Tournament Rules

The main aim of the competition is to create a fun, intense, cost-effective, safe, and competitive tournament. To that end, we have devised the following rules. Please ensure that you have read them and that you are familiar with them.

Rules of the Tournament

1. Knowledge of the game:
   1. The laws of indoor soccer that apply are those of FIFA.
   2. In the event of conflict between FIFA rules and the rule of the tournament, the tournament rule will prevail.
   3. Specific rule amendments:
      1. The decisions of the referees is final.
         
      2. An indirect free kick shall be awarded in the following situations:
         1. If a goal-keeper touches or controls the ball with his hands after it has been deliberately kicked to him by his team-mate.
         2. If a goal-keeper touches or controls the ball with his hands or feet in his own penalty area for more than four seconds.
      3. The free kick:
         1. There are two types of free kicks:
            1. Direct free kick: if a direct free kick enters the opponents' goal, a goal shall be awarded.
            2. Indirect free kick: a goal shall only be awarded if the ball touches another player before it enters the goal.
         2. All opponents shall be situated at least 5 meters from the ball until it is in play. When a defending team is taking a free kick from inside its own penalty area, all opponents shall remain outside said area.
      4. The kick-in:
         1. The kick-in is a method of restarting play after the ball has gone out of bounds. A goal may not be scored directly from a kick-in.
         2. The ball shall remain stationary on the touch line.
         3. The player taking the kick-in shall have part of one foot on the touch line or off the pitch at the moment he takes the kick-in.
         4. The player taking the kick-in shall do so within 4 seconds of receiving the ball.
            
         5. The players of the defending team shall be at least 5 meters from the place where the kick-in is taken.
      5. Tackling:
         1. Tackling from behind is allowed.
         2. Players may not slide tackle, except for the goal-keeper.
            
         3. The goal-keeper may slide tackle under following circumstances:
            1. He must clearly be slide tackling for the ball.
            2. The slide tackle must start from inside his own penalty area.
               
      6. Send-offs:
         1. A player who is sent off may not re-enter the play, and should not interfere with the play.
         2. A substitute player may enter the pitch two full minutes after a team-mate has bee sent off, unless a goal is scored before the two minutes has elapsed.
            

2. Tournament format:
   1. The tournament is composed of two parts: (1) a qualifying round (a.k.a. “group stage” or “group round") and (2) the elimination round.
   2. The qualifying round:
      1. The qualifying round shall consist of a single group.
      2. The qualifying round is a single round robin competition. That is, each team shall play every other team once.
      3. After the completion of the qualifying round, the top four teams will qualify to partake in the elimination round.
      4. Team ranking in the qualifying round will be determined as follows:
         1. Teams will first be ranked by points. A win is awarded 3 points, a draw is awarded 1 point, and a lost or forfeit is awarded zero points.
         2. If teams are equal on points, they will then be ranked as follows:
            1. By goal difference (goals for - goals against)
            2. By goals for
            3. By result between the teams in question (head-to-head confrontation)
               
            4. By toss of a coin or penalty shootout (if time permits)
               
   3. The elimination round:
      1. The elimination round consists of two semi-final matches and a final match.
      2. The elimination round is a knock-out competition. That is, a losing team will not progress further in the tournament.
      3. The semi-final matches shall be as follows:
         1. The 1st ranked team from the qualifying round will play against the 4th ranked team.
         2. The 2nd ranked team from the qualifying round will play against the 3rd ranked team.
      4. The two winners of the semi-final matches will play against each other in the final match.
      5. The winner of the final match will be deemed the winner of the tournament.
      6. In the case of a draw in the elimination round, winners will be determined by extra time (if time permits) or penalty shootout.
         

3. The games:
   1. Duration of the games:
      1. Qualifying round games will consist of a single 10-minute match with no breaks.
      2. Elimination round games will consist of a single 20-minute match with no breaks.
   2. The game start and finish by the referee’s whistle or sirens.
   3. Kick-off is decided by toss of coin.
   4. Time of the games:
      1. Teams are to be on court at the scheduled time for the start of the game.
      2. The clock will be started at the scheduled time to ensure all teams have their full game.
      3. Failure to be on the court by at the scheduled time will result in a one-goal penalty.
      4. Thereafter teams will lose one goal for every minute after the scheduled start of the game.
      5. The game will start with or without a full team.
      6. Teams that have players running late must take the court when they have a minimum of three players.
      7. An automatic forfeit will apply if a team is not on court within 5 minutes of the scheduled starting time.

4. Teams:
   1. A team must have at least three players for the game to start.
   2. No more than five players will be allowed on the court at any time.
   3. A team may have up to a maximum of 2 substitutes.

5. Injuries:
   1. Players play at their own risk. The tournament organizers will not be held liable for any injuries or accidents.
   2. To minimize the disruption of subsequent games, no extra time is allocated in this tournament.
   3. An injured player must leave the court as soon as reasonably possible so that play may continue.
   4. Once an injured player leaves the court, his position may be filled with a substituted player.
   5. If a player is bleeding, he must vacate the court immediately and cannot return until the bleeding has stopped.

6. Substitution:
   1. The referee must be notified if the goal-keeper is substituted.
   2. Failure to do so will result in a yellow card to the player and/or the captain.
   3. Substitutions can be made at anytime during the game. The player being substituted off must cross the sideline before the new player comes on.
   4. Failure to do so will result in a yellow card to the player and/or the captain.

7. Fees:
   1. All payments should be finalized before the start of the tournament.
   2. Teams will outstanding payments will not be allowed to compete in the tournament.