Develop through the game

Age-appropriate formats of soccer help your players maximize their enjoyment of the game. Amending the size of the pitch and number of players can help meet children’s needs and give them the best opportunity to improve.

Key points to consider:

• Age-appropriate formats of the game give children more opportunities to enjoy the game and improve their skills.
• Children should play different formats of the game at different ages.
• The field size and number of players should increase as children grow and develop.
• U.S. Soccer believes in a variety of different formats at different ages and stages of development. Playing varied formats of the game can help players develop their skills and game understanding.

Below are our recommendations for the maximum soccer format sizes for different ages. Note that smaller-sized formats can also be played at each of these age groups.

• U7 – U8: Maximum game format is 4v4
• U9 – U10: Maximum game format is 7v7
• U11 – U12: Maximum game format is 9v9
• U13+: Maximum game format is 11v11