Rules & Regulations
GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS - SUMMER LEAGUE - 20245vs5- NOTE BELOW NOT VALID WILL BE UPDATED NEXT SEASON
NICOSIA & LARNACA
- PARTICIPATING TEAMS
- TEAM APPLICATION PROCESS
- ALLOWED TIME AND DAYS OF GAMES
- COST PER TEAMS
- LEAGUE PROGRAM
- LEAGUE STRUCTURE
- POINTS SYSTEM
- EQUAL POINTS
- CUP
- KNOCK-OUTGAMES
- TEAM ROSTERS
- PLAYER REGISTRATIONS
- TRANSFERS & REPLACEMENTS
- PLAYER RESTRICTIONS
- GAME CANCELLATION / CHANGE
- MINIMUM NUMBER OF PLAYERS REQUIRED
- TEAM UNIFORMITY & EQUIPMENT
- TROPHIES & MEDALS
- PRIZES & DISCOUNTS
- ID CARDS AND COMPLAINTS
- PENALTIES
- KICK-OFF TIME OF GAMES
- RULES OF PLAY 2024
Only amateur football players over 17 can participate in this league. Its duration will be roughly 6 months depending on the number of registered teams. All teams that are participating must acknowledge that the purpose of the league is for the love of the sport and to promote fair play and respect amongst all teams.
1. PARTICIPATING TEAMS: The maximum amount of teams allowed to register will be:
a. NICOSIA: 36
b. LARNACA: 16
and will be accepted on the order they register. The final application date is 30th September 2024 and the league will begin 8th of October 2024.
2. TEAM APPLICATION PROCESS: Each team must complete and submit a ‘Team Application’ where they will register their names, kit colors, contact information of the manager and the players. Each team must also send their logos which will be used by the league on its official Facebook page. All registered players must also complete individual player applications which must include players names, email, date of birth and a recent player of the photo. All applications will be submitted online. After a team has registered a member of the league administration will reach out to the team for further details.
Team registration: https://kickoffcy.com/team-registration-form/
3. ALLOWED TIME AND DAYS OF GAMES:
a. All games will be played between Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (Nicosia) and Tuesday & Wednesday (Larnaca) between 7:00-9:30pm.
b. The exact day and time of each game will be dependent on the number of teams that register.
c. The final League and CUP schedule will be announced before the league begins.
4. COST PER TEAMS:
A. The cost of participation in the championship (Nicosia & Larnaca) amounts to 850 euros + VAT (161.5 euros) = 1.1011.5 euros. The payment of this amount must be made by the final date of submission of the application (September 30th). This amount includes the following:
– The cost of referees.
– The cost of the First Aider to provide first aid in case of injuries
– The cost for live broadcasting of selected matches to be shown on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE
– Two balls in each team with which the games must be played
– Monetary contribution to Nicosia Red Cross
– Free burgers & steaks at the AWARDS PARTY
B. The cost of the pitches for the matches per team (half the pitch rental value) amounts to: 5vs5 – €30 per game.
Note: All pitch reservations will be made by the organizing authority. The cost of the league and cup matches will be jointly paid by both teams. The Cup final will be paid by the organizing authority.
The cost of the stadiums must be pre-paid (eg with the participation of 36 Nicosia teams & 16 Larnaca teams) and amounts to (with VAT):
NICOSIA – €510 (€30 x 17 games per team [16 league games + 1 cup game per team])
LARNACA – €450 (€30 x 15 matches per team) [14 league matches + 1 cup match per team])
Note: the number of matches may vary depending on the number of participating teams. It will also include the first round of the Cup.
In case a team qualifies to the next round of the cup the cost of renting the pitch is not included in the above package and will be paid in half (€30 per team) at the pitch before the start of the cup match.
