Football Pitch Size | 5, 7, and 11-a-side Dimensions

Read time 3 minutes 

Football pitch size can vary hugely depending on which format you’re playing. 5-a-side pitches have curved penalty areas, whereas 11-a-sides have an 18 yard box, but even within those formats football pitch markings and dimensions can vary considerably.

Whether you’re laying your own football pitch or looking for one to play on, here are the FA recommended pitch sizes for 5-a-side, 7-a-side, and 11-a-side football.

FA recommended football pitch sizes:

5-a-side football pitch size

5-a-side football pitches can vary in size, but the recommended dimensions are 40 x 30 yards (36.5m x 27.5m). The penalty area, formed of semi-circles at either end of the pitch, must be 6.5 yards (6m) from the centre of the goal line regardless of the pitch size.

You can play five-a-side with or without centre circle or even half-way line pitch markings. The recommended goal size for 5-a-side is 3 yards (3.66m) wide.

7-a-side football pitch size

7-a-side pitch dimensions can also vary, but the recommended size is 60 x 40 yards (55 x 36.5m). Unlike 5-a-side, 7-a-side pitches have rectangular penalty areas, which are 18 yards (16.5m) wide and 10 yards (9m) from the goal line.

As with 5-a-side, a centre circle is optional. Penalty arcs, or as they’re more commonly known, Ds, are also optional and are positioned at the edge of the penalty area with the curve facing away from goal. The penalty spot should always be 8 yards from the goal line.

11-a-side football pitch size

11-a-side pitch measurements can vary considerably, but according to FA regulations, should fall between 100-130 yards (90-120m) long and 50-100 yards (45-90m) wide. The penalty area should measure 18 yards away from the centre of the goal line and the penalty spot should be 12 yards from goal, no matter the overall size of the pitch.

Something not present on either the 5-a-side or 7-a-side pitch markings are corner arcs, which should form a 1 yard radius away from each corner of an 11-a-side pitch.

If you know which pitch you want to play on, head over to Playfinder to hire football pitches for 5-a-side, 7-a-side, and 11-a-side in London, Manchester, Brighton and Dublin!

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