The Lower Island Soccer Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce that LISA and its members have formally adopted the Canada Soccer Grassroots Standards for the 2026-2027 playing season!
What are Grassroots Standards?
The Canada Soccer Grassroots Standards have been designed to create the best possible learning and development
environment for young players in Canada. First introduced in 2020, the Grassroots Standards are based on Sport for
Life’s Long-term Athlete Development (2007) and Canada Soccer’s Long-term Player Development (2008) as well as
global best practice while considering the realities of Canadian soccer and will become mandatory for all member
organizations (clubs, academies, districts/regions, leagues) in Canada in advance of the 2026 playing season.
Canada Soccer’s Grassroots Standards will be applied to all levels of play from U13 and below where participants take part in small-sided games with fewer than 11 players per team using modified rules and regulations. The focus of these programs is on building a love of soccer, sport, physical activity, skill development, and fostering a sense of belonging within a positive learning environment.
CSA’s Guiding Principles:
- Grassroots Programs should be appropriately structured for the age and stage of the participating players and
allow for the opportunity for multi-sport participation, activity sampling, and life balance. - Grassroots Matches should be played on fields, with goals and balls, and following a match day format that is
developmentally appropriate for the participating players. - Coaches have the greatest impact on the experience of players and every child deserves a properly qualified coach.
- Children register to play soccer, not to watch others play or spend time traveling. Teams should strive for fair
playing time and limit travel time as much as possible. - Talent Identification and selection should be delayed as long as possible to provide as many players as possible
with the best training environment available. - Match results should not be the focus of grassroots soccer as this restricts player development and negatively
impacts the player experience
Canada Soccer Grassroots Standards:
Key Changes:
Player Grouping and Talent Identification:
Open Rosters
- Players must be allowed to move between teams within their club system
- Rigid roster locking is discouraged
No Early Selection
- No Provincial or Territorial select teams before U14
- No tryouts or evaluations
- No tiering before U11
Match Formats:
Match Format (Maximum)
- U4 – U6: Informal games
- U6 – U7: 3v3
- U8 – U9: 4v4 (no GK) or 5v5 (with GK)
- U10 – U11: 7v7
- U12 – U13: 9v9
Field Dimensions (Maximum)
- Must fall within Canada Soccer size ranges for each age group
- U4-U6 – N/A (Informal Games)
- U6-U7 – W: 18M-22M, L: 25-30M (10 mini-fields per standard pitch)
- U8-U9 – W: 25-30M, L: 30-36M (8 mini-fields per standard pitch)
- U10-U11 – W: 30-36M, L: 40-55 (4 mini-fields per standard pitch)
- U12-U13 – W:45-55, L: 65-75 (2 mini-fields per standard pitch or 1 mini-field 18-yard box to 18-yard box)
Ball Size
- U6 – U7: Size 3
- U8 – U9: Size 3 or 4
- U10 – U12: Size 4
- U13: Size 5
Match Duration (Maximum)
- U6 – U7: 30 minutes
- U8 – U9: 40 minutes
- U10 – U11: 50 minutes
- U12: 70 minutes
- U13: 80 minutes
Rest & Substitutions
- Unlimited substitutions
- Minimum rest between matches is equal to one match duration
Retreat
- U6 – U10 (Half-way line, No Offside)
- U11 (One Third), No Offside
- U12 – U13 (No retreat line)
Side-line Restart
- U4- U11 – Dribble in/pass-in
- U12/U13 – Throw-in
Offside
- U4-U11 – No Offside
- U12-U13 – Offside introduced
