Goals can only be scored from your attacking half of the field


 Free Kicks 

·   All free kicks, except for a Penalty, will be IN-DIRECT and shall be taken at the place as indicated by the referee. 

·   Players from the opposing team shall NOT stand any closer than 3 METRES to the ball for Free kicks, Corners, Kick ins and Penalties. For a Penalty all players must start behind the penalty taker

·   Free kicks shot at goal and deflected in will restart as a goal kick with no goal being scored. 

·   All Free Kicks awarded within 3 metres of the Penalty Area will be taken from 3 metres away from the Penalty Area.


 Time Wasting 

·   The Keeper cannot allow the ball to stop in a stationary position in the penalty area without touching it or be in possession of the ball for more than 6 seconds or a free kick 3 yards outside the area is awarded.


 Offences

·   All players and Team members will be expected to abide by the CCWF Code of Conduct during the Tournament. Serious Breaches of our Code of Conduct will result in Disciplinary Action as per the Code of Conduct

·   Running, contact or entering the penalty area to deny an obvious goal scoring opportunity (DOGSO) will result in a Red Card to the player and the opposition will be awarded a penalty goal


Sin Bins and Send Offs

·   Persistent offenders (3) of any infringement will be given a Yellow Card and sin-binned for 3 minutes at the referee’s discretion. 

·   Running/contact to deny an obvious goal scoring opportunity or excessive contact will receive an immediate red card at the referee’s discretion.  

·   A replacement substitute will NOT be allowed for yellow or red cards.


 The Referee 

·   The referee’s decision is final. Only the captain of the team may politely ask a question of the referee to clarify the reason for their decision. However, persistent questioning or comment will be deemed as dissent and will result in a yellow or red card at the Referee’s discretion. 

·   Players are not to call out their interpretation of a foul during the game as that confuses other players and undermines the referee

·   Please accept that the Referee is RIGHT!!, even if you think they are wrong.  Please show due respect towards all match officials at all times.