Rules

EMF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2025 RULES

Technical

1.    The size of the field (playing area) is 48 x 26 meters.
2.    The size of the goals is 4 x 2 meters (inner size, not including posts)
3.    The size of the ball is 5.

Timing

4.    Matches are played 20 minutes eachhalf.
5.    Half time is 5 minutes.
6.    If a team arrives late (5 min or more after the official start time of the match) then they lose the match by default (5-0).
7.    The referee must add extra time to the game if it was interrupted due to injury, deliberate delaying etc. This may affect the 5-minute period directly after a red card, see ‘red cards’ below.
8.    If a match is abandoned part-way through, due to inclement weather or any other unforeseeable circumstance, then the re-scheduled match will resume at the exact same point in terms of timing at which it was suspended. The match protocol must contain the same players who were on the match protocol when the match was abandoned, with the exception of players sent off during the abandoned match as well as players suspended for the abandoned match. The teams must restart the match on the field with the players who were in play at the time the match was abandoned.

Players

9.    Players must be male for EMF Champions League and players must be female for EMF Women’s Champions League.
10.    Players must be a minimum of 16 years old for EMF Champions League. Any male player that is under 18 years old is allowed to play only with the written notarized permission of his parents/guardians, in accordance with the legislation of the country he belongs.
11.    Players must be a minimum of 14 years old for EMF Women’s Champions League. Any female player that is under 18 years old is allowed to play only with the written notarized permission of his parents/guardians, in accordance with the legislation of the country he belongs.
12.    In case of a complaint, players must be able to provide evidence of their identity by showing their valid ID card or passport.
 
13.    Regarding player eligibility, please refer to the ’EMF Player Definition’ (do not apply for WOMEN’S CL), to see who is eligible to participate.

Squads

14.    Each team can register 17 players and 5 officials for EMF Champions League – Sofia 2025.
15.    Final list of players and officials must be sent to the Tournament Committee no later than 10th of September 2025 (Wednesday).
16.    In case there is/are international (foreign) player/players in a team, then the EMF Tournament Committee must be informed beforehand. In addition, the information regarding whether the player or players in question was/were registered in that team or country in the previous season, prior to the competition, must be provided to EMF.
17.    The official registration process will take place on the 16th of September 2025 (Tuesday) starting from 10:00 AM. The venue for the registration is yet to be confirmed and all teams’ representatives will be informed regarding this matter in due time.
18.    The player’s registration process ends before the last group stage match of the team in question. Thus, in order for a player to be eligible to play in the tournament he must complete his registration process BEFORE the last group stage match of his team.
19.    Only players and officials registered on the official team list and registered in the hotels are allowed to sit down on their bench.
20.    Squads must change benches at the halftime.

21.    A maximum of 5 team officials are allowed to represent the team on the team bench during the games.
22.    Before all matches, players must present passports for the identity check.
23.    Players without an ID card or passport are not allowed to participate in the match.
24.    The players’ identity checks will be made by referees and the match observers.
25.    All squad members registered in the match protocol who are not playing must be sat down on their bench. One person can (e.g. head coach) stand up and manage the team. He must respect the technical area. All substitution players must wear vests (a different color than the jersey).

Clothing

26.    Each squad should wear the home/away kit as well as one set of reflective bibs/vests for the substitutions.
27.    Referees will dress accordingly to the TC kit schedule to avoid color clashes with the participating teams. In the case the teams don’t respect this kit color schedule and cause problems in the game, they can be fined, or even lose the match.
28.    Each player will wear a long or short sleeved jersey which should have a printed number between 1 and 99 on the back. The printed number should be 20-25cm in size. The number on the jersey must be the same as the number submitted to the referee and printed on their match protocol. The number on the shorts must match the number on the jersey and be 7-10cm x 7-10cm in size. Bibs/Vests are forbidden on the field of play at all times.
29.    Players are obligated to have THE SAME NUMBER on all the teams’ kits throughout the whole tournament. Failure to comply with this rule will result in the team being fined for every single case of breaking this rule.
30.    If a player’s jersey is damaged then they may swap to a jersey with a different number, so long as no other player has worn that number during the game. In this situation, a team official must alert the referee of the change before it is done. Bibs/Vests are forbidden.
31.    The Goalkeeper’s kit should be a different color from his team’s kit and that of their opponents. Bibs/Vests
are forbidden. For ‘Fly Goalkeeper’, please refer to ‘Point 41’.
32.    Shin pads must be worn.
33.    Shoes with metal studs or blades are not allowed. Only flat shoes or shoes with elastic or plastic molds are
permitted. See below ‘Authorized footwear.’
34.    Wearing jewelry of any kind is strictly forbidden.
 
