​World Cup-on-Sea is a Charity Event - PLEASE RESPECT THE REFEREES AND THE ORGANISERS. Referees may disqualify players who do not respect decisions, and violent play or abusive behaviour will not be tolerated. 

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1. Players

   1. All players must be 16 or over on the day of the event

   2. All players must wear shin pads and either stud, mould or blade football boots
       

2. Teams

   1. Each team is to be comprised of a minimum of seven and a maximum of 13 players

   2. Each outfield player within a team must wear a similar coloured shirt. In the event that two teams play each other wearing the same colour, one team must wear bibs which will be provided, and the team to wear the bib will be selected by the referee

   3. Each team will play a minimum of three matches and a maximum of seven matches (if they progress to the final or the 3rd place play-off)
       

3. Matches

   1. Each match will be 18 minutes long with no breaks

   2. There will be four games happening concurrently throughout the group stage, all they will kick off and end simultaneously. If a team is not ready to kick off at the scheduled time the game will start without them

   3. Teams will not swap ends during a match

   4. Goalkeepers can be changed when the ball is out of play and with the referee’s permission

   5. Unlimited substitutions can be made with the referee’s permission, therefore players must notify the referee before making a substitution

   6. Corners and goal kicks will be awarded

   7. If the ball goes out into touch, a team will be awarded a kick-in (as opposed to a throw-in)

   8. Corners and goal kicks will be awarded when the ball goes over the bi-line, depending on the last player deemed by the referee to have touched the ball

   9. Goalkeepers must not touch the ball outside the defined penalty area. If goalkeepers touch the ball outside the penalty area a penalty will be awarded to the opposition.  

   10. Outfield players are allowed to enter and touch the ball in the penalty area, including shooting

   11. Goalkeepers may only distribute the ball with an underarm roll, no kicking or overarm throws are permitted (unless the referee deems that the kick was the result of a save or clearance). If goalkeepers distribute the ball by kick or overarm throw a penalty will be awarded to the opposition.

   12. Once the goalkeeper has rolled the ball to an outfield player, that player must pass the ball to another outfield player before it can be passed back to the goalkeeper

   13. In the event of an outfield player passing the ball immediately back to the goalkeeper after receiving it from the goalkeeper, a back pass foul will be committed and a penalty will be awarded to the opposing team

   14. A foul may result in a direct or indirect free kick at the referee’s discretion

   15. There will be no offside rules

   16. There will be no head height rule

   17. Slide tackles are not allowed

   18. Players who receive either a straight red card or two yellows within a match will be sent off for the game in which the offence/s occurred, and not permitted to play for the remainder of the tournament

   19. The referee’s decision is final
        

4. Penalties

   1. A penalty will be awarded if

      1. A goalkeeper touches the ball outside of the penalty box

      2. A back pass foul is committed

      3. A foul against an attacker is committed in the penalty box

      4. A goalkeeper intentionally distributes the ball with their feet or with an overarm throw (underarm distribution only is permitted)

   2. When taking a penalty, the taker must place the ball on the penalty spot and is permitted a single step run-up
       

5. Group Stages

   1. There will be 32 teams split into eight groups of four teams

   2. Each team within a group will play each other once

   3. Teams will be awarded three points for a win, one for a draw and zero points for a loss in the group stages

   4. At the end of the group stages, the overall two best teams across all groups, to be determined by points, goal difference, and goals scored, will automatically go through to the quarter finals

   5. The remaining 16 teams will play each other in the second round to determine who goes through to the quarter finals
       

6. Knockout Stages

   1. The knockout stages will comprise of five rounds of matches: the second round, quarter-finals, semi-finals, third place play-off, and the final

   2. In the second round, there will be eight matches. The top team from each group will play against the second team from another group

   3. The winners of the second round matches will proceed to the quarter-finals, and so on, until the final

   4. Draws will be decided by a penalty shootout. Each team will get 3 penalties and the winner will go through. In the event of a tie after 3 penalties, sudden death will occur