8-a-side football: pitch dimensions and rules

The official reference points of 8-a-side football: pitch dimensions, goal size, ball, duration, and the halfway-line offside rule. For under-11 to under-13 coaches.

Thibaud C. · Fitness coach · Last updated: September 26, 2026

8-a-side football (and 7-a-side) isn't a "small 11-a-side". It's a format designed for children, where each of them touches more balls, takes part more and improves faster. Before talking about formations, you need to understand why these formats exist and know the Federation's official reference points.

Why 8-a-side and 7-a-side exist

Putting children of under-11 and under-13 age on a full pitch, eleven against eleven, wouldn't make much sense: the pitch would be enormous for them, most would chase the ball without ever touching it, and a few more mature players would take up all the space. Small-sided formats answer a simple principle set out by the French Federation: adapt the game to the child, not the other way round.

The Federation groups these formats under "children's football", from under-6 to under-13, played with reduced numbers (3, 4, 5, then 8 a side) with equal playing time for everyone. In France, under-11s and under-13s play 8 against 8 (the well-known "foot à 8"), the younger ones with smaller numbers; 7 against 7 appears depending on the region, squad sizes and festival days. The exact arrangements can change from one season to the next and from one county to another: always check with your league. The underlying idea doesn't change: fewer players on a smaller pitch.

The official reference points of 8-a-side

Here are the reference figures from the laws of the game for 8-a-side (under-11 and under-13). Learn them: a youth coach should know his playing area.

Two points deserve an explanation, because they genuinely change the game compared with 11-a-side:

• Partial offside: in 8-a-side, an attacker can only be offside in the opposition half, from the halfway line onwards. In his own half, there is no offside. In practice, an attacker can position himself very high without worry as long as the ball hasn't crossed the halfway line: that opens the game up and forces you to think about how the defence is positioned.
• The size 4 ball: lighter and smaller than the size 5 used by adults, it suits children's hands and feet. It often makes control easier and the actions cleaner.

More touches of the ball per child

This is the number one advantage, and it follows directly from those dimensions. On a smaller pitch with fewer players, each child ends up in contact with the ball far more often. And you improve above all by playing: the more a young player touches the ball, the more he repeats the technical actions (dribbling, passing, controlling, shooting), makes decisions and reads the game. 8-a-side multiplies those situations compared with 11-a-side, where many children would remain spectators. Fewer team-mates to hand responsibility to, a pitch scaled to children's legs: mechanically, the ball comes back to each of them more often.

Everyone is more involved

With eight players, it's hard to hide. Every player has a role that matters, with the ball and without it. That often encourages:

• More regular participation from everyone, including the shyest or the least physically mature.
• An understanding of the game that comes faster: the child lives through more situations per match.
• Greater enjoyment: touching the ball and trying things out is what makes children want to come back to training.

A pitch and spaces that fit

At 60 to 70 m by 45 to 55 m (against around 105 by 68 m for 11-a-side), the 8-a-side pitch covers roughly half the surface of a full pitch. In practice it's often marked out across half of an 11-a-side pitch, using its width, with smaller goals (6 m by 2.10 m instead of 7.32 m by 2.44 m). The distances are scaled to children: a clearance, a long pass or a run to press all remain achievable for them. As a result the game is more fluid and less broken up than if you put them on a full pitch, where fatigue and long distances would wreck the game.

The Federation's philosophy: develop before winning

This is the most important point, and the one sometimes forgotten on a Saturday morning. At these ages, the aim isn't to win the festival day: it's to develop players and make them want to play. That logic isn't an opinion, it's the framework set out by the Federation for children's football. This weekend's score will mean nothing in two years' time. What will remain is what the child has learned and the enjoyment he has taken from it.

The Federation translates that spirit into a concrete and demanding benchmark: playing time for everyone. Every player called up must play at least half the game (with a target around 70%), and start at least one half. You don't leave a child on the bench because he's weaker: you're there to develop him, not to sideline him.

That spirit also runs through the Federal Educational Programme (PEF), which is a reminder that alongside the game, you educate children in respect for the rules, the referee, the opposition and the environment. On a Saturday, the coach is developing a player as much as a child.

In practice, that developmental logic often invites you to:

• Play everyone, aiming for at least half the game for each of them whatever their level, and starting every child in at least one half.
• Encourage risk-taking (trying to play out, dribbling) rather than the systematic safety clearance.
• Rotate players through different positions (we'll come back to this in detail), so they discover the whole game.
• Put the result in perspective in front of children and parents: praise progress and attitude as much as victory.