page_title: Indoor soccer
section_title: Rules
hierarchical_section_title: Indoor soccer / Rules
context_page_description: Indoor soccer or arena soccer, is a game derived from association football adapted for play in a walled indoor arena. Indoor soccer, as it is most often known in the United States and Canada, was originally developed in these two countries as a way to play soccer during the winter months, when snow would make outdoor play difficult. In those countries, gymnasiums are adapted for indoor soccer play. In other countries the game is played in either indoor or outdoor arenas surrounded by walls, and is referred to by different names.
  Indoor soccer has different regulations from other versions of association football designed for indoor play, such as futsal and five-a-side football. Unlike futsal, which is played on wooden or ceramic surfaces, indoor soccer is played on synthetic turf. Indoor soccer courts are either delimited by walls or lines, and there are no player throw-ins.
  FIFA, the international body that oversees international association football competitions, does not sanction the synthetic turf version of indoor soccer, having developed its own code of indoor football.
context_section_description: Rules vary between governing bodies, but some of the nearly universal rule deviations from association football include:
  The Field.  Most indoor soccer arenas are rectangular or oblong in shape, with artificial turf floors. In many collegiate intramural leagues, the game may be played on basketball courts, in which case the floor is hardwood. Walls (often the hockey dasher boards and plexiglas used for that sport) bound the arena. Field sizes are generally smaller than soccer fields, and the goals are recessed into the walls. Goals are also smaller than in standard soccer and the penalty area is also smaller. The field is commonly 200' by 85' (approx 61m by 26m), the regulation size for a hockey rink in North America.
  Duration.  Most indoor soccer games are divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each, for a total of 60 minutes of play time. There are two 3-minute periods between the first and second, third and fourth quarters and one 15-minute half-time between the second and third quarters. If the game stays tied until the time runs out, there will be extra 15-minute, golden goal overtime periods.  However, amateur leagues generally consist of two 25-minute halves with no overtime for tied games.
  The team.  Most indoor soccer games are played with six active players per team including goalkeeper and either defense or forward also known as attackers and strikers. Substitute players are permitted. At high levels of play, it is common for players to move fluidly between positions instead of staying statically in one position.
  Play off of walls.  The ball may be struck in such a way that it contacts one or more walls without penalty or stoppage.  If the ball flies over the walls or contacts the ceiling, play is stopped and the team opposing the one that most recently touched the ball is awarded a free kick at the location where the ball left the arena or made contact with the ceiling.
  Contact rules.  Standard contact rules generally apply (i.e. ball contact must be made during a play on the ball, no charging with hands or elbows, no charging from behind, no holding the opponent etc.). Many leagues ban the use of the sliding tackle, though such techniques are less useful on artificial turf or wood than they are on a slick natural turf field.  If one attempts to slide on an indoor field, painful burns and/or cuts can occur.
  No offside.  Most leagues play without an offside rule. Some leagues enforce a "three-line violation", prohibiting players from playing the ball in the air from behind the front line of their own penalty area across all three lines into the opponent's penalty area. Violations often result in a free kick for the opposing team at the front line of the offending team's penalty area.
  Beyond these common threads, the sport is structured according to the idiosyncrasies of individual leagues.  Most of these rules are adopted from other arena sports like ice hockey.  Below is a listing of some of the more common ones:
  Substitution.  Most leagues allow unlimited substitutions while the ball is out of play. Some allow live substitution while the game is in progress, provided that one player leaves the arena before another steps on.  A minority of leagues require substitution in shifts.
  Cards.  In addition to the traditional yellow and red cards of association football, some leagues include a card of a third color (blue is a common color) or another form of warning before the issuance of a yellow card.  Often, leagues with a third card include a penalty box rule, and issuance of this third card requires the penalized player to sit in the box for a prescribed period of time (usually two minutes as in ice hockey) during which his or her team plays shorthanded.  In leagues using the traditional card system, it is common for the yellow card to carry with it a penalty box rule.
  Zones.  Because of short fields and walls surrounding the goal, a common tactic is to attempt to score at kickoff by shooting at the goal and charging at the goal with all five non-goalkeeper players who overwhelm the other team's defense and sco
caption: Diagram of a possible North American indoor soccer field
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