How Long Is a Soccer Game? Length Rules Explained
A standard soccer game is normally 90 minutes long but usually divided into two halves: 45/45, respectively.
This duration is standard across most leagues and competitions. However, a game’s overall duration can be longer due to stoppages of play, extra time, or according to the rules of the event.
Read on to learn all you need to know about the length of a soccer game.
Soccer Game Length
A standard soccer match is 90 minutes long, with half-time lasting 15 minutes and each half lasting 45 minutes. This format is the most commonly used in most soccer leagues and tournaments worldwide, and it is also the typical length of professional and non-professional soccer games.
Professional Soccer Game Length
Following IFAB standards, Soccer games are scheduled for 90 minutes and divided into two halves of 45 minutes, each with a fifteen-minute half-time. This duration is pretty similar, whether in leagues or tournaments, to ensure that each team has an equal amount of playing time; thus, a level playing ground is considered.
Women’s Soccer Game Length
Women’s soccer matches are like men’s soccer, with two halves lasting 45 minutes each and a 15-minute break in between. The IFAB regulates these matches to provide the standard duration across various competitions.
College Soccer Game Length
NCAA soccer games usually last 90 minutes, half an hour for each side. This duration relates to professional games because they are organized to allow players to transition to the next level of play easily.
Youth Soccer Game Length
Soccer games in youth are determined by the age of the children to fit the child’s developmental stages. For instance,
Under-6 teams normally conduct their games in two ten-minute halves or four six-minute quarters. Games for the under-eight-year age group can be played in four quarters of twelve or two halves of fifteen minutes.
The Under-10 category plays two halves of 25 minutes, while the Under-11 category plays two halves of 30 minutes. These shorter game lengths encourage young players to play and prevent them from getting too exhausted.
Middle School Soccer Game Length
Soccer games in a middle school are normally played for 80 minutes, with equal halves of 40 minutes each and a downtime of 10 minutes. This is intended to be a slightly shorter game time to accommodate the middle-school stamina of the players.
High School Soccer Game Length
Many high school soccer games involve FIFA and IFAB regulations, especially for the Under-17 and Under-18 divisions. A soccer game is expected to take a maximum of ninety minutes.
It could be divided into two halves of forty-five minutes, with a fifteen-minute break. The time can be increased if necessary to reach a definitive result.
What Is Stoppage Time in Soccer?
In soccer, stoppage time is the additional time given at the end of the half to compensate for the time the game was stopped for any reason, including injuries and video assistant review.
Although it may add to the overall time it takes to complete the game, the referee awards this time to ensure the players have played the expected 90 minutes.
Stoppage time, based on how exciting the match is and with the league rules, can be additional to minutes, which increases the dramatic element of the final minutes.
Is There Overtime in Soccer?
In soccer, for instance, league games do not necessitate extra time, as they can end up in a draw. But in the World Cup, for instance, a draw after ninety minutes of play exposes the game to extended time, not the end.
The match reaches extra time, with two 15-minute periods to score a goal and take a win. If they are still level after that, the suspense rises so high that one gets almost nervous about the final decision made through a penalty shoot-out, creating a theatrical climax.
Are World Cup Knockout Games 90 Minutes?
Soccer matches in the World Cup knockout stage are like any other soccer match, but they start with 90 minutes and have higher risks. More often than not, players step on the playing field, knowing that even if the match ends in a draw in regulation time, the game is far from over.
Another aspect of the match is that it goes to extra time. Teams are given a 15-minute break; an extra 15 minutes are played to determine who scores the decisive goal. While equal results during the group stage are possible, a clear winner must be established. If it is still a draw in extra time, then comes even more drama until someone claims the prize.
How Long Is Halftime in Soccer?
Soccer halftime lasts 15 minutes. This break benefits the players by allowing them to take a water break and be ready to return to the field to continue the remaining half of the game.
Coaches should also intervene and try to encourage their teams, as this is also a good time to make some changes.
Does TV Affect the Length of Soccer Games?
However, soccer and TV broadcasts do not make the games longer; they are just a part of soccer culture. A soccer match lasts 90 minutes and has a 15-minute break in between; this is, in fact, not influenced by TV.
However, TV networks can affect the time a game starts, the appearance of more stoppages, and other things related to scheduling for commercials and pre- or post-game programs. However, when the game is on, the length of the game does not change, despite television.
How does a Penalty Shootout Work?
In a penalty shootout, used to determine the winner when a match is tied after 120 minutes, the process begins with a coin toss, where the winning team decides whether to go first. Each team selects five players to take alternating penalty shots from the 12-yard line in front of the goalpost.
The team with the most successful penalties after five rounds is declared the winner. If the score remains tied, the shootout continues into sudden death, where the first team to score while the other team misses secures the victory.
FAQs:
How Do Extra Periods Work?
Extra periods are also played if the match scores are equal after 90 minutes of soccer. These are made up of two halves of 15 minutes each. However, the victory is not decided until the final whistle is blown, and, in the case of a draw, even after the extra time, a penalty shootout is conducted.
