FA 3v3 Rules for Under-7s: Pitch, Goals and Match Day
Zé · Published 21 October 2026
From the 2026-27 season, under-7s in England play 3v3: no goalkeepers, no substitutes and no referee, with several games of 6 to 10 minutes running side by side so that every child gets 30 to 40 minutes of football. For a coach, match day stops being one game on one pitch and becomes a carousel of small pitches.
Below: what changed, the rules at a glance, a rotation plan for 6, 9 and 12 children, and a checklist for the week, the day and the touchline. We write coaching workbooks for this age group, but they are independent and not FA resources, so treat this page as a summary and check England Football's guide to 3v3 and your league's rules for the detail.
What changed in 2026-27
As part of its FutureFit changes to youth football, England Football has set a new ladder of match formats from the 2026-27 season:
- U7: 3v3, a new format with no goalkeepers.
- U8 and U9: 5v5.
- U10 and U11: 7v7.
- U12 and U13: 9v9.
- U14 and above: 11v11.
From 5v5 upwards, England Football describes each format as the maximum for its age groups: smaller games are still welcome, especially in training. How and when your league applies them is decided by the league and your county FA, so ask them if you're not sure what your team plays this season.
3v3 rules at a glance
- Pitch: 15 × 10 m recommended, 20 × 15 m at most. Cones or flat markers are fine, no painted lines needed, and up to four 3v3 pitches fit on one 5v5 pitch.
- Goals: 4 × 2.5 ft, about 120 × 75 cm.
- Ball: size 3.
- Players: 3 a side, no goalkeepers and no substitutes, so everyone plays all the time. The match-day organiser decides the teams: mixing players, or playing 3v2 or 2v2 when numbers are uneven, is fine.
- Officials: no referee. One adult facilitator per pitch keeps play safe and moving.
- Time: games of 6 to 10 minutes, with 30 to 40 minutes of playing time per child in all.
- Restarts: a pass or a dribble at every restart (sideline, goal line, corners, free kicks), with opponents at least 3 m away. At goal-line restarts, the opponents drop back into their own half.
- Shooting: a goal only counts if the shooter is in the opponents' half.
- After a goal: the scoring team goes back to its own goal line and the other team restarts from its goal line.
- Not in 3v3: no heading, no penalties, no offside, no powerplay.
England Football describes the U7 game as non-competitive: the point is lots of touches, lots of goals and lots of decisions for every child.
Planning the carousel: 6, 9 or 12 children
In a carousel, teams rotate to a new pitch and a new opponent after every game. Allow 2 minutes between games for drinks and moving. Here are three set-ups for a match day against one visiting club with the same numbers.
6 children each: 2 pitches
You have home teams A and B, the visitors C and D. Round 1: A v C and B v D. Round 2: A v D and B v C. Round 3: A v B and C v D. Rounds 4 and 5: repeat rounds 1 and 2. Five games of 7 minutes give each child 35 minutes of play. You need 2 facilitators.
9 children each: 3 pitches
Three home teams (A, B, C) meet three visiting teams (D, E, F). Round 1: A v D, B v E, C v F. Round 2: A v E, B v F, C v D. Round 3: A v F, B v D, C v E. Rounds 4 and 5: mix the clubs, for example two home players and one visitor in each team. Five rounds of 7 minutes, 3 facilitators.
12 children each: 4 pitches on one 5v5 pitch
Four teams per club, eight teams in all on four pitches. Home teams stay on the same pitch and visiting teams move one pitch along after each game, so every home team meets every visiting team over four rounds of 8 minutes (32 minutes of play). You need 4 facilitators, or the organiser covers a pitch when volunteers are short.
Before match day: the week and the day before
- Play 3v3 in training in the weeks before: dribble-in restarts, going back to the goal line after scoring, shooting from the opponents' half. Our U7 football session plan ends every session with 3v3.
- Practise any challenge your league runs on the day, so it isn't new to the children.
- Check numbers: who is coming, so you can plan teams and agree the number of pitches and facilitators with the host club.
- Message the families: time, place, kit, shin pads, water bottle, and a line explaining 3v3 (no keepers, no scores to shout about).
- Pack the bag the night before (checklist below).
On the day and afterwards
Arrive early to help mark out the pitches. Warm up with a ball, then explain the rotations calmly: children like to know which pitch they're on next. During the games, let the children play; the facilitator restarts the game and keeps it safe, with few words. Use the changeovers for drinks and a quick word of praise for each child. Afterwards, shake hands, gather the team for two minutes (“What did you enjoy?”), tidy up together, and write down that evening who played with whom and what went well.
The kit bag checklist
- Size 3 balls, pumped up, and a pump.
- Flat markers and cones to mark out pitches of 15 × 10 m.
- Bibs in two or three colours.
- Mini goals of about 4 × 2.5 ft, if the host club needs them.
- Spare shin pads and a spare water bottle.
- First-aid kit and ice pack.
- Parents' contact numbers, any forms your league asks for, a pen and your team sheet.
The parents' role on the touchline
With no referee and no keepers, the adults around the pitch set the tone. Ask parents to stand back from the small pitches, cheer for every child on both teams and leave the instructions to the children and the facilitator. Some parents will be needed as facilitators: brief them before the first game so they know their job is to restart play and keep it safe, not to coach or referee.
A notebook for the U7 season
Our U6-U7 coach's notebook has a match-format page that summarises 3v3 for under-7s, a match-day checklist, 16 match-day sheets to note who played each round and what went well, and 38 games for training, including goalkeeper games. The U7 to U13 workbook suits coaches who follow several age groups. Both are independent and not published by the FA, a county FA or a league; see all our football coaching workbooks.
Ready for 3v3 match days
Frequently asked questions
Is 3v3 compulsory for under-7s?
England Football introduces 3v3 as the U7 match format from the 2026-27 season. How it applies to your team this season depends on your league and county FA, so check with them.
Are there goalkeepers at U7?
No. 3v3 is played without goalkeepers, on small pitches with 4 × 2.5 ft goals, and a goal only counts when it is shot from the opponents' half.
Are scores kept at U7?
England Football describes the U7 game as non-competitive, so there is nothing to record for a league. The children will often keep count themselves; the coach's job is to keep the focus on playing.
Where can U7s practise in goal?
In training. Keeper games, and small games with keepers such as 4v4, let the children who love diving have a go, without changing the match-day format.