GENERAL RULES

Unless modified by this set of rules, all games shall be played in accordance with the most current F.I.F.A. rules. All decisions of the referee are final and binding. The Tournament Committee, the Virginia Revolution Soccer Club, and the Virginia Youth Soccer Association will not be responsible for any expenses incurred by any team or club if the tournament is canceled in whole or part. Any team that cancels their registration for the tournament before acceptances are sent out will receive a full refund if a written notice has been received by the Revolution Cup Tournament Director. Any team that cancels after acceptances have been sent out will not receive any refund of fees under any circumstances. The Tournament Director reserves the right to decide on all matters pertaining to the tournament, and the director’s judgment is final. Any team that disregards any decision by the Tournament Committee (including the inclement weather policy) will be automatically dropped from the tournament and forfeit all remaining games. First place and second place medals will be awarded.

AGE AND ELIGIBILITY

• Participation in the REVOLUTION CUP is open to accepted teams with the following roster limits
  • U13-U16
    • Max Roster = 22
    • Max Dressed Players Per Game = 20
  • U11-U12
    • Max Roster = 18
    • Max Dressed Players Per Game = 16
  • U09-U10
    • Max Roster = 14
    • Max Dressed Players Per Game = 12
• All players over the designated dressed players count may sit with the team but must be in a different color.
• Players must have been born during, or after, the specified birth year of the age group they are participating in.
• Each team must be registered and in good standing with their national organization or state soccer association and must present a valid state roster. Player registration cards duly authorized by a team’s sanctioning organization will be required as proof of age. PLAYER PASSES MUST BE PRESENT AT THE FIELD FOR THE DURATION OF EACH GAME.
• No player shall play for more than one team during the tournament.
• Players must participate on their primary (or secondary if the primary team is not playing) team if they are registered for the tournament – exception club carded players. Players can participate as secondary carded, if their primary team is not registered in the tournament. Exception: players can participate on another team from within their own association as club carded and not be considered a guest player.
• All USYSA teams (other than those teams from the East Region) MUST have a copy of the Permission to Travel form approved and signed by a duly authorized State Representative. US Club Soccer teams are not required to present a travel form.

ROSTERS

Each team shall have a roster properly stamped by its sanctioning organization and tournament officials present at every game and rosters may be inspected by the field marshal at the request of either coach or on the decision of the referee. Rosters submitted at tournament check-in shall govern.

Roster Size

• U13 to U16 (11 v 11) – 22 players
• U11 to U12 (9 v 9) – 18 players
• U9 to U10 (7 v 7) – 14 players

GUEST PLAYERS

This tournament is not intended as a tryout event. A team may use no more than five (5) guest players, which must be approved by the Tournament Director. Rosters with guest players are limited as follows:

• U13 to U16 teams may not have more than twenty-two (22) players on their roster, which number includes up to five (5) guest players.
• U11 to U12 may not have more than eighteen (18) players on their roster, which number includes up to five (5) guest players.
• U9 to U10 teams may not have more than fourteen (14) players on their roster, which number includes up to five (5) guest players.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

• The U9 and U10 divisions will play 7 v 7; U11 and U12 divisions will play 9 v 9; all other age groups will play 11 v 11.
• A game may not start with fewer than seven properly uniformed players on each team. Once started, games may not continue with fewer than seven players per team. If a game cannot start or is stopped because a team has fewer than seven players, that team shall forfeit the game. A team shall have a 5-minute grace period from scheduled starting time before a forfeit is declared. Note: U9, U10, U11 and U12 division games cannot start or continue with less than six players.
• A forfeit in the preliminary rounds shall be awarded as three (3) points for the win and the score will be recorded as 3-0.
• If a team is the cause for termination of a game, that team will be considered to have forfeited that game.
• Teams that have forfeited a game may not advance beyond the preliminary rounds without the approval of the Tournament Director.

SUBSTITUTIONS

Substitutions without limit may be made, with the referee’s permission:

• After a goal has been made.
• At the beginning of the second half of play or prior to the beginning of an overtime period.
• At a goal kick by either team.
• At a free kick by either team.
• By either team at a throw-in, but only if the team in possession makes a substitution.

Limited substitutions may be made, with the referee’s permission:

• In case of stoppage of play for an injury on one-for-one basis for the injured player(s).
• To replace a cautioned player.

No substitutions on corner kicks will be permitted.

• A team may not substitute for a player who has been red carded.

PROTESTS

THERE WILL BE NO PROTESTS.

UNIFORM, EQUIPMENT, FIELDS, & HEADING RESTRICTIONS

• Players must wear numbers on the back of their uniforms and these numbers shall coincide with those listed on the team’s Official roster.
• PLAYERS ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR SHIN GUARDS IN ACCORDANCE WITH F.I.F.A. LAWS OF THE GAME.
• The HOME team (listed first on the schedule) will wear their light-colored jerseys. The AWAY team will wear their dark-colored jerseys. In the case of a conflict, the HOME team must change.
• When requested by the referee, each team must provide a lines-person.
• Regardless of weather conditions, coaches and their teams must appear on the field, ready to play as scheduled. Failure to appear will result in forfeiture of the game. Only referees and/or the Tournament Director can postpone or cancel a game.
• The home team is required to provide a properly inflated game ball. The U12 and younger teams will play with a #4 ball, and U13 and older teams shall play with a #5 ball.
• The U9 and U10 age groups will use the developmental build out line. Players must move behind the build out line until the ball is put into play when the keeper has the ball or on a goal kick. The goalie cannot punt or drop kick the ball – it must be put into play on a pass, throw, or roll. The build out line is used to denote where offside offenses will be called.

