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Tournament Rules and Regulations

All players must be registered with their association, be in good standing and carry a USSF approved player card. Tournament team player passes and roster must be presented at registration along with medical releases and travel permits (out of state teams).
Maximum roster size including up to three (3) guest players for each age bracket is listed in the table below:

If there is sufficient interest, Tournament Director reserves the right to add a U-10 bracket of (8 x 8) and a U11/U12 (11 x 11) bracket.
Coaches Information: There will be no formal coaches meeting. The Registrar of your team must provide a contact name and telephone number at registration so that your team can be reached if necessary.

Laws of the Game: The FIFA "Laws of the Game" as modified by USSF shall apply to all matches unless otherwise provided at registration. All games shall commence promptly at their scheduled starting time. There will be no stoppage of the clock, except per referee's discretion. All decisions of this nature are made by the Referee on the field and are final. No protests allowed. The Referee or Tournament Director may shorten the games if necessary.

Small-Sided Games and Roster Sizes:

The following State-sanctioned format will be implemented for this tournament:
U9 and U10 - 6 v 6  (The 6v6 format will be played with off side rules)
Ull andU12-8v8
U13 thruU19-ll vll
Ball Size: Age groups up to and including U12 shall use a size 4 ball. All age groups U-13 and older shall use a size 5 ball. 
Match Duration: Match lengths will vary by age group.

U9-U10                     25 minute halves
U11-U12                   30 minute halves
U13-U14                   35 minute halves
U15 -U16                    40 minute halves
U 17/18/19                40 minute halves
U17/18 Silver            40 minute halves

Tournament Director has the right to shorten games.

Eligibility: The competition is open to accepted teams meeting the age limit and roster size of the specified division. Players must have been born during, or subsequent to, the year of the division in which they are participating. No player shall be allowed to register with more than one (1) team unless approved by tournament director in advance, or to switch from one team to another during the tournament. Each team must be registered with a league affiliated with the USYSA and must present a valid copy of their State Roster, along with a current player pass and current player medical release form, notarized in 2007. No roster changes will be permitted after registration. Player registration cards with pictures duly authorized by the State Association will be required as proof of age. Players, who do not present laminated player passes at registration, or at the field as may be required by the referee, will not play. Out of state teams must have a copy of the Permission to Travel Form approved and signed by a USYSA representative.

Guest Players: A maximum of three (3) guest players will be permitted, however the Tournament Director in unusual circumstances may approve a larger number. Maximum roster size, including guest players, is stated above. Permission to Guest Play forms must be provided at registration, if required by your State Association.

Field and Game Equipment: Teams must wear numbers on uniforms, no duplicate numbers. The Home Team should wear its light/white jerseys and the Visiting Team should wear its dark jerseys.  The Referee will insure that a player must not use equipment or wear anything which is dangerous to himself or another player. All players will be required to wear commercially available shin guards at all times while playing. Personal items, such as jewelry, ARE NOT ALLOWED. The Home Team shall provide the game ball, but the VISITING team should have an alternate game ball available. Check-in with the field marshal is thirty minutes prior to the scheduled KICK OFF - all equipment issues must be resolved at that time.

Conduct: Players, coaches and spectators are expected to conduct themselves within the spirit, as well as, the letter of the Laws of Soccer. Players and coaches from both opposing teams will be located on the same side of the field; spectators will be located on the side of the field opposite the teams. Coaching from the sideline should be kept to a minimum. No persons are allowed behind the end lines. Players and coaches must remain within the technical area while the game is in progress. Unreasonable displays of temper, dissent, and/or unsportsmanlike conduct by players, coaches or spectators will not be tolerated and will be cause for ejection from the game and field area. Any player or coach ejected from the game will be ineligible to participate in the next scheduled game. Anyone ejected for fighting will be ejected from the tournament. The player card for an ejected player will be retained and forwarded to Tournament Headquarters, where a team representative can pick it up after the game from which the player is suspended. Teams exhibiting poor sportsmanship will not be allowed to participate in future tournaments sponsored by KFC. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted at game sites. Noisemaker devices are also prohibited.

Forfeits: There will be no grace period after the scheduled kickoff in preliminary games before the game is awarded to their opponent. A minimum of seven (7) players constitutes a team, and if seven players (8v8/ 5 players, 6v6/ 4 players) are present, the game will not be delayed. Failure to complete a match or a team leaving the field during play will result in forfeiture. A forfeit in the preliminary rounds shall be recorded as a 3-0 win in the favor of the non-forfeiting team.

Inclement Weather: In the event of lightning, hailstorms, and/or unplayable field conditions, the Referee or Tournament Director will suspend game. In the event of inclement weather, the Tournament Director will have the authority to change games as follows: 1) Relocate, reschedule or change the duration of any games, 2) Cancel any preliminary game, which has no bearing on the selection of group winners, or 3) Declare any game official at any point after the start of the game. The Tournament Director's decisions are final and are not subject to appeal.

General: The Tournament Committee will not under any circumstances be responsible for any expense incurred by any team. The Tournament Director is the final authority for interpretation of these rules, and reserves the right to decide on all matters pertaining to this tournament. No individual, no team, no business, nor any organization shall be allowed to sell any items of any type, including raffle tickets, nor operate food and drink concessions at any of the fields or surrounding areas or at Tournament Headquarters, without prior approval of the Tournament Committee.
Protest: NO PROTESTS ALLOWED

Tournament Standings/Format:

Table “A” Point System: The winning team gets 3 points, tying teams get 1 point each, and the
losing team gets no points.

Table “B” Tiebreaking: To determine placement or championship/ finalist status between two
or more teams, the following criteria will be used in the following order:

1. Winner of Head to Head competition (not considered in the event of a tie between more than
   two teams unless one team beat all tied teams). If still tied, then,
2. Most wins. If still tied, then
3. Most ties. If still tied, then
4. Highest goal differential (total goals scored minus total goals against in each game, with a
   maximum differential of three goals per game) If still tied, then
5. Most shutouts (0-0 tie is considered a shut out) If still tied,
6. Fewer number of goals against in all games. If still tied, than
7. Coin Toss or Penalty Kick (if time allows) as determined by the Tournament Director.

In case of three- way tie in point's one team shall be eliminated through the above tiebreakers
and then the remaining two shall begin from tiebreaker number one.

Table “C” -- Resolving Ties in Games:
All games except for semifinal and final matches will be allowed to end in a tie at the end of
regulation time. Ties in semifinal and final games must be resolved as described here. Ties in
semifinal games will precede directly to penalty kicks (describe below) to determine the right to advance to the championship game. Ties in championship matches will be resolved in overtime play, and then penalty kicks if necessary. If the championship match ends in a tie, the teams will be given a five (5) minute rest and one ten (10) minute SUDDEN DEATH overtime period will be played. If still tied a second ten (10) minute SUDDEN DEATH will be played. Teams will change ends of the field between the overtime periods. If still tied after second SUDDEN DEATH overtime period, the game will be decided by FIFA penalty kicks.

TOURNAMENT RULE CHANGES

The Tournament Committee has ADDED the following rule:

       There will be no coin toss in order to keep the games on time.  The team listed as the home team (the left column on the schedule) will choose which side they defend in the first half, and the visiting team (the right column on the schedule) will get the kickoff in the first half.

The Tournament Committee has CHANGED the following rule:

       Overtime in semifinal games and championship games will consist of 2 x 5 minute halves.  If the game is still tied at the conclusion of the overtime, the teams will go directly to penalty kicks.