Seven players are required, with narrow exceptions for temporary absences.

The ruleset used on this page

This page applies The IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27 to standard 11-a-side association football. That edition took effect on 1 July 2026, although competitions that began earlier could introduce its changes before that date.

The controlling provisions are Law 3.1, “Number of players”; Law 7.5, “Abandoned match”; and the separate procedure for penalties (penalty shoot-out) in Law 10.3. Law 5 explains the referee's authority to stop, suspend or abandon and to report incidents. Competition regulations still control team lists, eligible substitutes and the administrative consequence of an abandonment.

The minimum is seven for each team

IFAB Law 3.1 says that a match is played by two teams, each with a maximum of eleven players, and one player on each team must be the goalkeeper. The seven-player test applies separately: thirteen or more players in total is not enough if one side has only six.

Seven is a minimum, not the required starting number. A properly constituted team may therefore kick off with seven, eight, nine or ten players, subject to the competition's eligibility, registration and team-list rules.

How to decide whether play can continue

1. Name the format and ruleset. Confirm that this is standard 11-a-side football under IFAB 2026/27, not a modified youth, veterans, disability, grassroots or small-sided competition.
2. Count each team separately. Identify the players who may legally take part and confirm that one is acting as goalkeeper.
3. Classify every absence. A sending-off or a player who cannot continue is different from an authorised temporary dismissal or an IFAB protocol's one-minute absence.
4. Check whether the ball is live. A deliberate departure while the ball is in play has a specific advantage provision.
5. Ask whether seven can be restored lawfully. Use only an eligible substitute or a player permitted to return; an unauthorised re-entry does not solve the problem.
6. Separate the field decision from the case result. The referee ends the match and reports the facts; the organiser applies Law 7.5 and its own regulations.
7. If the match has already ended, switch to Law 10.3. The seven-player abandonment rule does not operate during the penalty shoot-out.

Late arrivals must already be eligible

Where competition rules require all players and substitutes to be named before kick-off, Law 3.1 permits only people already named on that list to take part when they arrive. Starting with eight players does not create three open places for unlisted latecomers.

Law 3.6 also distinguishes a pre-match sending-off from one after kick-off. A player sent off after the team list has been submitted but before kick-off may be replaced by a named substitute; that substitute's place cannot then be refilled, and the team's permitted substitution count is not reduced. After kick-off, a sent-off player cannot be replaced. If the lawful pre-match options still leave fewer than seven, the match cannot start.

One of the seven must be a goalkeeper

The goalkeeper requirement is separate from the numerical minimum. If a goalkeeper is sent off but seven or more players remain, the team must designate another player as goalkeeper before play resumes. It may replace an outfield player with a named substitute goalkeeper if the competition's substitution rules allow it, or one of the remaining players may take the role. Law 3.4's informed-at-a-stoppage procedure applies when two current players change goalkeeper duties.

If a team of seven loses its goalkeeper to a sending-off after kick-off, only six players remain. Naming one of those six as goalkeeper does not restore the minimum, and the match cannot continue.

Red cards and unreplaced injuries can take a team below seven

A player sent off after kick-off cannot be replaced. A team that began with eleven would ordinarily reach six after a fifth such sending-off, assuming no other changes in its available player count. At that point the match cannot continue; the referee still records every misconduct incident and reports the abandonment under Law 5.3.

Injury can produce the same numerical result when the player cannot continue and no lawful substitution is available. The decisive point is not whether the loss was a red card or an injury, but whether the team has at least seven players or falls within one of the specific temporary exceptions in the 2026/27 wording.

Some authorised shortfalls are temporary

From 1 July 2026, Law 3.1 expressly says that the below-seven prohibition does not apply to a shortfall caused by:

• A temporary dismissal (sin bin): only in youth, veterans, disability or grassroots competitions whose rules use an approved temporary-dismissal system.
• The Time-limited substitution protocol: if the outgoing player does not leave within ten seconds, the substitute must wait until the first stoppage after one minute has elapsed. That protocol-created one-minute gap does not force abandonment.
• The Off-field treatment and assessment protocol: an outfield player required to remain off for one minute after the restart is not treated as reducing the team below the Law 3 minimum during that period.

These are narrow exceptions, not a general power to continue with six whenever an absence is described as temporary. If the sin-bin period or one-minute protocol is not the reason for the shortfall—and an injured player cannot continue with no eligible replacement—the ordinary seven-player rule applies.

A walk-off may not kill a live attack

Law 3.1 deals specifically with one or more players deliberately leaving the field and taking their team below seven while the ball is in play. The referee is not obliged to stop immediately and may allow advantage. This prevents the departing team from automatically ending an opponent's promising attack.

Once the ball next goes out of play, the match must not resume unless the team again has at least seven through a lawful return or substitution. A player who needed permission to re-enter but came back without it is dealt with under Law 3.8 and may be cautioned; the mere physical return does not authorise participation. Leaving without permission may also be misconduct, and a competition using IFAB's 2026/27 protest option may make leaving in protest a sending-off offence.