HEADING RULE AT AGE GROUP DIVISIONS U11 AND YOUNGER

Whenever the ball strikes a player in the head, play is stopped. The proper restart depends upon whether the player deliberately played the ball with his or her head. If deliberate, the proper restart is an indirect free kick to the opposing team. If this occurs within the goal area, the indirect free kick should be taken on the goal area line parallel to the goal line at the point nearest to where the infringement occurred. If the play by the head is deemed  inadvertent, then the proper restart is a dropped ball.

DURATION OF GAMES

The following outlines the length of game halves for boys’ and girls’ preliminary matches, Semi-Final, and Final matches.

Water breaks will be provided at the discretion of the referee in case of extreme heat for player safety. Water breaks will be brief and done on a running clock.

In the event inclement weather forces cancellation of a game after at least 20 minutes have been played, the game shall be considered official and the score at the point of cancellation shall be the final score. Should a game be halted before 20 minutes have been played, it shall be rescheduled for complete replay, or recommenced at the discretion of the Tournament Director. In the event of a tie in a Semi-Final or Final game, overtime shall be played as described above.

DIVISION WINNERS AND WILD CARD TEAMS

• Each team shall be awarded three points for a win and one point for a tie in the preliminary games. The division winner shall be the team with the most points. If two or more teams are tied, the tie-breaking rules are as follows:
  • Head-to-head competition (does not apply if more than two teams are involved).
  • Most wins.
  • Goal Differential.
    • Max goal differential 5 goals.
  • Goals against.
    • Max goals against 5 goals.
  • Most shutouts.
  • Goals for.
    • Max goals for 5 goals.
  • Penalty kick shootout.
• In the event of a tie among more than two teams: a tie is broken by the above system, but if ties among remaining teams still must be decided, those ties would be broken by starting again from the top of the tie-breaking procedure.
• The wildcard team will be the team from any division which, after the division winners have been determined, has the highest win/tie total points. In the event of a tie, the above listed priority applies. The wildcard team cannot play a team from their division in the initial knock-out round.

SEMI-FINAL AND FINAL TIE-BREAKING RULES

Overtime will be played for ties in semi-finals and finals, except in consolation matches.

Overtime does not end when one goal is scored (it is not sudden death).

U12 and younger teams will play up to two 5-minute overtime periods, and U13 and U14 will play up to two 10-minute overtime periods.

If the score remains tied after the first overtime period, a five minute halftime will occur and then the second overtime period. If there is a winner after the first overtime period, the game is complete.

If a tie in score exists at the end of the second overtime, the F.I.F.A. penalty kick procedure will be used to determine a winner.

GAME AND SCORE REPORTING

The winning team (or home team if game is tied) is responsible for collecting the score card from the referees and returning it to tournament headquarters at that field location immediately after the completion of the match.

CONDUCT

• Players, coaches, and spectators are expected to conduct themselves within the Spirit of the Law as well as the Letter of the Law. Displays of temper or dissent are cause for ejection from the game and surrounding field area.
• Both teams (players and coaches) will be on the same sideline. Spectators of both teams will take the opposite side of the field. No one will be allowed behind either end line.
• A player receiving a red card will not be able to participate in the tournament game following the game the card is issued. A coach receiving a red card will not be able to participate in the tournament game following the game the card is issued for the team in which the red card was received. VA Revolution Soccer Club reserves the right to SUSPEND ANY PLAYER, COACH OR TEAM FROM THE TOURNAMENT FOR UNRULY CONDUCT.
• In the event of assault/abuse on a game official, a judiciary hearing shall immediately be convened at a Tournament site to be designated by the Tournament Director. All terms described in the USSF Official Administrative Rule Book under Rule 3.2.8, “Suspension for Assault on Official”, shall apply. In any event, a player, coach, or other team official who is charged with assault on a game official is suspended from further participation in the Tournament.
• Any team disregarding a decision by the referees and/or the Tournament Committee to either suspend or cancel tournament play, will be disqualified for the remainder of the tournament. Also, a written complaint will be filed with the team’s sanctioning organization.

CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY

*After a team is accepted, then no refunds will be issued, exceptions as follows:

CANNOT FORM BRACKET FOR YOUR TEAM

If the tournament cannot provide a bracket for your team to participate, then you will receive a full refund.  An example of this would be if the tournament does not have enough teams to fill your age group.

WEATHER

In the event that inclement weather forces the cancellation of all or part of the tournament, teams will have the option to receive a credit or refund of a percentage of their paid entry fee.  This credit is to be used in future Virginia Revolution soccer tournaments (within one year), and will be given in the following increments:

• No games played = 75% credit or 50% refund
• One game played = 50% credit or 25% refund
• Two games played = 25% credit only

NOT RECEIVING GUARANTEED 3 GAMES

In the event that your team does not receive 3 games due to a team forfeiting or dropping out, teams will receive the following:

• One game played = 75% credit or 50% refund
• Two games played = 50% credit or 25% refund

* Please note that if one of your games is cancelled however you still play 3 games, then no refund/credit will be given.

WITHDRAWAL POLICY

Any team that withdraws after August 12, 2024, will forfeit its entrance fee.

EASTERN REGION POLICY

According to USYS policy, any US Youth Soccer State Association teams within the East Region that are accepted into a tournament in Region I, do not need permission to travel papers. East Regional teams are listed below

NATIONAL STATE ASSOCIATIONS IN EAST REGION
Connecticut Jr Soccer Association
Delaware Youth Soccer Association
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association
Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association
Soccer Maine
Maryland Youth Soccer Association
Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association
New Hampshire Soccer Association
New Jersey Youth Soccer Association
New York State West Youth Soccer Association
Pennsylvania West State Soccer Association
Soccer Rhode Island
Vermont Soccer Association
Virginia Youth Soccer Association
West Virginia Soccer Association