Football
Official Playing Rules & Technical Regulations
Laws of the Game
All football matches are played under the IFAB Laws of the Game (2024/25 edition) as adopted by FIFA and FUFA, with the following tournament-specific modifications:
Match Duration
- Group stage: 2 × 40 minutes (with a 10-minute half-time interval)
- Knockout stage: 2 × 45 minutes (with a 15-minute half-time interval)
- The referee adds time for stoppages at the end of each half at their discretion.
Substitutions
Each team is allowed 5 substitutions per match, which may be made in a maximum of 3 windows (half-time does not count as a window). A substituted player may not return to the field.
Offside
The offside rule applies in full. A player is in an offside position if any part of their head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. A player is not offside if level with the second-last opponent or level with the last two opponents.
Fouls & Free Kicks
- Direct free kick: Awarded for contact fouls (kicking, tripping, pushing, charging, striking, holding, handball).
- Indirect free kick: Awarded for non-contact offences (dangerous play, impeding, goalkeeper offences).
- Penalty kick: Awarded when a direct-free-kick offence is committed by a player in their own penalty area.
Handball
It is an offence when a player deliberately handles the ball, or when the hand/arm makes the body unnaturally bigger. A goal scored directly from the hand (even accidentally) by the scoring player or a teammate is disallowed.
Goal Kicks, Corners & Throw-Ins
- Goal kick: The ball is in play once kicked and clearly moves. Opponents must be outside the penalty area.
- Corner kick: Awarded when the ball crosses the goal line last touched by the defending team.
- Throw-in: Delivered with both feet on the ground, both hands on the ball, thrown from behind the head.
Ball Specifications
FIFA-approved Size 5 ball, circumference 68–70 cm, weight 410–450 g, pressure 0.6–1.1 atm. Balls are supplied by the OC for all official matches.
Regulation Time
| Phase | Duration | Half-Time |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | 2 × 45 minutes | 15 minutes |
| Knockout stage | 2 × 45 minutes | 15 minutes |
Added/Stoppage Time
The referee adds time at the end of each half for:
- Substitutions
- Assessment and removal of injured players
- Time-wasting
- Disciplinary sanctions (card administration)
- Drinks breaks (if authorised due to heat)
- VAR checks (if technology is available — note: VAR is not standard for the Mayor's Cup)
- Any other cause that results in lost playing time
Extra Time (Knockout Only)
If a knockout match is level at full time:
- Two periods of 15 minutes each are played with a 5-minute interval between them.
- Teams change ends at half-time of extra time but do not change ends between extra time and regulation time.
- Each team is granted one additional substitution during extra time (beyond the 5 used in regulation).
Penalty Kicks
If the match is still level after extra time:
- Each team takes 5 penalty kicks alternately.
- If still level after 5 kicks each, kicks continue in sudden-death format (each team takes one kick alternately until one team scores and the other misses).
- All eligible players on the team sheet may take kicks. Goalkeepers may be changed before the shootout.
- All players (except the kicker and goalkeepers) must remain in the centre circle during kicks.
Forfeit Score
A football match declared a forfeit is recorded as 3–0 in favour of the non-offending team.
Minimum Players
A match cannot start or continue if a team has fewer than 7 players. If a team is reduced below 7 due to injuries or red cards during the match, the match is abandoned and the result is determined by the DC (typically a forfeit).
Walkover Conditions
- Team fails to appear within 15 minutes of scheduled kick-off
- Team cannot present at least 7 eligible players
- Team refuses to continue playing for any reason
- Team is found to have fielded one or more ineligible players (post-match walkover)