Total cost (with VAT):
NICOSIA
Participation = € 1,011.5
Rental of the field = € 510
Total = €1,521.5
LARNACA
Participation = € 1,011.5
Rental of the field = € 450
Total = €1,461.50
Payment in installments:
The payment of this amount must be made by the final date of submission of the application or in 6 installments of:
253.5 euros (Nicosia)
243.58 euros (Larnaca) (the price includes the rental of the pitches).
Cup Cost: It will depend on the course of each team
Discount:
If a team pre-pays the full amount, they will receive a 5% discount on the Participation fee:
Registration fee – € 850.00
Discount (5%) – € 42.50
Registration fee after discount – € 807.50
VAT – € 153.43
Registration fee with VAT – € 960.93
Pitches payment with VAT (Nicosia) – € 510.00
Pitches payment with VAT (Larnaca – € 450.00
Total Payment (Nicosia) – € 1,470.93
Total Payment (Larnaca) – € 1,410.93
All payments will be made to below bank account:
Bank of Cyprus
IBAN: CY10-0020-0195-0000-3570-4160-8590
PITCHES:
• NICOSIA – CENTRAL PARK (ENGLISH SCHOOL)
• LARNACA – DELLE ALPI
5. LEAGUE PROGRAM:
a. All games will begin 7th of October and will be played
Nicosia: Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between 7:00 – 9:30pm
Larnaca: Tuesday or Wednesday between 7:00 – 9:30pm
b. The league will end at the end of beginning of April 2025.
c. The weekly schedule of the entire league will be created by the league administration and will be shared with all team managers at the beginning of the league.
d. The league program will also be shared weekly on the league’s Facebook page and can also be seen on the league app Leverade. The league will not inform each team separately of their schedule and it is each team’s responsibility to follow it (unless there is an exceptional case in which case the teams involved will be notified).
Notes: In the event of bad weather (eg. Rain), all teams MUST go to the pitches and it will be up to the referee to decide whether the game will be played or not. If the referee says the game is not playable, the league administration will set a new time and date.
6. LEAGUE STRUCTURE:
NICOSIA (assuming 36 registered team)
A Phase: The league will be split into 3 groups of 12 teams through a random draw. Each team will play all teams in their groups once (11 games for each team).
B Phase (Playoffs): Teams will be divided into 6 categories (according to their strength) of 6 teams per category. Teams will be divided according to their positions from Phase A.
Category A – Teams that finished 1st, 2nd in their groups
Category B – Teams that finished 3rd & 4th in their groups
Category C – Teams that finished 5th & 6th in their groups
Category D – Teams that finished 7th & 8th in their groups
Category E – Teams that finished 9th & 10th in their groups
Category F – Teams that finished 11th & 12th in their groups
All 6 teams in each category will play each other once (total of 5 games per team) and the Champion of each category will be the team with the most points at the end of Phase B.
Notes: All teams will enter B Phase with 0 points and 0 goals.
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LARNACA (assuming 16 registered team)
A Phase: The league will be split into 2 groups of 8 teams through a random draw. Each team will play all teams in their groups once (11 games for each team).
B Phase (Playoffs): Teams will be divided into 2 categories (according to their strength) of 8 teams per category. Teams will be divided according to their positions from Phase A.
Category A – Teams that finished 1st – 8th in their groups
Category B – Teams that finished 9th – 16th in their groups
All 8 teams in each category will play each other once (total of 7 games per team) and the Champion of each category will be the team with the most points at the end of Phase B.
Notes: All teams will enter B Phase with 0 points and 0 goals.
At the end of the Season there will also be a Champions League where the champions of each category will play 2 games against the Champions of Nicosia.
7. POINTS SYSTEM:
The point system is that of the regular 11vs11 rules which are 3-1-0. 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 for a loss.
8. EQUAL POINTS:
In the case where 2 teams share the same points at the end of the season, the final team position will be calculated by (in this order):
1. The winner between the game the 2 teams played
2. Higher goal difference (goals scored – goals conceded)
3. Best attack (most goals scored)
4. Random Draw
9. CUP:
All teams of the league will partake in the CUP. A random live draw will decide the CUP schedule and all CUP games will be single round knock-out games. The CUP schedule will be announced at the beginning of the League.