Referees

35.    Two referees will officiate each match, from opposing sidelines, a third and fourth referee may also be used and they will control situations off the field of play.
36.    The referee has theauthority to:
a)    Start, suspend and restart the game as appropriate
b)    Warn or penalize players for both on and off-field behavior
c)    Exercise discretionary power
d)    Add extra time to the game for any delays
37.    The Tournament Director is responsible for keeping the archive of match protocols after the game. The Tournament Director may delegate this duty to another member of the Tournament Committee.

Start of the game

38.    The team manager (leader, captain) must be in place at least 30 minutes before the start of the game to complete the match protocol. Countdown to kick-off attached.
39.    Teams must enter from the side of the pitch and walk out to the center, forming a line facing the main side of the grandstands. The team listed first in the fixtures (the ‘home’ team) will go along the line and do the handshake procedure with the referees and their opponents.
40.    The referee will then toss a coin and the captain of the team listed second in the fixtures (the‘away’ team) will choose heads or tails. The winner of the coin toss will choose kick-off.

Substitutions

41.    A maximum of 6 players are allowed on the pitch at any given time.
42.    There are unlimited substitutions.
43.    Substitutions are roll on, roll off, administered by the third referee at the most 3 meters far from the halfway line on the side of the pitch where the team benches are located.
44.    If a player is injured, they may leave the field from another point, but the player replacing them must enter at the halfway line upon authorization of the referee.
45.    In the case that a Goalkeeper is substituted for an outfield player, the outfield player must wear a different colored jersey distinguishing him from his team and their opponents, he will be referred to as the ‘Fly Goalkeeper’. Bibs/Vests are forbidden in this situation.

Sliding

46.    Slide tackles are not allowed. If there is contact with the opposition player, then the referee will whistle for a direct free kick. If there is no contact with another player and he only touched the ball but endangered an opponent, then it is an indirect free kick.
A player can make a slide tackle to stop the ball going off the pitch, block a shot or stop the ball crossing
their goal line as long as it doesn’t endanger an opposition player.
47.    General sliding to control or stop the ball is permitted only if there is no opponent nearby.

Scoring

48.    Goals can be scored directly from a goal kick.
49.    The referee disallows the goal if the ball is thrown by the hands of the opposing goalkeeper into the other
team’s goal.
50.    If a player scores an own goal from a goal kick, throw-in, direct free kick or indirect free kick, the game is restarted by a corner kick for the opposing team.
51.    If a match is drawn during the knock-out stages, there will be three penalties from each side. If the teams still cannot be separated, then the game will go to sudden death penalties until a winner is found. The
 
players taking the sudden death penalties must be different to the players who have taken the first three penalties, unless every player has taken one who is eligible to do so.
Before the penalties start, the number of players on both teams must be equalized.

Re-starts

52.    If the ball goes out of play it will be thrown-in from the sideline.
53.    If the ball passes the goal line (but there was no goal) then the goalkeeper must restart the game with a goal kick.

Free-kicks

54.    The distance between the ball and the opponents at a free kick should be 5 meters.

Yellow and red cards

Red cards

55.    A red card results in exclusion of the relevant player for the rest of the game and the team will be reduced to 5 players for 5 minutes.
 
56.    After the awarding of a red card, the offending player’s team will commence a period of 5 minutes in which they will play with a player less. Once the game has restarted after the incident, the 5 minutes must be completed in full. If a player is treated for an injury during that period, the Referee will ensure the time that elapses during the treatment of the injury, doesnot counttowardsthe 5 minutes. If thedismissal occursin thefirsthalf of thegame or at theend of a matchthatgoesinto extratime, the 5-minutecountstops at the end of thatperiodand continues in the next period.
57.    A player who receives a direct red card will be banned from playing in the subsequent game.
58.    A player who receives two yellow cards in one game will be shown a red card and therefore is excluded for the remainder of the game. The team will be reduced to 5 players for 5 minutes and the player will be banned from playing in the subsequent game.
59.    A player who receives a yellow card in 2 (TWO) consecutive games or 3 (THREE) yellow cards in the tournament (non-consecutive) is banned from playing in his team’s next match. This rule applies throughout the whole competition and the player’s record will not be wiped after the group games. (except the final where the player who got two yellow cards in two consecutive games - usually quarter final and semifinal is allowed to play), this also applies if their third yellow card came in the semifinal, then they can play in the final. The yellow cards are starting to accumulate again after the suspension is served.
60.    The Disciplinary Committee has the authority, upon witnessing or written report, to exclude a player for the remainder of the tournament for very serious offences (violence towards players, officials, spectators etc.)
61.    Team officials and management are subject to the same disciplinary measures as the players.

