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Readers welcome to the column that talks about all and sundry concerning beach soccer. Today we walk through basic rules and regulations of the sport.
1. Objective of the game
Beach Soccer is played on sand courts for leisure, team play, friendship, and healthy competition. Fair play is the essence of the game.
2. Competition area, goals, and ball: The competition area includes the playing sand court and a perimeter zone.
2.1 Dimensions of the playing sand court: The playing sand court is rectangular, 25.0 m / 28.0m in width by 35.0m /38.0m in length and delimited by four lines. The boundary lines shall be 8 cm / 10 cm wide and made of a tape like resistant material in contrasting color with the sand. They are placed by means of special corner connectors and sand anchors, and attached to the goal posts by means of rubber rings. The material must be soft that not to damage players A perimeter zone of 2.0m in width surrounds the playing court.
2.2 Penalty area: Four yellow flagpoles delineate the penalty area on each side of the playing court. The four yellow flagpoles are placed toward the exterior of the perimeter zone, at 1.0m from the point on the sidelines measured at 9.0m from each corner. Two imaginary lines, parallel to the base lines and
unifying the yellow flags, define the penalty areas. The exact positions for the penalty kicks shall be the centre of these imaginary lines.
2.3 Corners and centre of the playing sand court: Four red flag poles are placed in each corner of the playing sand court. Two additional red flag poles are placed toward the exterior of the perimeter zone, at 1.0m from the point of the sidelines equidistant from their respective corners. An imaginary line unifying these two red flag poles divides the playing sand court into two halves, and shall be define as the mid-court line.
2.4 Field flag poles: The field flagpoles measure 1.5m above the sand. The field flagpoles are required not to have sharp tips, to be made of unbreakable plastic, elastic and weatherproof. The poles can be sunk into the sand or supported by a base designed to protect the beach soccer players from injuries.
2.5 Goals: The goals are placed on the centre of the base lines and made of two upright posts, 5.50m apart (as measured from the inside edge). The two vertical posts shall be united by a horizontal crossbar, which measures 2.20m from the sand surface (as measured from the inside edge).
The lower part of the vertical posts shall have an anchor plate to be anchored under the sand for safety reasons; they shall have two lateral bars of 1.5m placed at sand level and connected by a crossbar, or plastic covered chains with hooks and laces at both ends, and anchored into the sand. Nets are attached to the posts, bars and crossbars: only the use of hemp, jute or nylon is permitted.
2.6 Ball: The ball of play is spherical the size number is 5 (circumference 68-71; weight: 396-440gr. pressure: 7 lb.) made of leather or synthetic material imitating leather, abrasion-resistant, shape retaining and weatherproof. Only the 1st referee has the authority to approve the conditions of the game balls.
3. Teams formation
3.1 Number of players: Two teams of five (5) players play the game on each team. Two players, one for each team on the playing sand court, shall be the goalkeepers and therefore allowed to touch the ball with their hands and/or arms in their respective goalkeeper’s area. There are three (3) to five (5) substitute players on the bench. During the match, substitute players and team delegates must remain in their designated bench area. Only the coach shall be allowed to stand; the substitute players shall be sitting on their chairs/benches until the moment of substitution. In order for a match to start, both teams must have a minimum of four (4) players.
3.2 Substitutions: There are no limits for substitutions in respect of the number of substitutions or timing for substitutions. The substitution zone is situated on the same side of the court as the teams’ benches, in front of the officials’ table, and accessible through an opening of the boards confining the perimeter zone. A player who has been replaced may return into the match as a substitute for another player. A substitute player has to signal his intention to enter into the game by raising above his head a sign with the number of the player he is going to substitute, and he shall approach the substitution zone. Only substitute players with a numbered signal shall be allowed to leave their team’s designated bench area. A substitute player is allowed to enter into the playing sand court only after the player that is being substituted has left the playing sand court at the substitution zone, and he has received from his substitute player the sign with his playing number.
3.3 Substitution offence: If a player breaks rules the Law 3.2 and enters the field before a teammate has left, he/she shall receive a yellow card or red card, in this case his/her team shall continue to play without a replacement player until the two (2) minute penalty period is over, as notified by the timekeeper and allowed by the third referee. If the referee stops the game, due to the offence of Law 3.3, the team that has committed the offence shall be punished with a free kick to be awarded to the other team. Such free kick shall be taken from the centre of the field. If the game had already been stopped before this offence, then it shall be re-started according to the Laws of the Game.
3.4 Goalkeeper substitution: Goalkeepers may be substituted during the game. The game officials must be notified by a team representative in case of a goalkeeper’s substitution. The referees shall allow a goalkeeper’s substitutions after they have stopped the clock when the ball goes out of bounds, or when the clock is stopped for an interruption of the match. A player may substitute as a goalkeeper, as long as he/she changes into a goalkeeper’s shirt. The original team-sheet number of the players shall not change.
3.5 Minimum number of players
The minimum number of players on the field per team is three (3). If a team remains with less than three (3) players due to disciplinary expulsions from the game shall be declared the loser of that game,regardless of the score at the time the game was stopped. In this case, the score of the game, for goal average effect, will be 10 x 0 for the winning team and the winning team will obtain 3 points.
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