TOURNAMENT RULES

2022 Queen City Futsal Challenge Rules

Venues

We will use the Carolina Courts (Indian Trail and Concord). To keep the playing surfaces clean and dry, please instruct your players not to wear dirty or wet game shoes into the facilities.

Participating Teams
The Queen City Futsal Challenge is open to all teams in the Charlotte region and beyond. Teams with club affiliation or player/coach created are more than welcome. This event attracts the very highest caliber teams and has become a staples event over the past 5 season.. 

Age Divisions/Groups
Boys & Girls U8 - U18. QCFC reserves the right to drop or combine divisions or age groups.

Team Registration
Registration Deadline for the tournament is January 29th. On line registration can be found HERE

Proof of Age

All participants must provide proof of age if asked by a tournament official (players and coaches are required to have their proof of age at all times).

IMPORTANT COACH INFORMATION
There is no coaching license to coach a team. Any adult who is registered with the team as a coach or manager can sit the bench. This is a great option for teams with outdoor coaches who want to take a break, but still want their teams to have fun and play.

Coaches with multiple teams
The Tournament Staff will accommodate coaches with multiple teams by scheduling them with back-to-back games at the same facility as much as possible. We do encourage you to split your outdoor teams into two futsal teams.

Competition Format & Rules
Official futsal FIFA Rules and Regulations as stated under the Laws of The Game will be enforced. Click HERE for FIFA rules of the game. Exceptions are noted below under tournament rules. 

Tournament Rules to the Laws of the Game
1. Scoring from kick-off is allowed
2. Goalkeeper can drop kick or punt the ball.
3. Game length is (two) 20 minute halves (running clock) for U8-U18

The pass back rule will implemented for all age-groups. Once the keeper touches the ball, they cannot play the ball again until touched by an opponent.

Medical Release
To be eligible to play, each player must have completed Medical / Media Release forms and all players have been registered online.

Players/Sister Teams/Double Rostering
1) A sister team is created from an outdoor team that split into two or more futsal teams. If you have a sister team in the league, you may borrow any amount of players from the sister team. 
2) Players may be double - rostered on teams that are in different age divisions, but can not play down an age group.

Game Balls
Under U12 - size 3
U13 and older – size 4
Do not bring outdoor balls into the facilities. They are not allowed for warm-up. Only futsal balls are allowed. 

Equipment
The wearing of shin pads will be mandatory for all players. Indoor, flat soled soccer shoes also must be worn.

Time Outs / Home Team Colors
There will be one time out for each team per half.
Home team is to wear white or lighter colors. If Home team complies and there is a conflict, the visiting team must change jerseys. If home team does not wear light/white and there is a conflict, home team must change jerseys. Visiting teams centers off first.

Forfeited Games
If a team fails to show for a scheduled match, the referee shall allow a 5 minute grace period. After the 5 minutes, if the team has not yet arrived or does not have enough players to field a team (4), the game will be forfeited. The game will be tallied as a 3 to 0 loss for the forfeiting team and a 3 to 0 win for their opponent. Forfeited games are recorded as a 3 - 0 loss.

Point System and Tiebreakers
The determination within the group standings is as follows: 
3 points for a win
1 point for a tie
0 points for a loss
Forfeited games are recorded as a 3 - 0 loss

Tiebreakers 
1. Total Points
2. Head-To-Head
3. Goal Difference
4. Goals For

Ejections - Red Cards
If a player is ejected from a match, the player’s pass together with a referee’s report of the incident shall be turned over to the QCFC administrator by the referee. 

The minimum penalty for an ejection is that the player shall not be permitted to play in the immediate next match. 

The maximum penalty, after review by QCFC Committee, may result in the individual players or teams’ expulsion from the competition. If a player is ejected from a match the referee will hold onto the player pass, document red card on the back of the score sheet and present it to the CFF administrator. The player will have his/her pass returned after a one game suspension. 

Coach Ejections
If a coach is ejected from any match, a referee’s report of the incident shall be turned over to the QCFC administrator by the referee. The minimum penalty for an ejection is that the coach shall not be permitted to coach or remain on the player’s bench in the immediate next match. The maximum penalty, after review by QCFC Committee, may result in the individual coach or team’s expulsion from the League. We reserve the right to postpone or cancel games at any time for any reason such as bad weather or facility problems. If we do decide to cancel games, refunds will not be provided. 

POOL PLAY AND PLAYOFFS - NUMBER OF GAMES

Division play and playoffs are determined by the number of teams and pools in a division.  The guidelines are

All Groups - Teams will play a minimum of three matches. 

Brackets with 1- 3 groups - 1st place teams advance to finals (top seed moves directly to final, second and third seed play semi-final)

Brackets with 4+ groups - 1st place team from each group advances to semi-finals.

Maximum roster size is 10.

Playoff Games ending in ties at regulation

If at the end of match where a winner must be decided and the score is tied, the referees will go directly to penalty kicks to determine winner of the match. Three (3) PK’s will be taken by each team and if the score is still tied at the end of that phase then sudden death PK’s are taken