The referee ends play; the organiser decides the case result

“Suspended” and “abandoned” are not interchangeable. A suspension is a pause from which the referee still expects play might resume. An abandonment ends the match before its playing time is completed. When a non-exempt shortage below seven cannot be cured, the match cannot continue and there is no further restart to take.

Law 7.5 states that an abandoned match is replayed unless the competition rules or organisers determine otherwise. New for 2026/27, it also says that, in principle, a team responsible for an abandonment because it has fewer than seven players will forfeit. Law 3.1 makes that principle expressly subject to the relevant competition regulations.

That does not give the referee authority to announce a universal 3–0 score, award points or decide a replay. The referee records the score and circumstances at abandonment and reports them; the organiser decides whether the existing score stands, a replay is ordered, a forfeit is imposed and what score or further sanction its regulations prescribe.

The match is already over, so seven is no longer the cutoff

IFAB Law 10.3 says penalties (penalty shoot-out) are taken after the match has ended. It therefore expressly tells the referee not to abandon the shoot-out if a team is reduced below seven.

If one team has more eligible players than the other before or during the shoot-out, it must reduce its number to match the opponent and tell the referee who has been excluded. A sent-off goalkeeper must be replaced by an eligible player. This is a major boundary condition: six during match play normally ends the match; six during the post-match shoot-out does not.

Other formats can set different numbers

IFAB's General Modifications allow the responsible national association, confederation or FIFA to modify the number of players for youth, veterans, disability and grassroots football. The appointed competition rules may therefore set both a different team size and a different minimum.

This page does not govern futsal or other separately codified small-sided games. For any match that is not standard 11-a-side football, check the current rules issued for that exact format, age group and competition rather than importing the seven-player figure.

A seventh player is sent off

Situation: Green has seven players. During play, Green 4 commits a sending-off offence and the referee stops the match.

IFAB 2026/27 ruling: Green 4 is sent off and cannot be replaced. Green now has six, so the match cannot restart and is abandoned. The referee reports the offence, score and circumstances. Under Laws 3.1 and 7.5, forfeiture is the in-principle outcome where Green is responsible, but the competition regulations control the official result and any recorded score.

A seventh player must spend one minute off for treatment

Situation: Blue has seven players. An outfield player is injured in circumstances that trigger the 2026/27 Off-field treatment and assessment protocol and must stay off until one minute after the restart.

IFAB 2026/27 ruling: play may restart with six physically on the field because Law 3.1 expressly excludes that protocol-created one-minute absence. If the player is then unable to continue and Blue has no lawful substitute, the temporary exception no longer supplies a basis to continue below seven.

Players walk off while the opponents attack

Situation: Red has seven players. One leaves deliberately without permission while Blue retains the ball in a promising attack, reducing Red to six.

IFAB 2026/27 ruling: under Law 3.1 the referee may allow the attack to continue. At the next time the ball is out of play, there can be no kick-off, throw-in or other restart unless Red lawfully has seven again. Any misconduct is dealt with and reported separately; the competition then determines the abandonment outcome.

A red card occurs during the shoot-out

Situation: a team begins a penalty shoot-out with seven eligible players and one is sent off, leaving six.

IFAB 2026/27 ruling: continue the shoot-out. Law 10.3 expressly prohibits abandonment for falling below seven during penalties. The opponent reduces its eligible group to six, and the referee is told which player is excluded. The decisive fact is that the shoot-out occurs after the match has ended.

Claims that are too broad

• “Both teams need eleven to start.” No: seven is the IFAB minimum for standard 11-a-side play, subject to lawful team-list and eligibility requirements.
• “Any six-player moment means abandonment.” No: IFAB 2026/27 has specific exceptions for temporary dismissals and the two one-minute protocols.
• “Five red cards always end a match.” Only if the actual count falls below seven; the familiar calculation assumes the team started with eleven and had no other relevant changes.
• “A walk-off stops play instantly.” Not necessarily while the ball is live: the referee may allow advantage, but cannot restart below seven after the ball goes out.
• “Abandonment automatically means a 3–0 loss.” IFAB now states an in-principle forfeit where the team is responsible, but the competition regulations determine the official result and any scoreline.
• “The rule also stops a penalty shoot-out.” No: Law 10.3 says the referee must not abandon the shoot-out if a team falls below seven.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, effective 1 July 2026 (official rulebook)
• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 3.1, 3.4, 3.6 and 3.8: The Players
• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 7.5: Abandoned match
• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 10.3: Penalties (penalty shoot-out)
• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 5.3: Referee powers, duties and reporting
• The IFAB — Circular no. 33, additional 2026/27 changes approved 28 April 2026
• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, Time-limited substitution protocol
• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, Off-field treatment and assessment protocol
• The IFAB — Laws of the Game 2026/27, General Modifications

Checked against the IFAB 2026/27 rulebook, the live Law pages and Circular no. 33 as available on 26 August 2026. The seven-player baseline here is for standard 11-a-side association football. Competition regulations may supplement the Laws on eligibility, modified player numbers, abandonment procedure, forfeiture and the recorded result.