We are at an important time in the development of young players and Mini Football (7v7, 9v9) are the “Golden Years’ of learning. We have introduced the Retreating Line to provide more opportunities for more players to be involved and enjoy the game.

Heres an introduction to the Retreating Line

In order to help you understand this further, please see below:

Retreating Line Key points:

• Retreating Lines marked with discs at 30% (mostly painted lines now ) of pitch length from each goal
• When a team’s Goalkeeper receives the ball, they have the choice to wait for the attacking players to drop back behind the retreating line.
• When the Goalkeeper plays the ball out, only upon the first touch of the goalkeeper's team-mate can the attacking player advance over the retreating line.

Note: The coaches are encouraged to ensure a maximum of 6 seconds are undertaken for this to happen. We encourage to take the first touch as quickly as possible

Offside:

In 7v7 the Retreating Line is also used as the offside line for attacking players 9v9 the offside line is from the halfway line as per 11v11 football rules For further information and examples, please have a look at the Retreating Line Booklet 

The video shows the GK with the ball and the opposition (orange bibs) behind the Retreating Line. The GK passes to his defender. Upon the first touch, the orange defending players are able to press the ball. This results in the blues playing “through the thirds” with a combination of passing and dribbling into the opponent's area.

Great stuff!