Grassroots football rules by category: match length, substitutions, ball and pitch (2026/27)

This table uses the RFFM Competition Rules (Madrid, 2026/2027 season) as the main reference, since it is the federation with verifiable official documentation for every category, from prebenjamín to juvenil. Outside Madrid almost every figure changes; the exact detail by federation is in the following sections and in the format-by-format breakdown.

A prebenjamín match lasts 40 minutes and a juvenil match 90: match length rises 10 minutes per step except between benjamín and alevín, which share 50 minutes in 7-a-side (RFFM 2026/27). The same alevín plays 60 minutes in 8-a-side in the Valencian Community or in 11-a-side in Madrid: the figure depends on the format as much as on age.

In Catalonia a 7-a-side match is split into four equal periods instead of two halves, with substitutions only at the breaks. For infantil and cadete outside Madrid, and for the national under-19 league (the RFEF defers to the IFAB Laws of the Game), the figure sits in each federation’s rules.

The number of substitutions and when they can be made is where federations differ most. In 7 and 8-a-side, the RFFM (Madrid) and the FFCV (Valencia region) allow free or "flying" substitutions, with no limit on stoppages and re-entry for the substituted player. The FCF (Catalonia) is stricter: changes are only made during the breaks between the first three periods, plus two extra windows in the fourth period.

In 11-a-side, the RFFM applies the same cap — seven substituted players in four stoppages — to alevín, infantil, cadete and juvenil, but only in juvenil is re-entry barred. In the RFEF’s National Youth League, the only competition with a substitution rule verified at national level, the cap is different: a maximum of five substitutions from seven substitutes, in three stoppages, with no re-entry; the FFCV reproduces this same rule in its juvenil circular because it quotes the RFEF article word for word.

Ball size increases with category: size 3 at prebenjamín, size 4 up to alevín and size 5 from infantil according to the RFFM, although the FFCV and the FCF give the measurement in centimetres and grams (62-66 cm, 340-390 grams) instead of using the size label. The full breakdown of ball sizes by age is in the age categories guide.

Pitch and goal dimensions do not change with the category but with the format — 7, 8 or 11-a-side — which does vary by federation within the same category. The full comparison, with pitch and goal dimensions, is in 7 vs 8 vs 11-a-side football.

Reduced offside is the norm in 7 and 8-a-side before infantil: it does not exist in RFFM prebenjamín, and from benjamín onward it is enforced within a zone near the goal — 13 metres in the RFFM, 12 metres in the FFCV and the FCF.

The blue card is only documented in the FCF: in prebenjamí, benjamí and aleví 7-a-side, it lets a sent-off player be substituted — something a red card does not allow — with no limit on how many times it can be shown per match. The RFFM mentions "temporary sendings-off" in its 7-a-side rules without defining them, so it cannot be confirmed whether this is equivalent to Catalonia’s blue card.

Mandatory minimum playing time also varies: in the FFCV, every player listed on the match sheet must play (prebenjamín, benjamín and alevín 8-a-side); in the FCF, every player must play at least two of the four periods (prebenjamí, benjamí and aleví 7-a-side). The RFFM articles reviewed do not include this rule.

These figures change from one season to the next and from one federation to another: before planning the season, confirm the figure in your region’s current circular.

The licensing and federation context by region is in the guides for Madrid, the Valencia region and Catalonia, and in the full list of regional federations.