Small Sided Football

Small Sided Football is the most popular and fastest growing area of adult football. With over 1.5m adults playing Small Sided Football every week and with 30,000 teams playing in organised and competitive small sided leagues, this format of football has increasingly become an integral part of the football family. 

The FA recognises the important role that Small Sided Football plays in encouraging people to continue playing football and enjoying all aspects of the ‘beautiful game.’

Small Sided Football is an all encompassing term that covers the following formats:-

• 4v4
• 5v5
• 6v6
• 7v7
• Beach Soccer
• Futsal

Wherever you are around the country, the chances are that there is an opportunity to play Small Sided Football on your doorstep. This could come in all shapes and sizes from a large custom-built Small Sided Football facility with multiple pitches, to an indoor sports halls configured for Futsal, or even to an 11-a-side pitch temporarily split into smaller pitches. 

There are also a whole host of operators and providers that provide Small Sided Football opportunities, just do make sure that when you play in organised small sided leagues that they are appropriately affiliated to The FA. 

This section of FA.com provides you with more details on some of the small sided programmes that The FA oversees, but also gives you an introduction to the exciting game of Futsal.

For news and details on both Futsal and Small Sided Football (SSF), click on the 'Related Links' above.