How Big are Soccer Fields?

We all watch top level soccer and see the best players in the world demonstrating their skills on the world stage but have you ever stopped to wonder just how big are soccer fields?

When we see the best players in the world hitting long passes across the full width of the soccer pitch, just how far are they hitting the ball with extreme accuracy?

Would it surprise you to learn that unlike other sports, there is no prescriptive size that the soccer field must be? In fact there are only upper and lower limits for both length and width of the soccer pitch.

The Basics

There are however different areas of the soccer field that are marked out and must conform to certain measurements. For instance, the penalty box is often called the 18 yard box because its edge is 18 yards from the goal-line.

Equally the six yard box gets its name for fairly obvious reasons, in that it is 6 yards from the goal.

The center circle must be a diameter of 20 yards and the arcs in the corners of the pitch from where an attacking player must take a corner kick are also regulated and must be 1 yard radius.

This detailed diagram of a soccer field should help you further with the basic dimensions that make up a soccer pitch.

Dimension of a Soccer Field – Youth Soccer

One of the worst mistakes a junior league can make is to have teams playing on oversized soccer fields.

The reason for this is simple, on a smaller field the players will have more touches of the ball, learn and experience more and have more fun.

The field size should be in line with the player's age group and not so large that players find themselves in huge open spaces with no-one around them.

If a field is too large, junior players will spend most of their time running without getting touches of the ball and will be tired and unfulfilled by half-time!

When this happens it is easy for them to lose interest in soccer and be turned off the sport.

There are also different rules that apply to youth soccer and different age groups have different measurements that they must abide by.

Here are the youth soccer field dimensions in yards and feet:

Ayso soccer field dimensions

The American Youth Soccer Organization sets out a range of guidelines for marking soccer fields and making them safe for use by the players. It also offers useful instructions about how to complete the marking and setting up of the field to the ayso soccer field dimensions here

Kids / Kinder soccer field dimensions

Kids / Kinder fields are laid out within a larger soccer field. The kinder fields are measured a long the touchline of the larger field, and extend lengthwise into the field.

A simple way of marking the field has been devised utilizing 3 people as follows:

• 3 people
• 3 tapes
• 3 colors of paint, 6 cans of each

Procedure

• To mark the corners of the fields, choose one goal line of the larger field to be your base.
• Lay a tape measure along each touchline from the base to the other end of the field, leaving them in place.
• Take a third tape measure and lay it on the base.
• The three people will move the tape along the base up the field, one marking at a time, until done
• One person at each end of the base tape, one person in the middle
• The persons at the end of the base tape, mark the spot just outside the touchline
• The person in the middle marks the two spots which are the corner of the two fields
• The persons on each end of the base tape move the tape to the next marking point.

Again AYSO helps out with detailed guidelines and instructions, which you can read here:

Watch how someone does this in the time lapse video below:

u5 and u6 soccer field dimensions

At this age, pitches need to be safe for the players and marked out to the following soccer field dimensions:

Width x Length (Yards): 15 x 30

u 8 soccer field dimensions, u8 soccer field size

An under 8 soccer field can be marked out using the '3 person' method described above and should be set out as follows:

Under 10 soccer field dimensions, u10 soccer field size

An under 10 soccer pitch should be marked out with the following dimensions:

u12 soccer field dimensions

An under 12 soccer field should be marked out using the following dimensions:

Pitch Sizes for Different Types of Soccer Games

There are also different requirements for pitches for different types of soccer games.

If you are marking out a soccer pitch for any small sided game you should comply with the following and your pitch should have the minimum of the following markings in its simplest form.

It should also comply with the following pitch sizes:

3 v 3 soccer field dimensions

• Minimum dimensions of: 25 yards x 35 yards
• Maximum dimensions of: 30 yards x 40 yards 

4v4 soccer field dimensions

• Minimum dimensions of: 30 yards x 40 yards
• Maximum dimensions of: 35 yards x 50 yards 

5 a side soccer field dimensions

The recommended dimensions for 5 a side soccer field dimensions as follows:

For small 5 a-side pitches the minimum regulatory dimensions are 16 yards to 25 yards, with a maximum of 46 yards x 27 yards.

For official matches or international competition matches FIFA establishes a minimum of 20 yards x 42 yards up to 27 yards x 46 yards.

