Sporting & Disciplinary Regulations

These Regulations govern each tournament (a Tournament) organized as part of the World Sevens Football Series (a global professional women’s football 7 v 7 competition) (the Series), featuring current professional female football players who are subject to the rules and regulations of FIFA and their respective national associations.

The Series and each Tournament is hosted, organized and operated by J4S7, LLC (the Tournament Organizer).

References to Match or Matches shall mean matches which are played during a Tournament.

By participating in a Tournament, all Teams (meaning each of the football clubs participating in a particular Tournament) and Participants (meaning Players (as defined at Regulation 2.1 below), team manager, team coach, team officials and any other relevant support personnel of a Team who are participating and/or involved in that Tournament) agree to abide by these Regulations and to have submitted to the authority of the Tournament Organizer to enforce these Regulations.

The overriding purpose of these Regulations is to protect and maintain the integrity and competitive balance of the Tournament, and to set out the minimum standards to be expected of all Participants.

These Regulations shall apply to, and be binding upon, all Participants. By participating in the Tournament, all Participants expressly and unconditionally agree to comply with, and be bound by, these Regulations (as amended by the Tournament Organizer from time to time) and any other rules, policies or codes of conduct introduced, and brought to his or her attention, by the Tournament Organizer.

Only professional female football players registered in accordance with the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players and the regulations of the participating Team’s domestic national association who are registered for Domestic First Team Squad of a Team (Players) are eligible to participate in any Tournament.

A Team’s Domestic First Team Squad shall mean the squad list which has been submitted to the Team’s domestic national association in respect of the current (or, in the event the relevant domestic season has concluded, the immediately preceding) domestic football season for that Team.

Teams must provide proof of valid registration for Players with their Team’s domestic national association at the time of registering their Traveling Squads (as defined in Regulation 2.5 below).

Any ineligible player who is found to have participated in a Match may be the subject of disciplinary proceedings and/or sanctions against the Team and/or relevant individual player, which may include expulsion from the relevant Tournament, amendment of result or other sanctions the Tournament Disciplinary Committee and/or Tournament Organizer deems appropriate in its sole discretion in accordance with these Regulations.

Teams are permitted to register up to a maximum of twenty-five (25) eligible Players for each Tournament it is participating in (the Traveling Squad). Details of the Traveling Squad must be provided to the Tournament Organizer in writing no less than 14 days prior to the scheduled start date of the Tournament. Teams shall also comply with earlier deadlines in respect of immigration and other compliance matters, if required by applicable laws and/or regulations. In the event of illness or injury of a Player, a Team may substitute eligible Players within the Traveling Squad on written notice to the Tournament Organizer, provided that no more than twenty-five (25) eligible Players are named in the Traveling Squad at any time.

Teams are permitted to register up to a maximum of fourteen (14) eligible Players from the Traveling Squad for each Match (the Playing Squad). Details of the Playing Squad must be provided to the Tournament Organizer no later than 60 minutes prior to the start of the Match.

Concurrently with Player registration, Teams shall register performance staff members who they desire to have sit on the Team bench during Matches. The number of performance staff members allowed on the Team bench will be strictly in accordance with the guidelines of the Tournament venue.

To ensure the integrity of any particular Tournament, no Team (or its Participants) may, either directly or indirectly: i) hold or deal in the securities or shares of any other Team; and/or ii) be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other Team.

All Teams shall respond within a reasonable timeframe to any reasonable request by the Tournament Organizer for information to verify compliance with Regulation 2.8. Failure to cooperate with such reasonable requests of the Tournament Organizer shall be deemed a breach of these Regulations and may result in disciplinary action in accordance with these Regulations.

If any Team is not admitted to, is excluded from or withdraws from the Tournament once the Tournament has started, the Tournament Disciplinary Committee may impose additional disciplinary measures, taking into account, in particular, the timing of a possible withdrawal, the severity of any breach leading to non-admission or exclusion, possible mitigating factors as well as any other relevant circumstances. Disciplinary sanctions may include the expulsion of the Team concerned from subsequent Tournaments, the Series and/or the replacement of the Team in question by another club.

The following pitch dimensions shall be used by the Tournament Organizer:

1. Length: 45m to 70m.
2. Width: 30m to 50m.
3. Penalty Area: 12m to 14m from the goal line, extending 20m to 25m wide (depending on the width of the pitch).
4. Penalty Mark: 7m to 9m.

The dimensions of the goal shall be 2m (height) × 5.5m (width) or such other dimensions appropriate for 7-a-side football as the Tournament Organizer shall determine in its sole discretion.

The playing surface shall be grass, whenever possible.

Throw-ins shall be taken by hand.

There shall be no offsides.

Matches shall have a duration of thirty (30) minutes, which shall be separated into two fifteen (15) minute halves. Between halves, there shall be a five (5) minute rest period. The Teams will determine which end they are shooting towards with the flip of a coin carried out by the Match Referee and Teams alternate ends during the five (5) minute rest period.

The clock shall not be stopped except in the following circumstances: (i) to determine the end of each half and the end of the Match, and (ii) if a goal is scored in the last five (5) minutes of regular time, the clock will be stopped and shall restart once play resumes upon kick off. The clock may be stopped in case of injury if medical assistance enters the pitch. If the player refuses medical assistance, to avoid the loss of time, the Match Referee shall require their immediate incorporation into the game or that they be treated off the field.

Each Match shall finish with a winner and there shall be no draws. In the event that, at the conclusion of regular time, the two Teams are tied on the number of goals scored, the Match will progress to a final five (5) minutes of additional time which is played at the conclusion of regular time (Added Time). Added Time shall commence no later than five (5) minutes after the conclusion of regular time, during which period Teams shall change ends and Players are permitted a water break. Teams shall start Added Time with no more than five (5) players on the field. No substitutions shall be allowed during Added Time. The Team that scores the next goal will win the Match. If no goals are scored within the five (5) minutes of Added Time, the winner of the Match shall be determined using ‘sudden death’ penalties. The first Team to lead the scores after a round of one (1) sudden death penalty each per Team will win the Match. Only those Players on the pitch during Added Time shall be allowed to take the penalty kicks. If, after each Player from the two Teams has taken a penalty kick, the two Teams are tied on the number of goals scored, the same Players in the same order will continue to take penalty kicks until a winner is determined.

Subject to Regulation 3.8 above, a maximum of seven (7) players from the Playing Squad are permitted on the field for a Team at any given time, which shall include a goalkeeper. In the event that a Team has more than seven (7) players on the field at any time, the Match Referee may impose a sanction of a one goal reduction to that Team’s score or more depending on the severity of the breach.

Except during Added Time as set forth in Regulation 3.8, substitutions shall follow rolling substitution rules, with no limit to the number of substitutions per Team per Match.