2023 IFC Fall Invitational Tournament

Tournament Rules

The rules of this tournament shall be in accordance with USYSA and MSA except as modified and approved herein.

PRE-GAME PROCEDURE

Tournament Officials shall examine and verify all credentials at initial registration. In no event will a player be allowed to participate who has not been certified by the Tournament Credentials Committee. At the field, prior to each game, the manager/coach will present to the Referee:

a. A copy of an approved official roster with player numbers listed.

LAWS OF THE GAME

All games will be in accordance with the FIFA Laws of the Game, except as modified below.

Number of Players

U9 and U10 will play 7v7

U11 and U12 will play 9v9

U13 and Older will play 11v11

A maximum of three (3) guest players U9-U18 may be added to the roster.

Player passes, certified roster and medical release forms must be with the team at all times.

Players are allowed to play and be rostered on more than one team (maximum of 2 teams) but NOT more than one team playing in the same division.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Substitutions shall be unlimited. Substitutions may be made only upon proper notification of the center referee through the linesman, with the referee’s permission, on any dead ball situations.

UNIFORM

Teams will wear uniforms of matching design and color with numbers affixed to the back of the uniform jersey. No two players may have identical uniform numbers while both playing on the field at the same time. Home Team (listed first In schedule) will wear white or light colored Uniform. The Away team (listed second in schedule) will wear dark colored Jersey.

In the event of similar team colors, the designated home team will be required to change to a color accepted by the referee (Home team is the first team listed for a game)
The uniform of the goalkeeper must be distinctly different in color from the basic uniform colors of both competing team and referee.

In accordance with the Laws of the Game, the referee shall be responsible to ensure that no player wears anything that may cause injury to himself or to another player. Therefore, metal hair clips, earrings, watches, bracelets, or any other items deemed dangerous by the referee are prohibited.

REFEREES

Our tournament goal is to have a three-referee system at each game, but this is not guaranteed.

DURATION OF ALL GAMES

DUE TO THE EXTREME T EMPERATURES WE WILL USE THE FOLLOWING:

U9 -12: 2 x 25 minute Halves

U13 and Older 2 x 30 minute halves

Referees will provide 2 water breaks each half. Water breaks will be approximately 2-minutes and the game clock will continue to run.

CONTROL OF SIDELINE CONDUCT Coach/Manager is responsible for spectator behavior.

DISCIPLINE

Protests:

NO PROTESTS ARE ALLOWED, THE REFEREE DECISION IS FINAL.

A player or manager/coach ejected will have an automatic one (1) game suspension (minimum)

regardless of the cause of the ejection.

Depending on the severity of the unacceptable conduct, the Discipline Committee may recommend the suspension for up to the duration of the tournament with further disciplinary action by the appropriate state or national associations. The Discipline Committee recommendations must be available to the affected parties no later than or prior to their next scheduled game.

DETERMINATION OF WINNERS

In-group play there will be no overtime periods. Standings will be determined as follows:

Game Points:

3 points for a win

1 points for a tie

0 points for a loss

In semi-final and final rounds:

If teams remain tied at the conclusion of semifinals and finals, teams will proceed directly to Penalty Kicks in accordance with FIFA “Taking of Kicks from the Penalty Mark.”

FORFEITS:

Forfeited round-robin games:

The non-forfeiting team shall be accorded:

a. 3 points for the win

4 goals for, 0 goals against

The forfeiting team shall be accorded:

0 points for the loss
0 goals for, 4 goals against

A team will be allowed a 5-minute grace period from the scheduled game time before awarding the game to the opposing team. (A minimum of seven (7) players is required for a team to begin play.) A forfeit will be scored 4-0. If a Team forfeits due to a faulty schedule provided by the tournament the Tournament Director has the right to reschedule the game at a time that is acceptable to both coaches. The forfeit will be nullified and the game will be scored as if it had been played at the regular time. A team that leaves the field of play prior to the completion of the game shall automatically forfeit that game to the opposing team. (After review of the circumstances, the Tournament Director will designate the score.)

PROTESTS

NO PROTEST ALLOWED! The decision of the referee and/or the Tournament Director is final.

TOURNAMENT BRACKET RULES

Four Team Bracket:
- Each team plays in a round robin format.

Five Team Bracket:

? Each team will play 2 games during pool play. The teams will be seeded based on points. The top seed will move directly to the final match. The #2 and #3 seeded teams will play a semifinal. The #4 and #5 teams will play a consolation game.

Six Team Bracket: Two bracket of three teams
- All teams will play in bracket games. The top two teams of bracket A and bracket B will play in a Championship match (A1 v B1). (A2 v B2) and (A3 v B3) will play consolation matches.

Seven Team Bracket: One bracket of seven teams
- All teams will play two bracket games on Saturday. The top Team goes to Final with the highest points total. The second and Third team with points play in a Semi-final match. The 4^th and 5^th team in points play in Consolation. The 6^th and 7ths Team will play in Consolation.

Nine Team Bracket
- 3 Game Guarantee 2 Round Robin games. The top 4 teams play in semis to be in the Gold Finals. 5th place automatically advances to the “Silver" final, while 6th place plays 7th place in a semi-final to advance to the Silver.

TIEBREAKERS

In the event teams are tied on the basis of points, the following tiebreakers will be considered in order until the tie is broken:

Winner of head-to-head competition. (This criteria is not used if more than two teams are tied)
Team with greatest net goal difference (NGD), which is computed as ‘goals for’ minus ‘goals against’ with a maximum of 4 NGD in each game.
Team with least goals against (there is NO limit on the number of goals that will be counted to determine this tiebreaker).
Team with the most goals (maximum of 4 goals in each game).
Kicks from penalty spot per FIFA Law.
Coin toss

More than Two Teams Tied

If more than two (2) teams are tied, the sequence will be followed until a team is eliminated. The remaining teams will then restart the sequence at 10-b above, until the tie is broken.

If three teams are still tied after computing the listed tiebreakers and FIFA Kicks have to be taken, there will be a draw by the Tournament Director. The first team drawn will receive the bye; the next team drawn will be the home team against the remaining team in the first contest of FIFA Kicks. The winner of the first contest will then compete against the bye team in FIFA Kicks to determine the winner. The bye team will be the home team.

If four teams are still tied after computing the listed tiebreakers and FIFA Kicks have to be taken, there will be a draw conducted by the Tournament Director. The first team drawn (home team) will compete against the 2nd team drawn (away team) in the first contest of FIFA kicks. The third team drawn (home team) will compete against the fourth team (away team) in the second contest. The winners of these two contests will then compete to determine the winner. The winner of first/second draw will be the home team.

EXTERNAL CONDITIONS, WEATHER, ETC.

In the event of inclement weather, the Tournament Director has the authority to restructure or cancel the tournament. If the tournament must be cancelled prior to the kickoff of each team’s first round matches, then refunds will be given.

GENERAL

Player passes, certified roster and medical release forms must be with the team at all times.
Games will be played at NWRAA Athletic Complex
The Tournament Director interpretation of the foregoing rules and regulations shall be final.
The Tournament Director reserves the right to decide all Tournament matters.
The Tournament Director reserves the right to make final decisions regarding any issues not covered by these rules. The decision of the Tournament Director will be final.