Rules | Hucclecote YFC Tournament 2026

Hucclecote 2026 Tournament

The Hucclecote Youth FC tournament will be run in full compliance with the FA Respect codes of conducts as follows:

Code of Conducts for coaches, team managers and club officials, on and off the field, I will:

Show respect to others involved in the game including match officials, opposition players, coaches, managers, officials and spectators.
Adhere to the laws and spirit of the game.
Promote Fair Play and high standards of behaviour.
Always respect the match official’s decision.
Never enter the field of play without the referee’s permission.
Never engage in public criticism of the match officials.
Never engage in, or tolerate, offensive, insulting or abusive language or behaviour.

Code of Conducts for spectators and parents/carers, I will:

Remember that children play for FUN.
Applaud effort and good play as well as success.
Always respect the match officials’ decisions.
Remain outside the field of play and within the Designated Spectators’ Area (where provided).
Let the coach do their job and not confuse the players by telling them what to do.
Encourage the players to respect the opposition, referee and match officials.
Avoid criticising a player for making a mistake – mistakes are part of learning.
Never engage in, or tolerate, offensive, insulting, or abusive language or behaviour.

Code of Conduct for youth players, when playing football, I will:

Always play to the best of my ability.
Play fairly – I won’t cheat, complain or waste time.
Respect my team-mates, the other team, the referee or my coach/manager.
Play by the rules, as directed by the referee.
Shake hands with the other team and referee at the end of the game.
Listen and respond to what my coach/team manager tells me.
Talk to someone I trust or the club welfare officer if I’m unhappy about anything at my club.

Rules - U6’s Mixed, U7’s Mixed, U8’s Mixed, Festival of Football: (PITCHES: 1, 2, 3 & 4)

Player Qualification: Age’s will be as for season 2025/26 and all participants must abide by these rules irrespective of any other league rulings. In the event of a dispute the team manager must be able to prove the players age, if requested by the tournament committee.

‘U6’s’ Category – players can only take part if they have obtained the age of 6 by the day of the festival.
As per FA guidelines no boy or girl who is registered with an academy or school of excellence will be permitted to play in this tournament.
All competing clubs must be affiliated to a county or national FA.
Each team will consist of 5 players and maximum of 3 subs. In all age’s substitutes can be used on a “rolling sub” basis.
A player can only play for one team.
Match duration - The duration of all matches will be 10 minutes 1-way.
Normal rules of football apply with some points to note:

There will be no offside
Passes back to a goalkeeper cannot be picked up.
Players must retreat to the halfway line from a goal kick, but do not have to when the goalkeeper plays from the hand – goalkeepers are allowed to kick from the hand.
Goalkeepers must play the ball from the floor for a goal kick.
No deliberate heading of the ball is allowed.
Kick-ins & Dribble-ins will be used – No throw-ins. A goal cannot be scored directly from a kick-in, the ball must touch any other player or be at least the second touch that the player takes when dribbling in.
All free kicks are direct, except for a deliberate header, where an indirect freekick will be taken. Where a player of the defending team deliberately heads the ball in their own penalty area, the indirect free kick is taken from the nearest sideline of the penalty area where the offence took place.

In the event of a colour clash the second named team will change
Any player dismissed from the field of play for any reason apart from; violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour, shall be automatically suspended for the next match of the tournament - whether 2 yellow cards or a straight red.
Any player dismissed from the field of play for violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour shall be excluded from the rest of the tournament.
Extraordinary incidents shall be reported to the county FA and will be subject to the disciplinary processes of the FA.
Any matter arising that is not covered by these rules shall be dealt with by the tournament committee whose decision will be final.
U6’s, U7’s & U8’s will be classed as non-competitive games, and all players in these age groups will receive a medal.

Rules - U9’s Mixed, U10’s Mixed, U11’s Mixed, U12’s Mixed: (PITCHES: 5, 6, 7 & 8)

As per FA guidelines no boy or girl who is registered with an academy or school of excellence will be permitted to play in this tournament.
All competing clubs must be affiliated to a county or national FA.
Each team will consist of 7 players and a maximum of 3 subs. In all age’s substitutes can be used on a “rolling sub” basis.
A player can only play for one team.
Match duration:
- The duration of all group matches will be 10 minutes one way.
- The duration of all knockout matches will be 7 minutes each way.

In the group matches:
3 points will be awarded for a win.
1 point will be awarded for a draw.
If the teams are level on points at the end of the group matches, then positions will be decided by the following order:

Goal difference.
Goals scored.
Group match result between the two teams.
The taking of 3 penalties per team then sudden death until a winner is achieved.

Progression from the group stages will be:
First and second placed teams from each group will progress to the quarterfinal stage of the knockout CUP competition.
Third and fourth placed teams from each group will progress to the quarterfinal stage of the knockout PLATE competition.
If teams are level at the end of normal time in the knockout matches, the winner will be decided by the taking of 3 penalties per team and then sudden death until a winner is achieved.
Normal rules of football apply with some points to note:

There will be no offside.
Goalkeepers must play the ball from the floor for a goal kick.
Passes back to a goalkeeper cannot be picked up.
U9’s & U10’s: Players must retreat to the halfway line from a goal kick, but do not have to when the goalkeeper plays from the hand – U9’s & U10’s goalkeepers are allowed to kick from the hand.
U11’s & U12’s: Players do not have to retreat to the halfway line from a goal kick or when the goalkeeper plays from the hand.
– U11’s & U12’s goalkeepers may not kick from the hand or drop kick the ball they must roll, throw or play the ball from the ground.
All free kicks are direct, (*except for a deliberate header in U9’s & U10’s age groups, where an indirect freekick will be taken. Where a player of the defending team deliberately heads the ball in their own penalty area, the indirect free kick is taken from the nearest sideline of the penalty area where the offence took place.)
U9’s & U10’s - No deliberate heading of the ball is allowed.
U9’s & U10’s - Kick-ins & Dribble-ins will be used – No throw-ins. A goal cannot be scored directly from a kick-in, the ball must touch any other player or be at least the second touch that the player takes when dribbling in.
U11’s & U12’s - Heading of the ball is permitted.
U11’s & U12’s - Throw-ins will be used.

In the event of a colour clash, the second named team will change.
Any player dismissed from the field of play for any reason apart from; violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour, shall be automatically suspended for the next match of the tournament. This includes 2 yellow cards or a straight red.
Any player dismissed from the field of play for violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour shall be excluded from the rest of the tournament.
Extraordinary incidents shall be reported to the county FA and will be subject to the disciplinary processes of the FA.
Any matter arising that is not covered by these rules shall be dealt with by the tournament committee whose decision will be final.
No personal BBQ’s will be allowed on the site.
No dogs are allowed on the site.
All protests must be made to the event team in the control tent within 5 minutes of the end of the game.
Any points not covered by the rules shall be referred to the Tournament Committee, whose decision will be final.

Hucclecote Youth FC accepts no liability for articles lost or damaged both during and on grounds/buildings used during our tournament.