Qualification system

62.    16 (sixteen) teams progress from the group stage into the next round of the competition "Last 16 Round". They are the winners of each group (8 teams) and the runners-up from each group (8 teams).
63.    For every win in the group, a team obtains 3 (three) points, 1 (one) point for a draw and 0 (zero) for a loss.
64.    If two teams are tied on points after the completion of the group stage, the following criteria is applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
a)    Mutual match
b)    Goal difference
c)    Goals scored
d)    Fewest disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received in the group stage (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
e)    Drawing of lots.
If on completion of a group stage a draw is required, the lots are drawn in the EMF Tournament office. The draw is made by the Tournament Director and the team managers/captains, they must sign a document stating that they accept the result of the draw.

65.    If three teams are tied on points after the completion of the group stage, the following criteria is applied, in the order given, to determine the ranking:
a)    If the points between the three teams are equal an additional ranking between the three teams, is made according to the following criteria in the order given:
b)    Superior goal difference from the matches played among the teams in question (the three teams);
c)    higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question (the three teams);
d)    Total goal difference (with all teams in thegroup)
e)    lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received in the group stage (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
f)    Drawing of lots.
 
If on completion of a group stage a draw is required, the lots are drawn in the EMF Tournament office. The draw is made by the Tournament director and the team managers/captains, they must sign a document stating that they accept the result of the draw.

Five (5) Seconds

The referee will count five seconds and visibly show it in the following situations:

Throw-in – if the player is ready to take a throw in or he’s clearly delaying the restart, the Referee will
start a 5 second countdown and after that, the Referee will award a throw-in to the opposing team.

Corner kick – if the player is ready to take a corner kick or he’s clearly delaying the restart, the Referee
will start a 5 second countdown and after that, the Referee will award a goal kick to the opposing team.

Goal kick - if the Goalkeeper is ready to take a goal kick or he’s clearly delaying the restart of the game, the Referee will start a 5 second countdown and after that, the Referee will award an indirect free kick to the opposing team and the indirect free kick will be taken from the nearest penalty area line.

Goalkeeper – ‘5 second GK rule’ – The Referee will start to count once the Goalkeeper (GK) has control
of the ball in the GK’s half of the field of play. The count of 5 seconds only stops when: The ball clearly enters the GK’s opponent’s half of the field of play
The ball leaves the field of play
The ball is touched by an opponent anywhere on the field of play The ball is passed to a teammate of the GK
If the GK is guilty of any misconduct that receives a sanction such as a yellow or red card.
If the GK holds onto the ball in his own half for more than 5 seconds, an indirect free kick will be awarded to the opposition for a technical foul

Disciplinary Committee

The Disciplinary Committee is responsible for preserving International Minifootball Rules, the spirit of fair- play and sportsmanship as well the EMF image and reputation. It may impose sanctions and any other disciplinary measures, in accordance to the EMF Disciplinary Code, in force for all European minifootball teams.

 
EMF PLAYER DEFINITION

A)    Definition of the player: The rule is related to the sport codes football and futsal.

1.    The players are ineligible to partcipate in the EMF EURO, EMF Champions League and EMF EUROCUP events under EMF guidance if they have been registered in the current 1st or 2nd division of 11-a-side Football. As a rule, a football season starts in the autumn (August - September) of the year in question and continues through to the spring (May
- June) of the following year.

2.    Players who have been registered at their national futsal squad players for the last FIFA/UEFA Futsal World Cup/EURO (most current one) and the relevant qualifications for the tournament at stake, are not allowed to participate in EMF EURO for the current year

3.    Consequently, players with status mentioned in point 1, at the time of the EMF competition or up to and including the preceding 4 calendar months before the day of the opening ceremony of an EMF competition, are not allowed to participate as a player. I.e., if a tournament begins on the 1st of June, a player must not have been a professional player after the 1st February in that year in order to be eligible to play.

B)    To be sure about the status of a player and if it is accepted, the National Associations can consult the Tournament Committee to avoid complications or disqualification.

C)    The eligibility of the players will be verified through the official websites of FIFA, UEFA, NaFnonal Football FederaFons and proven plaHorms like hKps:// www.transfermarkt.com/, hKps://int.soccerway.com/, hKps:// football.instatscout.com/login etc.

D)    Exception of article A).1. for players registered in countries where Second Division/Tier are purely amateur applies for the following states:
- Estonia, Luxembourg, Moldova, Malta, Northern Ireland, Kosovo;

In the case of a team or player has been found qulity, all the matches of the team for the relevant competitions are void with result 0:5. The sanctions for the team/player will be according to the EMF Disciplinary Code.
 
Authorised footwear