KSL Official Rules & Regulations

Each team plays with a maximum of eleven players on the field. A minimum of seven players is required to begin a match and to continue it.

The match begins within five minutes after the referee's first call. A team that cannot field seven players at the first call has up to fifteen minutes from that same call to do so. The two periods are not added together.

Initial possession and choice of ends are decided by a coin toss or by agreement between the captains.

A team that cannot field seven players when the fifteen-minute allowance ends, or that drops below seven players during the match and cannot continue, forfeits the match. The opponent is awarded a 2-0 result.

Matches last ninety minutes in two halves of forty-five minutes, with a ten-minute halftime.

In the regular-season rounds there is no extra time and a tie stands.

Playoff matches that end tied continue with two extra periods of ten minutes. If still tied, each team takes five penalty kicks. If the score remains tied after five kicks each, the shootout continues with sudden-death kicks, one per team per round, until one team scores and the other does not.

The goalkeeper may not be substituted during the penalty shootout.

Each team has five substitution opportunities per match and may substitute any number of players in each opportunity. Substitutions made at halftime do not count toward the five opportunities.

Every substitution requires the referee's authorization. The entering player enters through the midfield line after the leaving player has left the field.

The offside rule does not apply in KSL.

Throw-ins are taken from the point where the ball crossed the touchline.

No penalty kicks are awarded for fouls committed during normal play; playoff penalty shootouts under Article 5 remain permitted.

A foul committed ten yards or less from the goal line is sanctioned with a KSL special direct free kick. For a foul closer than ten yards, the ball is moved outward to ten yards from the goal line, aligned with the location of the foul; for a foul exactly ten yards from the goal line, the ball remains where the foul occurred.

The kick is direct: a goal may be scored without another player touching the ball. Three defending players and the goalkeeper may stand on the goal line. All other players must remain clear and must not interfere with the kick.

Fouls committed more than ten yards from the goal line follow the normal free-kick rules.

Players wear the proper team uniform with a visible number and soccer cleats. Jewelry, casts, and any accessory the referee considers dangerous are not allowed. The referee decides whether a player's equipment is acceptable.

The referee has full authority over match decisions, including cards, timekeeping, the validity of goals, stoppages, suspension, and abandonment of the match. Referee decisions on facts of play are final.

The referee's report is the league's primary record of the match and the basis for league review.

A team may register a maximum of twenty-two players per season.

The team's official roster is the roster published on the league website. Each approved player holds the league player card issued through the website, which can be verified by its code.

Every player completes the league's registration process on the official website, including the participation agreement and the applicable fee. A player may participate only after the league has approved the registration and the player appears as active on the team roster.

A team that fields an ineligible player forfeits the match by an administrative score of 2-0 in favor of the opposing team. This forfeit is imposed only after KSL Administration has reviewed the matter and verified the ineligibility; an allegation alone does not produce a sanction.

Players aged fourteen to seventeen may participate only with the authorization of a parent or legal guardian, given through the league's minor participation agreement. Players under fourteen are not eligible.

New player registrations and transfers between teams close at the beginning of Round 2. After that point no new player is added and no player changes team for the rest of the season.

Exceptions require the written approval of KSL Administration, are granted at its discretion, and are never automatic.

The participation fee is ten dollars per player per round, paid through the league's official payment channels.

A player with an outstanding fee for the current round is not eligible until the league records the payment, except where the league has approved collection through the team representative under its billing procedures.

Intentional physical aggression, including kicking or striking another person, fighting, serious threats, and serious verbal abuse, including insults directed at players, officials, representatives, or spectators, are prohibited before, during, and after the match.

Such conduct is serious misconduct for the purposes of this rulebook and is distinct from ordinary sporting infractions.

Each team's captain and coach are responsible for helping to de-escalate disagreements on and off the field.

Only the captain may address the referee to question a decision, and must do so respectfully. Other players and team officials may not confront the referee.

A player shown a yellow card leaves the field for five minutes and may not be replaced during that time. The team plays with one fewer player for those five minutes.