10. KNOCK-OUT GAMES:
In all knock-out games when there is a tie (both teams have the same score as the end of regular time), there will be extra time that will be two 5 minutes halves with a 1 minute break between the halves. If the game is still tied, there will be penalties which will be taken from the 6 meter mark (the top of the goalies area). Each team will be allowed 3 penalties each and in the case of a tie after the 3 penalties, each team will continue to take 1 penalty each at a time until there is a winner. A coin toss will decide which team will take penalties first.
11. TEAM ROSTERS:
Each team can register 6 – 15 players all over the age of 17. Teams can continue to register players whenever they wish until their roster is completed (at 15 players). All new players must be registered 24 hours before each game. At each game teams must complete and submit to the referee their team rosters on the ‘Game Sheet’ which will be given to all managers at the beginning of the season.
a. Note: All team rosters and all new registrations will be posted on the leagues app Leverade so as they are visible to all participating teams.
BEFORE GAME CHECK: Before each game, all players must present their IDs to the referee in order to prove their identity but also to make sure they are registered to the team. Without ID’s players can’t play.
Download and print Game sheet HERE: https://kickoffcy.com/forms/
12. PLAYER REGISTRATIONS:
In order to be eligible to player players must be registered 24 hours before their teams game. They must complete the ‘Player Registration Forms’ where they will include name, surname, email, ID number and also agree that they are playing under their own risk and any injury that may come as a result of competing in the league will be their own responsibility. The league takes no responsibility or blame in the case of an injury of a player while playing in a league game.
Player registration link: https://kickoffcy.com/player-registration-form/
13. TRANSFERS & REPLACEMENTS:
Transfer Period: Teams can register / replace 2 more players (whether they have completed their 15 player rosters or not) at the end of Phase A. the new players can compete in Phase B (note during Phase A teams can register players until their roster is completed at 15 players).
14. PLAYER RESTRICTIONS: Players who compete or were competing in the active year in any professional teams:
a. from Categories 1 to 4 in the Cypriot Football League.
b. the STOK league.
c. Category 1 of the Cypriot Futsal League.
d. Categories A & B of the CYPRUS official U-19 leagues are restricted from participating in the league. Player in the AGROTIKO league (Farmers League) are eligible to play.
e. The league administration will do a thorough check of all players registered before the league begins and also throughout the season.
15. GAME CANCELLATION / CHANGE: Due to the large number of teams and games, each team is permitted to make 1 change of their scheduled HOME game throughout the entire season (Phase A & B) and this can only be the time of the game. It must be played on the same day. For example if a team is scheduled to play Monday 7-8pm at HOME, they can ONLY request a change of the time. So they can either play 7:30-8:30pm or 8-9pm.
If a team requests to make a change, they must notify the league administration at least 4 days before the scheduled game. The league administration will decide whether or not the change is accepted and if it is will re-schedule the game. If a team is to cancel a game on the same day as it is scheduled, then this will result in an automatic win for the opposing team 3-0.
Pitch rental Coupon:
If a team notifies the League 72 hours before its game time that it is cancelling its upcoming game, then both teams will receive a 30 euro pitch rental fee coupon for Central Park pitches.
If a team cancels in less than 72 hours of it scheduled game, then only their opposition will received the coupon.
For example, if a game is scheduled for Thursday and the team canceled by Monday, then both teams will receive a coupon. If it cancels on Tuesday or any day after, only their opponents will receive the coupon.
Regardless of the above, any team that cancels at any time will be an automatic loss 3-0 for the team that is cancelling.
16. MINIMUM NUMBER OF PLAYERS REQUIRED: If a team at the beginning of a game only has 4 players instead of 5, the game MUST commence and will be forced to play with only 4 players. If a team is only left with 3 players, then the game is terminated. If the team that only has 3 remaining players is losing, the score remains as is. If the team is winning, the game will end 3-0 against them. If a team is only 3 players at the start of the game, then that will result in an automatic win for the opposing team 3-0.
