If your U11s turned up this season expecting 9v9 and were told they are still 7v7, or your U13s are wondering where the big pitch went, this is why. From the start of the 2026/27 season the FA's Future Fit framework is in force across grassroots youth football in England, and every format is now played a year later than it was. It is the biggest change to how children's football is organised in England in more than a decade, it arrived quietly, and a lot of coaches found out from the fixture list.
This is the whole thing on one page: the new ladder with ball sizes, pitch sizes and match lengths, why the FA did it, what it changes for your team this month, and what it does not change. Everything is taken from the FA's own Future Fit pages and England Football's format guides, which are linked below.
The short answer
- U7: 3v3, a new entry format with no goalkeepers.
- U8 and U9: 5v5.
- U10 and U11: 7v7.
- U12 and U13: 9v9.
- U14 and above: 11v11.
The ball is a size 3 all the way to U11, a size 4 at U12 and U13 and a size 5 from U14. The changes are mandatory from 2026/27, and the age group is still set by the player's age on 31 August.
The new formats, age group by age group
| Age group | Format | Ball | Recommended pitch | Goals | Game length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U7 | 3v3 | 3 | 15 x 10 m | 4 x 2.5 ft | 6 to 10 mins a game, 30 to 40 mins of play per child |
| U8 and U9 | 5v5 | 3 | 37 x 27 m | 12 x 6 ft | Up to 40 mins |
| U10 and U11 | 7v7 | 3 | 55 x 37 m | 12 x 6 ft | Up to 50 mins |
| U12 and U13 | 9v9 | 4 | 73 x 46 m | 16 x 7 ft | Up to 60 mins |
| U14 | 11v11 | 5 | 82 x 50 m | 21 x 7 ft | Set by your league |
| U15 and U16 | 11v11 | 5 | 91 x 55 m | 24 x 8 ft | Set by your league |
Those are the FA's maximum formats for each age group; a league can run something smaller. Match lengths for 11v11 are set by each league within the FA's Standard Code of Rules, and your league's handbook is the final word for every row.
3v3 at U7. No goalkeepers, so all six children are outfield players and everyone attacks and defends. No heading and no penalties. Free kicks are taken at least three metres from goal, and at every restart, goal line, corner, sideline or free kick, the player can either dribble or pass the ball in. Each game lasts six to ten minutes and children play several in a session, so the format is a festival of short games rather than one match. The FA's closer look at 3v3.
5v5 at U8 and U9. Goalkeepers return, with a retreat line to encourage playing out. No heading and no offside. Sideline restarts are a pass or a dribble in rather than a throw. Rolling substitutes. England Football's 5v5 guide.
7v7 at U10 and U11. The same rules as 5v5 on a bigger pitch: retreat line, pass or dribble in from the sideline, no offside, rolling subs. This is the age group most affected by the change, because under the old pathway U11 was the first year of 9v9. England Football's 7v7 guide.
9v9 at U12 and U13. The step up in laws happens here, in the first year of secondary school: offside is introduced, throw-ins replace the pass or dribble in, heading is allowed and there is no retreat line. England Football's 9v9 guide.
11v11 from U14. The full game, a year later than before. U14 plays on a smaller 11v11 pitch with smaller goals than U15 and U16.
Why the FA changed it
The FA's stated aim is "more time on the ball, more time on the pitch and increasing their physical activity levels". With Liverpool John Moores University it studied more than 400 grassroots games from U6 to U14, and the conclusion was that smaller formats for longer give each child more touches, more decisions and more running. James Kendall, the FA's Director of Football Development, described the approach as "evolution, not revolution, helping to increase the levels of engagement, physical activity, skill development and the volume of technical actions for every player".
Two other threads run through it. The ladder now lines up with school: small formats and simple rules through primary school, then 9v9 and the fuller laws when children start secondary school. And restarts have been changed at the youngest ages so the ball is in play for longer, which is why a six-year-old now dribbles the ball back in from the sideline instead of standing there working out how to throw it. The FA's announcement.
