SUMMARY
- The field essentially has to be rectangular in shape marked with continued lines. The lines are indicated as the boundaries and the touchlines shall be parallel to the orientation of the stadium.
- However, there can be additional areas attached to the field which is primarily used to pre-match practices and warm-ups.
A game adored by billions across the globe keeps us on our feet till the 90 minutes. However, have you ever wondered how much is the dimension of the field?
The entire pitch of soccer consists of many different areas making a whole soccer pitch. According to the standards of FIFA, the dimensions should be 345 feet x 223 feet. The field essentially has to be rectangular and marked with continued lines. The lines are indicated as the boundaries and the touchlines shall be parallel to the orientation of the stadium.
However, there can be additional areas attached to the field which is primarily used to pre-match practices and warm-ups. FIFA recommends that the goalline extends at least 16.5 feet beyond each goal line, and there should be a 13-foot extension beyond each touchline before installing perimeter advertising boards.
Although it can vary depending on the size of the stadiums. For smaller stadiums, the minimum distance of 13 feet behind each goal line and 10 feet beyond the touchlines.
How many players are allowed on a Soccer field at a time?
Though there are new variations in the game now, a competitive game of soccer is usually played with 22 players (11 in each team). However, in terms of suspensions following a red card, a team has to play with as many players as left on the pitch. But there’s a catch as well for that. A team has to have a minimum of 7 seven players to play the game. Any further suspension would see the team lose the game by 3 goals to nil.
📆 16/Mar/2002
📍 Bramall Lane, Sheffield
🥊 Sheffield United vs West Brom🤔 https://t.co/kZYSdsozAU pic.twitter.com/VuOSP2Tn6j
— 🏴 (@Coque_PL) May 31, 2023
A similar situation once took place in the English Championship (second tier of English soccer) back in 2002. Sheffield United was playing West Bromwich Albion where the Blades had three men sent off, two others went off injured.
To make it worse, Sheffield didn’t have any substitutions left which forced the official to call off the game. However, there wasn’t much change to the scoreline as West Bromwich was already winning the game 3-0.
Are soccer and football fields the same size?
With the game of soccer being called ‘football’ outside the United States, people have often wondered the difference between the size of the two respective fields where the games are played.
Although the rules of both games are completely different, the fields where the games are played a very similar in shape. The ideal dimension of the soccer field is 345 feet in length and 223 feet wide.
On the other hand, a standard American football field measures 360 feet in length and 160 feet in width. Unlike soccer fields, American football fields have fixed dimensions. In professional leagues such as the NFL, the field measure spans up to 360 feet long and 160 feet wide