17. TEAM UNIFORMITY & EQUIPMENT: All teams must wear the same kit color they registered with. All players must wear the correct football shoes type TURF (as you can see the images below) as well as shin-guards. Players are not permitted to wear football shoes with metal or big studs (6 stud shoes for grass), jewellery, watches or anything else the referee may deem dangerous.
ORDER KITS
All teams can pre-order team kits at the below prices. All below include TEAM LOGO and NUMBER. All prices include VAT
GIVOVA (Capo revolution) €19.00 – Givova uniforms (jerseys, shorts, socks) with badge and number prints.
GIVOVA (New uniforms) €25.00 – stripped or even with patterns
ELDERA (ELDERA Dry fit) €24.00 – jerseys, shorts, socks with logo and number prints. Monochrome Derby sets
ELDERA (New uniforms) (two-color) €26.00
If a team needs kits, email us and we can place the order for you
Note: if a team does not have kits, their game will NOT be allowed to streamed LIVE
18. TROPHIES & MEDALS: At the end of the League and CUP there will be an Award Ceremony where cups and medals will be given to 1st and 2nd places.
19. PRIZES & DISCOUNTS: These will be announced later as well as the League major sponsor.
20. ID CARDS AND COMPLAINTS: All players must have a valid ID on them for identification by the referee at each game. If a player competes in a game that is not registered in the league, that game is an automatic win 3-0 for the opposing team. All complaints are valid if they are made at the end of the game to referee or the league administration.
21. PENALTIES:
a. If a team cancels the day of the scheduled game, that game is an automatic win to the opponent 3-0.
b. If a team cancels 3 times (like above), then they are disqualified and removed from the league and CUP.
c. If a player that is not registered on the teams roster or the player competes in any of the professional leagues (see point 14), the team of that specific game automatically loses 3-0 and will also be deducted 3 points. If they do it again, then they are disqualified and removed from the league and CUP.
d. If a team received 4 red cards in total (in any games) then they are disqualified and removed from the league and CUP.
e. If a team is disqualified and removed for any of the above mentioned reasons, the team’s point will all be removed (0) from all their games (even if they have played them already). Also, there will be no REFUND.
22. KICK-OFF TIME OF GAMES: Teams must arrive at least 10 minutes before the start of their games. KICK-OFF times will be very strict due to other games being played right after the scheduled times. The referee must begin the game the latest 8 minutes after original KICK-OFF time (even if a team only has 4 players). If a team only has 3 players, then it is an automatic win for opposing team (see point 21).
23. FINAL TEAM REGISTRATION DATE: The final date as mentioned before will be 30th of September and teams will be accepted on order of application
24. RULES OF PLAY
REFEREE – CAPTAINS ROLES – GAME DURATION – TIMES
1. The referee is the sole time keeper and in charge of all decisions of the game. All teams are asked to respect the referee’s decisions and to help with their respectful co-operation for a fair and good game.
2. The Captain’s play a major role in each game. The referee and captain must have good communication through out each game. The Captain is responsible for the behaviour of all their team’s players. The Captain must be a leading example and respect the referee’s decisions. The success of the league will be largely determined by the Captain’s roles and behaviour.
Duration & Timeouts
3. Each game will be 2 halves of 24 minutes each plus stoppage time (extra time). Half time will be 3 minutes. 5 minutes will be allocated at the beginning of the game for warm-ups. It is recommended that warm-up takes place outside the pitch or in an empty pitch if it is available.
4. Each team will be allowed 1 time-out (per half) at each game. The time-out can only be used when the ball is out of play and in possession of the team that is requesting the time-out. The team requesting the time-out must inform the referee immediately of their request. A time-out CAN’T be requested during stoppage time (after the full duration of the half)
5. Fouls, corners, goal-kick and throw ins must be played within 5 seconds. If they are not, possession of the ball will be given to the opposing team.
