The Koru Games Football competitions will be played in accordance with the IFAB laws of the game unless otherwise specified in these rules. The IFAB rules are standard rules for football matches. If you are unfamiliar or unsure about these, the IFAB laws of the game can be found here: https://www.theifab.com/

UDPATED 19/09/2024

1. All games shall be played in the spirit of ‘Fair Play’ and positivity. To mark this all players will shake hands before and after each game.
2. The referee’s decision is final.
3. Matches will be played on an intermediate sized pitch (50m x 70m).
   
4. Matches will be nine-a-side (including goalkeepers), with a maximum number of 12 per squad.
5. All infringements, other than fouls inside the goalbox, shall be met with an indirect free-kick. The defending team must stand a minimum of 8 paces back from the ball when the free-kick is being taken. 
6. All fouls and handballs inside the goalbox shall be met with a penalty kick. For penalty-kicks, any player on the attacking team may take the kick. When the kick is being taken, the goalkeeper must have at least one foot on the line at the time the ball is kicked. No players except for the penalty-taker and goalkeeper are allowed inside the goalbox until the ball has been kicked.
7. Slide tackling is not permitted. Any slide tackle shall be met with an indirect free-kick where the slide tackle took place.
8. Handballs decisions are to be made on a “clear and obvious” basis. This means that the ball must obviously touch a player’s hand/arm that was away from their body. 
9. There are no offsides.
10. Throw-ins must be taken from where the ball left the pitch. Throw-ins must be taken with two hands and be thrown from behind the head in a continuous movement, with stationary feet. In the case of a foul throw, the thrower will be allowed one opportunity to retake the throw. If a foul throw is repeated, the throw goes to the other team. Referees are suggested to be lenient with players who are clearly still learning proper throw-in technique. 
11. For any goal kick, the players on the team taking the goal kick are allowed inside the goal box, but the other team are not allowed inside the goal box. The ball must be kicked from the ground. 
12. From any kick-off, the ball must be touched by a second team member before a goal can be awarded (a person taking a kick-off cannot kick the ball directly into goal). 
13. Goals can only be scored from inside a team’s attacking half (for clarity, this means that players cannot score from long-shots taken from inside their own half). 
14. Size 4 balls shall be used. Each team must provide a size 4 ball able to be used for their match. 
15. Substitutions can be made during any break of play and rolling subs are allowed. There is no limit to the number of times a player can be subbed on or off. Please use common sense and fair play with the number of substitutions to keep the game flowing and not waste time. 
16. In the case of a suspected concussion to a player, the referee must instruct a team to substitute that player off. The player must be assessed by Koru Games first aid staff before being permitted to play again in any match. 
17. Games will consist of 12 minute halves, with a 3 minute half-time break. Referees must take care to ensure that matches start on time and that time is well-kept. There will be no central horn for football, due to the separation of pitches and expected noise at the Park, so referees will be required to have a watch or phone with which to keep track of time.  
18. The SUFC General Manager and/or Koru Games Manager shall have the final decision making power on any matter relating to match issues, results, disciplinary issues, disputes, or any such other matter as they shall deem appropriate. This includes, but is not limited to: 
    1. Decisions on forfeits, match abandonments, score disputes and the appropriate score to be awarded in such events;
    2. Whether any player, coach, manager, or supporter is to be removed from the pitch or general area;
    3. Whether any person is to be removed from the tournament entirely; and
    4. Whether any player is to receive a suspension from any number of games. 
19. There are no formal yellow or red cards as per the IFAB rules. However, referees may warn players generally about behaviour/conduct and players may be asked to leave the pitch by the referee for repeated behaviour/conduct which has been warned about, or any violent or offensive behaviour which the referee deems to be of a high level. As this is a school tournament, it is generally expected that school staff should have a clear understanding of where these levels are. 
20. There is to be zero-tolerance from referees in relation to racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism or referee abuse.
21. All players are to wear shin pads covered by socks, matching tops and covered footwear when in the field of play. 
    1. Teams are to bring a set of bibs, which are a different colour to their playing uniform, to wear as an alternate strip in case two teams wear a similar colour.
22. For any match that requires a winner (for example, a final or semi-final), if the score is tied at the end of normal time then the match shall go immediately to a penalty shoot-out. There shall be no extra time. 
    1. In a penalty shoot-out, each team must choose any five players to take a penalty kick in the first round. It does not matter if a player was fielded or substituted at the end of the match.
    2. Each team shall take a penalty kick one at a time until all five players from each team have taken their penalty kick. The winner is the team that scored the most penalty-kicks out of five. 
    3. If the teams scored the same number of penalties at the end of that first round, the shoot-out then goes to “sudden death” with each team taking one further penalty-kick each until one team scores and the other misses. Every player on a team, including goalkeepers, must take a penalty-kick before starting at the beginning of their order again.

NB: An indirect free-kick means a free-kick where the free-kick taker cannot kick the ball directly into the goal. The ball must touch one teammate other than the free-kick taker before a goal can be scored. 

Boys and Girls tournaments will be played separately. Girls are permitted to play within a ‘Boys’ team if needed to make up numbers but they will compete as a ‘Boys’ team in the Boys competition. 

The Football tournament has separate boys and girls competitions. They will play round robin games in pools, the results of which will give seeding for a knockout round (penalty shoot outs will be used in knockout rounds if there is a draw at full time) resulting in overall placings. 

Competition Formats (All sports)

Each team is responsible for supplying a match ball (size 4).

We are committed to using this tournament as a development for youth officials.  Each team will need their own referee and whistle, we encourage you to use senior student referees from your School or a Highschool near you.  Otherwise a parent/caregiver/coach will be great. Upskilling can happen prior to the tournament for those that need it.

All teams/schools need to have first aid support onsite.

Habit Health will be at the Rolleston Hub to support competitors throughout the Games.

Rolleston Hub

• Bangkok Wok
• The Coffee Lady
• Tracey's Grub on Hubs