Most commercial (rental) 5 a-side soccer pitches have shown best results using dimensions of 22 yards x 33 yards and 22 yards x 44 yards. These dimensions correspond to the total playing area including runoff area. This runoff is recommended to be 1 yard wide.

Regarding other football pitch sizes, FIFA has not published any official dimensions. However, these pitches are generally constructed using proportionate sizes to enable a suitable playing area for the players and a good game.

Generally speaking these would be the measurements that are recommended:

6 v 6 field dimensions

• Minimum dimensions of: 22 yards x 44 yards
• Maximum dimensions of: 27 yards x 50 yards

7 v 7 soccer field dimensions

• Minimum dimensions of: 27 yards x 50 yards
• Maximum dimensions of: 33 yards x 55 yards

All soccer pitches regardless of size must be rectangular. If in doubt, it is recommended that the width is 3/4 the length so that the game has the best playing ratio.

There are also different soccer pitch dimensions for different types of ruling or governing bodies. For instance, FIFA, MLS, and Futsal (indoor soccer) all have different requirements for pitch measurements.

Watch how this guy lines a 7v7 pitch in the UK:

Regulatory Bodies Soccer Pitch Sizes 

FIFA : fifa soccer field dimensions

The field of play must be rectangular and marked with lines. These lines belong to the areas of which they are boundaries.

The centre mark is indicated at the midpoint of the halfway line. A circle with a radius of 10 yds is marked around it.

Marks may be made off the field of play, 10 yds from the corner arc and at right angles to the goal lines and the touch lines, to ensure that defending players retreat this distance when a corner kick is being taken.

All marking lines must be of the same width, which must be not more than 5 in.

The entire playing field should be within the following dimensions:

• Standard Touchline (length): 100 yd to 130 yd; 
• Goal line (width) : 50 yd to 90 m 100 yd
• International matches Touchline (length): 110 yd to 120 yd; 
• Goal line (width) : 70 yd to 80 yd 

MLS : dimensions of a major league soccer field

The field dimensions are within the range defined by FIFA: 110–120 yards long by 70–80 yards wide. These soccer field dimensions are wider than the regulation American football field width of 53 1⁄3 yards.

FUTSAL: dimensions of futsal soccer pitch

Futsal has its own specific rules around the make up and size of the pitch.

The field should be of wood or artificial material, or similar surface, although any flat, smooth and non-abrasive material may be used. The length of the field is in the range of 125–138 ft, and the width is in the range of 66–82 ft in international matches.

For other matches, it can be 82–138 ft in length, while the width can be 52–82 ft, as long as the length of the longer boundary lines (touchlines) are greater than the shorter boundaries where the goals are placed (goal lines) (Basketball fields of 92 ft × 49 ft can be used).

The "standard" size court for an international is 131 ft × 66 ft (the size of a handball field).

The ceiling must be at least 13 ft high.

In front of each goal is the penalty area. This area is created by drawing quarter-circles with a 20 ft radius from the goal line, centered on the goalposts.

The upper part of each quarter-circle is then joined by a 10.4 ft line running parallel to the goal line between the goalposts. The line marking the edge of the penalty area is known as the penalty area line.

The penalty area marks where the goalkeeper is allowed to touch the ball with hands. The penalty mark is 20 ft from the goal line when it reaches the middle of the goalposts. The second penalty mark is 33 ft from the goal line when it reaches the middle of the goalposts.

A penalty kick from the penalty spot is awarded if a player commits a foul inside the penalty area.

The second penalty spot is used if a player commits their team's sixth foul in the opposing team's half or in their own half in the area bordered by the halfway line and an imaginary line parallel to the halfway line passing through the second penalty mark; the free kick is taken from the second penalty mark.

Any standard team handball field can be used for futsal, including goals and floor markings.

As you can see the Futsal court is quite different to the FIFA standard soccer field.

Soccer Dimensions in Summary

When you consider the size of a professional soccer field it is not difficult to see why soccer players need to be in peak physical condition to be able to run as hard as they do for 90 minutes.

Soccer players cover a bigger area and with more intensity than a number of different sports for example NFL football which has pitch dimensions of 100 yards by 50 yards only and allows for a number of stoppages to enable players to regain their breath.

A typical soccer player in a professional soccer match will run an average of 7 miles per game and in some cases this can reach distances of 10 miles per game.

A football field has significantly more markings on it than a soccer pitch which makes the action easier to follow for spectators.