6. For all fouls (direct and indirect), the wall must be 5 meters away from the point of the foul.
DESCIPLINARY RULES – YELLOW AND RED CARDS – VIOLATIONS
7. Yellow cards are only valid for the game in which they are given in (they do not carry on to the next games). 2 yellow cards = 1 red
8. A player that receives 2 yellow cards or a direct red (in the same game) will be ejected from the game and will not be allowed to play again (in the game they received them) and their team will continue with 4 players for 2 minutes. If the opposing team is to score during this 2 minute penalty, then the team with the fewer players will be allowed to replace the player and continue again with 5 (but not the player that received the red). The player that has been ejected from the game can’t play again in the same game but will be eligible to play in the following game.
9. If a player is to receive 2 red card in different games, that player will not be eligible to play for their teams following 2 games.
10. Tackling is permitted.
11. After a teams 5th foul, all following fouls of the same team will be penalized with a 10 meter penalty. Fouls are reset at halftime.
12. Penalty kicks will be taken from the top of the goal-keepers area.
13. Direct and in-direct free kicks follow the same rules as regular 11-aside games and will be determined by the referee.
BALLS – RETURN OF BALL INTO PLAY – GOALS ALLOWED
14. The official league ball will be with bounce size 4. Each team will receive the same 2 balls with which they must play with.
15. If a ball goes out-of-bounds on the side-lines (kick-in), the ball must be placed on the line and the kick-in must be taken with a player’s feet and not their hands.
16. If the ball crosses the goal line from a kick-in from the side-lines or an in-direct free-kick, the goal does not count and possession will go to the other team. If the ball however is touched by any player of both teams before it reached the goal line, the goal will then count.
17. If a kick-in is taken with the incorrect method (anything other than kicking it in with your feet), possession will be given to the opposing team. If the ball during a kick-in never enters the pitch and is kicked directly out of the pitch, then there will be a re-take of the kick-in. If this happens again, the player taking the kick-in will receive a yellow card. And if the player does it again, a red card.
18. If the ball crosses the goal line from a corner kick or a direct foul, the goal will count.
SUBSTITUTIONS
19. A team may make as many substitutions as they like during a game. In order to make a substitution, teams must:
a) Inform the referee
b) The ball must be out of play and in possession of the team that is making the substitution or if the game has been stopped by the referee (for example for an injury)
c) The player entering the pitch must enter from the center of the pitch after the player that has be substituted out leaves the pitch. The player substituted out can leave from anywhere on the pitch.
d) Players that have been substituted off may play again in the same game.
GOALKEEPER
20. When the goal-keeper returns the ball back in to play after it has crossed the goal line (but not directly into the goal) also known as ‘goal-kick’ it must be returned by the goalkeeper using only his hands within 5 seconds. The ball must be thrown to a team player and can’t be thrown to themselves. The goalkeeper can only re-touch the ball after it has touched any player (their own or opposing). If the goalkeeper throws the ball to themselves and begins to play, the ‘goal-kick’ will be re-taken. If it happens again, the goalkeeper will be penalised with a yellow card, and if the goalkeeper does it again with a red card.
21. The goal keeper can’t pick up the ball in the goalkeeper area with their hands when is has been passed back to them intentionally by their players feet. If this happens, the team will be penalized with an in-direct free kick from the spot closest to the line of the goalkeeper area. It can only be picked up with hands with an intentional pass if is made by means of their head, chest or any other legal part of their body above their hips.
OTHER GENERAL RULES
22. There is no offsides
23. Only players, coaches and any other person who is signed up on the team roster and game-sheet of the game can be on the pitches and benches. No smoking is permitted within the pitch.
24. Overall, the general 11 vs 11 football rules apply to referee judgement regarding what is a considered to be a foul and the penalty of yellow and red-cards.