What it changes for your team this season
- A squad that moved up an age group did not necessarily move up a format. U11s stay at 7v7, U13s stay at 9v9. If you spent the summer preparing for the bigger pitch, the preparation keeps; the pitch does not arrive until next year.
- Check the balls. U10 and U11 stay on a size 3. Plenty of clubs bought size 4s in July on the old pathway.
- Check the goals and pitch markings against the table, especially at U7, where the 3v3 goals are tiny and the pitch is a fraction of a 5v5 one.
- U7 is a festival format. Several six-to-ten-minute games, with 30 to 40 minutes of play per child across them. Plan it like a tournament day rather than a match, and rotate children across games so nobody plays every minute or sits out every other game.
- Your league's handbook is the one that binds you. County FAs are treating 2026/27 as a transition season. Some, Liverpool County FA among them, have restricted teams from moving between leagues to chase a preferred format while it beds in. If a league near you seems to be running an odd offer this year, that is why.
- Age group by 31 August still applies. A child who is 10 on 31 August is U11 for the whole season.
What has not changed
- Playing time. Future Fit does not add a minutes rule. The FA's guidance is still equal playing time where possible, with at least 50% of each game per player as best practice, and it is your league's handbook that decides whether that is a rule. What the FA actually says about equal playing time.
- Heading guidance. There is no heading in 3v3 or 5v5, and the FA's youth heading guidance still governs training at every age.
- Wales and Scotland. Future Fit is an FA programme for England. The FAW runs its own 2026/27 formats, which match this ladder from U8 up but use a size 4 ball at U10 and U11, and the SFA sets Scotland's. The FAW's rules and the 50% playing-time regulation.
Running match days under the new formats
The practical consequence for the youngest age groups is that a "match" is now a set of short games, and fairness has to be measured across the set. Squadd handles that as a match day: one event with every game inside it, availability asked once, each game recorded live with its own score and substitutions, and every child's minutes kept as a running total across the day, which the lineup planner's Match day setting uses to balance the next game, so the 50% line is worked against the whole session rather than one game. The fair-play helpers warn before anyone drops under, and the one-tap swap brings on whoever has had the least. From U12 up the fixture is a single game with the format and length set per fixture, so a 9v9 team that plays an occasional 7v7 friendly just changes the format on that one. How match days work.
Questions coaches ask
What is Future Fit in football?
Future Fit is the FA's framework for grassroots youth football in England, in force from the 2026/27 season. Its main change is that every format is played a year later than before, with a new 3v3 entry format at U7 and 11v11 starting at U14 instead of U13.
What age group plays 3v3?
U7, from the 2026/27 season. Games are six to ten minutes long with no goalkeepers, no heading and no penalties, and children play several games in a session for 30 to 40 minutes of football each.
When does 11v11 start now?
U14. Under the old pathway it started at U13. U12 and U13 now play 9v9.
What size ball do U10s and U11s use in England?
Size 3. The size 4 arrives at U12 with 9v9, and the size 5 at U14 with 11v11. This is one place England and Wales differ, since the FAW uses a size 4 at U10 and U11.
Is there offside in 7v7?
No. Offside is introduced at 9v9, from U12, along with throw-ins and heading.
Does Future Fit apply to my league this season?
Yes, if you play in England. The formats are mandatory from 2026/27, and County FAs are managing the transition, including restrictions on moving between leagues while it settles. Your league's handbook has the detail for your competition.
TL;DR
- From 2026/27 every youth format in England is played a year later: 3v3 U7, 5v5 U8 and U9, 7v7 U10 and U11, 9v9 U12 and U13, 11v11 from U14.
- Ball sizes: 3 to U11, 4 at U12 and U13, 5 from U14.
- 9v9 is where offside, throw-ins and heading arrive.
- Playing-time guidance has not changed: at least half a game per player is still the FA's best practice.
- Check your balls, goals and league handbook this week; a squad that moved up a year may not have moved up a format.
Squadd sets the format and length per fixture and adds every child's minutes up across a festival day, so the new short-game formats stay fair without a clipboard. Free to start, four-week Pro trial.