The rules of 7-a-side football: a clear, up-to-date guide (with the real differences from 11-a-side)
7-a-side football isn’t 11-a-side shrunk in the wash. It has its own official rulebook from the Spanish FA (RFEF), with rules that catch plenty of people out: penalties are taken from 9 metres, offside only exists in the last 12 metres, and substitutions are unlimited — you can even come back on.
Here are the rules, verified against the official rulebook, plus what actually gets applied when you hire a pitch with your mates on a Thursday night in Cádiz, Jerez or anywhere else. Which isn’t quite the same thing.
Players and subs: 7 v 7 and free rotation
Each team plays with seven players, goalkeeper included. For a matchday squad the norm is to bring 10-12 per team so you can rotate without running yourselves into the ground, because on a 7-a-side pitch there’s a lot of running: fewer bodies covering proportionally the same stretch of grass.
Substitutions are the big difference from 11-a-side: unlimited, with re-entry. The RFEF rulebook allows as many changes as you like, and a player who’s been taken off can come back on as many times as needed. You swap at the halfway line, with play stopped and the referee notified.
In a kickabout that translates to constant rotation: whoever’s resting comes on every 5-10 minutes and nobody’s left rotting on the touchline. If your numbers are odd, the classic fixes are a rotating keeper-outfielder, or the short-handed team gets the next player to arrive.
The pitch, the goal and the ball
The official pitch measures between 50 and 65 metres long and between 30 and 45 wide. In practice, nearly every 7-a-side pitch in Spain is half an 11-a-side pitch turned sideways, so you’ll see very similar dimensions at any facility, from San Fernando to Bilbao.
The goal is 6 metres wide by 2 metres high. The penalty area extends 9 metres from the goal line, the penalty spot is 9 metres from the goal, and the arc on the edge of the area has a 6-metre radius from that spot. Corners are taken from a 0.6-metre quadrant.
The official ball has a circumference of 62 to 66 centimetres and weighs between 340 and 390 grams: in other words, a size 4. In youth football that’s enforced to the letter; in adult leagues and kickabouts almost everyone plays with a size 5 and nobody bats an eyelid — but now you know what the official one is.
How long a match lasts
The rulebook sets two equal halves with a break in between. In RFEF youth categories: 30 minutes per half at alevín level and 25 at benjamín and prebenjamín, always on a running clock. The referee adds on time lost and extends the half if a penalty needs to be taken.
In adult leagues the standard is two 25-minute halves, again without stopping the clock. And in a kickabout the rule is simpler still: the match lasts as long as the booking does. With an hour on the pitch, once you’ve arrived, warmed up for two minutes and picked teams, you get about 50-55 minutes of actual football.
Veteran’s tip: agree the finish before you start. “We stop at five to” avoids the classic “whoever’s winning when we stop, wins” argument, with three players from the next booking watching from the fence.
The rules that change compared with 11-a-side
Offside: only in the last 12 metres. The rulebook draws a line parallel to the goal line 12 metres out, and offside can only happen inside that zone. Anywhere else on the pitch, stand where you like. In most kickabouts and plenty of private leagues, offside simply isn’t played at all: confirm it before kick-off.
Throw-ins: under the official RFEF rulebook they’re taken with both hands, from behind and over the head, just like in 11-a-side, and you can’t score directly from a throw-in. That said, many private leagues and tournaments replace it with a kick-in from the touchline. There’s no single answer: your competition’s rulebook is what counts.
Penalties from 9 metres (it’s 11 in 11-a-side) and the wall at 6 metres for free kicks (instead of 9.15). The back-pass rule works just like in the full-size game: if a teammate deliberately plays it to you with their foot, or straight from a throw-in, the keeper can’t pick it up; if they do, it’s an indirect free kick. And one very 7-a-side detail: there are 2-minute sin-bins on top of the traditional straight red.
House rules: what gets agreed in a kickabout
When there’s no referee, the official rules go to the back of the wardrobe and the time-honoured ones come out. They’re not written in any rulebook, but everybody knows them. What matters isn’t which ones you pick — it’s saying them out loud before you start.
The most common ones on any pitch in Spain, from Chiclana to Zaragoza: no offside; fouls are called by whoever’s on the receiving end (and the call is respected); penalties only for the stonewall ones; the keeper throws the ball out but can’t score directly from it; kick-ins instead of throw-ins; and if the ball leaves the ground, whoever kicked it out goes and fetches it. In tight games, the legendary “next goal wins” when time’s nearly up.
One more that saves arguments: if the teams turn out lopsided, swap a player at half-time, no drama. The point of a kickabout isn’t to win 9-1, it’s for everyone to want to come back next week. And if what you’re short of isn’t rules but opponents, on Haypartido you can book your spot in open matches that are already set up, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before in case something comes up.
7-a-side vs 11-a-side: quick comparison
All the key differences at a glance, taken from the official RFEF 7-a-side rulebook and the 11-a-side laws of the game.
| Rule | 7-a-side | 11-a-side |
|---|---|---|
| Players per team | 7 (including the keeper) | 11 (including the keeper) |
| Pitch | 50-65 x 30-45 m | 90-120 x 45-90 m |
| Goal | 6 x 2 m | 7.32 x 2.44 m |
| Ball | Size 4 (62-66 cm, 340-390 g) | Size 5 (68-70 cm) |
| Penalty | From 9 metres | From 11 metres |
| Offside | Only in the last 12 m (or none at amateur level) | Anywhere in the opposition half |
| Substitutions | Unlimited, with re-entry | Limited (5 in federated football), no re-entry |
| Wall distance | 6 m | 9.15 m |
| Typical duration | 2 halves of 25-30 min, running clock | 2 halves of 45 min |
| Sin-bin | Yes, 2 minutes | Doesn’t exist |
Frequently asked questions
Seven per team, goalkeeper included. For a comfortable match with mates the ideal is 14 players in total, and if you bring 2-3 extra per team you can rotate and nobody ends up shattered.
Under the official RFEF rulebook, yes, but only in the zone covering the last 12 metres in front of each goal. In kickabouts and many amateur leagues it’s simply not played at all. Agree it before you start.
In federated football, two equal halves on a running clock: 30 minutes per half at alevín level and 25 at benjamín under RFEF rules; in adult leagues the norm is two halves of 25. In a kickabout, however long the pitch booking lasts.
From 9 metres from the goal line, versus 11 in 11-a-side. The keeper has to stay on their line until the ball is struck.
The official RFEF rulebook says with both hands, from behind and over the head, just like 11-a-side. But many private leagues and almost every kickabout use kick-ins from the touchline instead. Your competition’s rules are what count.
The official one is a size 4: 62 to 66 cm in circumference and 340-390 grams. That’s what’s used in youth categories; adult matches are almost always played with a size 5.
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