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Field, Goal and Ball Sizes by Age
Pick an age group and see what you are actually meant to be playing on — drawn to scale against the full-size field. Then check it against your own league, because state associations and local leagues do change these.
4v4 · Under 6 to Under 8
- Players
- 4 v 4
- Field
- about 25 × 35 yards U.S. Soccer
- Goal
- Small portable goals U.S. Soccer
- Ball
- Size 3 U.S. Soccer
- Offside
- No offside
- Match length
- Set by your league — usually four short quarters
The smallest format: everyone is near the ball, everyone touches it, and nobody stands in goal.
7v7 · Under 9 and Under 10
- Players
- 7 v 7 (including a goalkeeper)
- Field
- 35–45 yards wide × 55–65 yards long U.S. Soccer
- Goal
- Up to 6½ ft × 18½ ft U.S. Soccer
- Ball
- Size 4 U.S. Soccer
- Offside
- Offside applies — but only between the build-out line and the goal line
- Build-out line
- 14 yards from each goal line
- Match length
- Set by your league — usually four quarters
The build-out line is the big idea at this age: when the keeper has the ball in hand or takes a goal kick, the other team drops behind that line until the ball is played, so young teams learn to pass out of the back instead of hoofing it.
9v9 · Under 11 and Under 12
- Players
- 9 v 9 (including a goalkeeper)
- Field
- 45–55 yards wide × 70–80 yards long U.S. Soccer
- Goal
- Up to 7 ft × 21 ft U.S. Soccer
- Ball
- Size 4 U.S. Soccer
- Offside
- Offside applies
- Match length
- Set by your league — usually two halves
The bridge to the full game: a real penalty area, real offside, and enough space that positions start to mean something.
11v11 · Under 13 and above
- Players
- 11 v 11 (including a goalkeeper)
- Field
- 50–100 yards wide × 100–130 yards long (110–120 × 70–80 for international matches) Law 1
- Goal
- 8 ft high × 8 yards (24 ft) wide Law 1
- Ball
- Size 5 Law 2
- Offside
- Offside applies
- Match length
- Two halves; 45 minutes each in the adult game, shorter at youth level
The full game. Note how wide the Laws' range is: a legal field can be 50 yards wide or 100. That is why the same formation feels so different from one ground to the next.
The full-size markings, from the Laws
These are the numbers the IFAB Laws of the Game set for the eleven-a-side game, in the Laws' own words — yards first, metres as the Laws give them.
| Marking | Size | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Touchline (length) | 100–130 yds (90–120 m) | Law 1 |
| Goal line (width) | 50–100 yds (45–90 m) | Law 1 |
| International matches | 110–120 yds × 70–80 yds (100–110 m × 64–75 m) | Law 1 |
| Goal | 8 yds (7.32 m) between the posts, 8 ft (2.44 m) to the crossbar | Law 1 |
| Penalty area | 18 yds (16.5 m) from each post, 18 yds into the field | Law 1 |
| Goal area | 6 yds (5.5 m) from each post, 6 yds into the field | Law 1 |
| Penalty mark | 12 yds (11 m) from the goal line | Law 1 |
| Centre circle | 10 yds (9.15 m) radius | Law 1 |
| Corner arc | 1 yd (1 m) radius | Law 1 |
| Match ball (size 5) | 27–28 in (68–70 cm) circumference, 14–16 oz (410–450 g) at kick-off | Law 2 |
Where these numbers come from
- Full-size markings and the size 5 ball — quoted from the IFAB Laws of the Game, Law 1 and Law 2, read directly on 20 September 2026.
- Youth small-sided formats — U.S. Soccer's national small-sided standards, as published by U.S. Soccer and reproduced by youth soccer organisations. We could not open U.S. Soccer's own chart from our server, so treat these as the national picture and check the detail with your league.
- Match lengths are deliberately vague: they vary far too much by state association and league for a national number to be worth printing.
Then check your league
State associations and local leagues modify these standards, and recreational leagues often differ from competitive ones in the same town. Your league's own rules always win.
Buying a ball or a set of goals? The gear guide has live shopping results by size.