We always enjoy seeing some the original, funny or just downright weird names that teams come up with each season. We now have not one but two “Game of Throw-ins” playing on Sundays at Carleton U (one in the afternoon and one in the evening league). We love it, it’s a nice pun but not quite a perfect fit for our leagues as all of our 7-a-side games have kick-ins from the sideline, not throw-ins.
On that note, and with the start of the first of our Spring 7-a-side leagues only a week away, here’s a quick Coles notes version of the Footy Sevens rules which differ from standard soccer rules for all of the new teams and players.

Seven Simple Footy Sevens Rules

1. We’re pretty sure that everyone has figured out that the number of players, and the size of the goals & field etc. is different from 11-a-side soccer. . .
2. In coed games all teams have to have at least two male and two female players in the 7 players on the field during the game.
3. As mentioned above, if the ball goes out of play at the sideline, it is a kick-in, not a throw-in.
4. In the coed league all dead-balls are indirect other than penalty kicks and corners. You cannot score directly from free kicks, kick-ins from the sideline, goal kicks etc. There are some direct free kicks in the men’s leagues.
5. Substitutions can be made on the fly – players can substitute on and off as much as they like and don’t have to wait for permission from the ref.
6. There are no slide tackles allowed. Players have to stay on their feet to make a tackle. Sliding to retrieve a ball is allowed only if there no other player within the vicinity.
7. All yellow and red cards are accompanied by the player being ejected for a time period (2 minutes for yellow, the rest of the game for a red card). Teams have to play a player short during this period.

That’s about as simple as we can make it and should cover 99% of the situations that occur in the average game. There are of course more detailed rules for specific situations, and the full Ottawa Footy Sevens rules can always be found in the “About” section of our website. Let’s face it, most people never get around to reading the full rules, but if you are a new team and you and your teammates know the basic soccer rules and the 7 rules above, you should be just fine. If there is ever anything you aren’t sure about, speak to our coordinator or one of our referees at the field and they will be happy to help.
Although many of our Spring leagues are already sold out, we do still have a few team and individual spaces available at various indoor and outdoor venues in the city. An up to date list of what is available can always be found on the front page of the Footy Sevens website.