7-a-Side vs 11-a-Side Football: Pitch Size, Rules and What Changes

“Football” on a booking sheet can mean two quite different games. Eleven-a-side is the codified sport with a rulebook; seven-a-side is the fast, turf-friendly format most people actually book after work. Knowing what changes between them — and what is genuinely standardised versus what each venue decides — saves a lot of confusion.

11-a-side is the codified game

Eleven-a-side football is governed by the IFAB Laws of the Game, the specification FIFA plays under. The key numbers:

• Pitch: 90–120 m long by 45–90 m wide. For international matches the range tightens to 100–110 m by 64–75 m.
• Goal: 7.32 m wide by 2.44 m high, measured inside the posts.
• Ball: size 5, circumference 68–70 cm, weight 410–450 g.
• Match: two halves of 45 minutes, with a half-time break of no more than 15.
• Team: 11 players including the goalkeeper; the match cannot continue if a side drops below seven.
• Offside applies.

7-a-side has no single global standard

Here is the honest part most guides skip: there is no IFAB or FIFA specification for a 7-a-side pitch. The format is governed by national associations and individual competitions, so the dimensions genuinely differ depending on whose rules you are playing under.

The one thing that is constant across every 7-a-side code is the number in the name: seven players, and that seven includes the goalkeeper. Everything else — pitch size, goal size, offside, match length — is set locally. As a rough guide, England’s FA runs small-sided 7v7 at around 55×37 m; Australia’s youth format is nearer 45×35 m. Treat those as examples of the spread, not the rule.

A word on the turf itself

People often ask for an “official” artificial-turf pile height. There isn’t one in the way there is for a pitch line. FIFA’s quality programme certifies turf on how it performs — ball roll, bounce, grip — rather than mandating a millimetre figure. In practice, football turf pile sits in a roughly 40–60 mm band. Anyone quoting a single exact “regulation” height is stating a convention, not a law.

Which format suits you

Seven-a-side is the natural fit for a turf booking: fewer players to gather, a shorter game, and end-to-end action. It is the format most week-night groups play. Eleven-a-side needs a full-size ground and a bigger squad, and comes into its own for organised matches and tournaments.

Our football turf in Dilshad Garden is floodlit and open at any hour, set up for small-sided games through to larger matches. Planning something bigger — a league night or a corporate tournament? See tournaments and events. To book, send your date, time, duration and numbers from the book a slot page.

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