A player shown a yellow card leaves the field for five minutes without replacement, as set out in Article 18.

• Second yellow card in the same match: dismissal and a one-match suspension.
• Direct red card for an ordinary non-violent offense: a one-match suspension.
• Red card for serious misconduct under Article 16: sanctioned under Article 20.

In addition, a player who accumulates three yellow cards during a season receives an automatic one-match suspension. An additional one-match suspension applies upon accumulating six, nine, and every subsequent multiple of three yellow cards during that season.

A qualifying offense is a red card for intentional physical aggression, fighting, serious threats, or serious verbal abuse, confirmed by KSL Administration after reviewing the referee's report. Ordinary red cards, sporting fouls, and second-yellow dismissals do not automatically constitute a serious disciplinary strike.

1. First qualifying offense: a two-matchday suspension and a first strike.
2. Second qualifying offense: a seven-game suspension and a second strike.
3. Third qualifying offense: expulsion from KSL.

Strikes carry across seasons and do not automatically expire or reset.

A player may submit a written appeal within seven days after notification of a strike. KSL Administration reviews the referee's report and the available supporting evidence and issues a written decision.

A player expelled after a third qualifying offense may request reinstatement after sitting out one complete season. Reinstatement is discretionary, requires the written approval of KSL Administration, and is never guaranteed.

Each team designates a representative, who is responsible for the conduct of the team's spectators and supporters. Sanctions under this article are team-accountability penalties imposed because of the spectators' conduct; they are not personal disciplinary strikes and create no personal suspension record.

1. First incident: the referee shows a yellow card to the representative. If the representative is playing on the field, the representative leaves the field for five minutes without replacement. If the representative is not playing, the captain on the field leaves for five minutes without replacement; if the designated captain is unavailable, the acting captain currently on the field serves the penalty.
2. Continued misconduct: the referee shows a red card to the same designated person, who leaves the match permanently. No substitution is permitted for a Salomón red-card removal, and the team plays one player short for the remainder of the match.
3. Third incident: the match is forfeited and the opposing team is awarded a 2-0 disciplinary result.

Cards shown under this article do not count toward the recipient's personal card accumulation, suspension history, or serious disciplinary strikes. Personal misconduct must be independently established before any personal sanction is assigned.

The season consists of two regular-season rounds. With eight teams, each round has seven matchdays. A victory earns three points, a draw one point, and a loss zero points.

Teams are ranked by league points. Teams tied on league points are separated by the following criteria, applied in order:

1. Goal difference.
2. Goals scored.
3. Fair Play: the lower disciplinary score ranks higher.
4. Head-to-head results.
5. A drawing administered by KSL.

Fair Play is the league's disciplinary score as calculated on the website: one point per yellow card and two points per red card recorded against the team's players during the season.

When three or more teams remain tied at the head-to-head stage, a mini-table is built from the matches among those teams only, ranked by points earned in those matches, then goal difference in those matches, then goals scored in those matches. Any tie remaining after the mini-table is resolved by a KSL-administered drawing.

The top four teams in the cumulative standings after Round 2 advance to the playoffs. First place plays fourth place and second place plays third place. The winners advance to the final. Article 5 applies to tied playoff matches.

There is no automatic third-place match; KSL may organize one only if it is announced before the playoffs begin.

The league recognizes a King of the Match for each match, a weekly leading goalscorer, and the season Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the player with the most goals accumulated through the end of Round 2.

A team that needs to reschedule a match for a non-emergency reason submits its request to KSL at least seven days before the scheduled match. Timely notice does not guarantee approval. KSL Administration has final authority to approve or deny any rescheduling request.

Emergencies, weather, unsafe field conditions, health and safety concerns, and other exceptional circumstances may justify shorter notice. KSL determines the date of any rescheduled match.

A team that does not appear for a scheduled match by the end of the fifteen-minute allowance of Article 2 forfeits the match by an administrative score of 2-0, recorded as a no-show. A team that appears but cannot field the minimum of seven players is treated under Article 3, recorded as insufficient players. The two circumstances are documented separately in the league's records.