5-a-side is small-sided football with a goalkeeper and four outfield players per team, usually on artificial turf inside rebound boards and nets. The FA calls small-sided football "the largest form of the recreational game": in leagues at commercial centres, in clubs, schools and with friends after work. The ball is in play off the boards, there is no offside, and every player is always involved.
For children, England Football makes 5v5 the format for U8 and U9 from the 2026-27 season, between 3v3 for U7 and 7v7 from U10. England Football
The FA publishes small-sided laws, but rules "differ from venue to venue". These apply almost everywhere:
Source: FA Small-Sided Football Laws of the Game; the rules of your league apply.
Rebound boards all round, built-in goals and ball-stop nets: the pitch 5-a-side is played on.
30 x 20 m and 40 x 20 m, both within the FA's small-sided range, and any other size on request, such as 37 x 27 m. Where space is tight, 30 x 15 m, popular on rooftops.
1 m boards of double-walled, metal-coated sandwich panels with a sound-absorbing foam core, so the ball stays in play; nets 3, 4 or 5 m high, a roof net on request.
The Classic with posts set in concrete, the free-standing Advanced on asphalt or concrete, the Indoor sized to your hall, the Portable for events.
Tested as a complete system by TÜV Rheinland and certified to DIN EN 15312 for freely accessible multi-sport equipment; all steel hot-dip galvanised.
Small-sided football with a goalkeeper and four outfield players per team, usually on a pitch with rebound boards and nets. The FA calls small-sided football the largest form of the recreational game in England.
The FA's small-sided laws recommend 25 to 50 m in length and 16 to 35 m in width. For youth 5v5 (U8 and U9), England Football recommends 37 x 27 m, and the FA recommends at least 37 x 27 m for new small-sided facilities. We build 5-a-side pitches of 30 x 20 m and 40 x 20 m, and any other size on request.
The FA's small-sided laws allow goals 3 to 5 m wide and 1.2 to 2 m high; youth 5v5 uses 12 x 6 ft goals. Our standard goals are 3 x 2 m.
Futsal is the five-a-side game recognised by FIFA, played on a hard court with touchlines, a low-bounce ball and 3 x 2 m goals. 5-a-side is usually played on artificial turf, with the ball in play off the boards.
Yes. TÜV Rheinland tested the SoccerGround board system as a complete system and certified it to DIN EN 15312 for freely accessible multi-sport equipment.
Design your pitch in the configurator or tell us about your site; you get a free, no-obligation quote from SoccerGround in Hennef, Germany.
We are certified according to EN 1090, WPK according to EN 1090-1, EN 1090-2. We also hold qualification class E according to DIN 18800-7. Furthermore we are certified according to ISO 9001:2015.
