What is the rule for taking the kick off

[BurbankHibee]

I know that both teams must be in their own half and the team NOT taking the kick off must be outside of the center circle. But what about the team taking the kick off, how many players are permitted in the center circle. There doesn't seem to be any mention of this anywhere I can find. I always assumed there was no restriction. Any soccer refs out there clue me in ? (I bet Kevin Robertson would know !)

 

[Purple & Green]

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/81/42/36/lawsofthegame%5f2010%5f11%5fe.pdf

Preliminaries

A coin is tossed and the team that wins the toss decides which goal it will attack in the first half of the match.
The other team takes the kick-off to start the match.

The team that wins the toss takes the kick-off to start the second half of the match.

In the second half of the match, the teams change ends and attack the opposite goals.

Kick-off

A kick-off is a way of starting or restarting play: at the start of the match after a goal has been scored at the start of the second half of the match at the start of each period of extra time, where applicable
A goal may be scored directly from the kick-off.

Procedure
all players must be in their own half of the field of play
the opponents of the team taking the kick-off are at least 9.15 m (10 yds)
from the ball until it is in play
the ball must be stationary on the centre mark
the referee gives a signal
the ball is in play when it is kicked and moves forward
the kicker must not touch the ball again until it has touched another player

After a team scores a goal, the kick-off is taken by the other team.

Infringements and sanctions

If the player taking the kick-off touches the ball again before it has touched another player:
an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team to be taken from the
position of the ball when the infringement occurred (see Law 13 Position of free kick)

In the event of any other infringement of the kick-off procedure:
the kick-off is retaken

 

[Briant]

I know that both teams must be in their own half and the team NOT taking the kick off must be outside of the center circle. But what about the team taking the kick off, how many players are permitted in the center circle. There doesn't seem to be any mention of this anywhere I can find. I always assumed there was no restriction. Any soccer refs out there clue me in ? (I bet Kevin Robertson would know !)

I remember at school we came up with a cunning plan to not get beat.

We took the kick off with everybody from our team in the centre circle. All our players then formed a circle around one guy who kept the ball. As a unit, we marched forward. They couldn't get to the ball or player in control of it without fouling, so we just walked the ball into their goal. If they managed to score we just did the same again. So we were always either drawing or winning :approve:

 

[Tomsk09]

I remember at school we came up with a cunning plan to not get beat.

We took the kick off with everybody from our team in the centre circle. All our players then formed a circle around one guy who kept the ball. As a unit, we marched forward. They couldn't get to the ball or player in control of it without fouling, so we just walked the ball into their goal. If they managed to score we just did the same again. So we were always either drawing or winning :approve:

My Gawd! What have you done! You realise of course that you've just destroyed the game of football as we know it. Everyone will be doing this now. Games will descend into chaos. Ludicrous scores of 44-all and the like will proliferate. Attendances will plummet as spectators weary of the mundane repetitiveness of the new tactics. Television money will evaporate. A whole global industry crumble and collapse. The game is doomed. And all thanks to some smartie pants in a wee primary school in Edinburgh. Eat your heart out, Bosman.



To answer the original question: you really need only a minimum of one player to take a kick-off, although two helps. The maximim number is eleven.

 

[Briant]

My Gawd! What have you done! You realise of course that you've just destroyed the game of football as we know it. Everyone will be doing this now. Games will descend into chaos. Ludicrous scores of 44-all and the like will proliferate. Attendances will plummet as spectators weary of the mundane repetitiveness of the new tactics. Television money will evaporate. A whole global industry crumble and collapse. The game is doomed. And all thanks to some smartie pants in a wee primary school in Edinburgh. Eat your heart out, Bosman.



To answer the original question: you really need only a minimum of one player to take a kick-off, although two helps. The maximim number is eleven.

We were lucky to have a ref (gym teacher) with a sense of humour.

I mind him splitting us into two teams in the gym hall and throwing a basketball to us as he climbed to the top of the wall bars. We wondered what was going on till he said 'you know the rules of basketball? well forget them' All hell broke loose.

Me and two mates came up with a cunning plan though. We went and got another basketball. One of us went and sat at the hoop and we just kept on passing the ball back to him as he dropped it through for a score.

Sorry for hijacking your thread Burbank, but I think your question has been admirably answered above

 

[BurbankHibee]

To answer the original question: you really need only a minimum of one player to take a kick-off, although two helps. The maximim number is eleven.

That was my assumption but it is not stated as such in the rules. I was attending a kids soccer game and the referee would only allow two players in the circle from the team taking the kick off.