All group play matches will be called not less than five minutes prior to the scheduled start of the next match regardless of the amount of time played up to that point.  A match is “complete” upon completion of one half of play regardless of the circumstances of termination with the final results based on the score at the time the match is terminated.  Group play matches can end in a tie.  Semi-final, and Final matches tied at the end of regulation time will be decided by kicks from the mark, according to FIFA rules.  There will be no overtime.

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Halftime

 

Halftime will be exactly 10 minutes, unless the center referee or Site Director determines that halftime should be shortened due to unforeseen delays in scheduled match start times, extended break due to injuries, weather, etc.

 

Formats

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Weather permitting, each team is guaranteed a minimum of four matches, with a maximum of two matches per day. The following formats will be used.  The Tournament Director may modify formats as necessary.  Teams affected by such changes will be notified of the appropriate rules for the associated format.

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                                               Five Team Divisions

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Divisions will consist of one group of five teams.  Each team will play the other teams in its group for a total of four matches.  Final standings shall be determined by the total points accumulated during this round robin play.  There will be no Final.

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Six Team Divisions

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Divisions will consist of one group of six teams.  Each team will play other teams in its group for a total of four matches.  Final standings shall be determined by the total points accumulated during this play.  There will be no Final.

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Seven Team Divisions

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Divisions will consist of one group of seven teams.  Each team will play other teams in its group for a total of four matches.  Final standings shall be determined by the total points accumulated during this play.  There will be no Final.

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Eight Team Divisions

 

Divisions will consist of two groups of four teams.  Each team will play the others within its group for a total of three matches.  The group winners will then play in a Final.  Teams not advancing to the Final will play a consolation match. 

 

Twelve Team Divisions

 

Divisions will consist of three groups of four teams.  Each team will play the others within its group for a total of three matches.  The group winners along with one wild card team will advance to the Semi-finals, the winners of the Semi-finals will then play in a Final.  Teams not advancing to the Semifinal round will play a consolation match.

 

Determination Of Group Winners/Wild Cards

 

In group play, there will be no overtime matches. Standings in a group will be determined by the following: 

 

Match Points:

 

• Three (3) points for a Win 

• One (1) point for a Tie

• No (0) points for a Loss

• Three (3) points for a Forfeit Win (scored as a 1-0 Win)

• Minus two (-2) points for a Forfeit or Match Abandonment Loss AND disqualification for advancing to playoff rounds.

 

In the case of a tie in group standings, placement will be determined by: 

 

1. Head to head result

2. Net goal differential, maximum of four goals per match 

3. Most goals scored

4. Least goals allowed, no maximum 

5. If a tie remains in groups with no play-off games, the tournament will declare the tied teams to be co-champions.

6. If a tie remains in groups with play-off games, the following additional rules apply:

 a.  ​If a two-way tie exists after steps one through four, FIFA Kicks from the Penalty Mark will be taken fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled start of the Semi-final or Final match.

 b.  If a multi-way (three or more) tie exists after steps one through four, steps two through four will be applied to attempt to eliminate one or more teams.  If one or more teams can be eliminated in this manner, steps one through four are again applied to the remaining teams.  If these procedures do not resolve the remaining tie, FIFA Kicks will be taken after a draw by the Tournament Committee.  For the draw, the following rules will apply. In a three-way tie, the first team drawn will receive the bye; the remaining teams will participate in a shootout with the winning team competing against the bye team in penalty kicks to determine the group winner.  The bye team will be the home team.  In a four-way tie, the Tournament Committee will draw the four teams into two FIFA Kicks contests whereby the first two teams drawn, will be paired and the second two teams will be paired. The winners of these contests will shoot-out to determine the overall winner. 

 

In a 12 team bracket, the wildcard will initially be determined by the team with the highest point total.  In the event of a tie, the tie-breaking procedure for the determination of group winner will be utilized. 

 

The tournament reserves the right to adjust pairings in the consolation round.  The tournament will also reassign wildcard teams to prevent a replay of a group play match in a Semi-final match.  The wildcard team will be passed to the group winner with the highest point total.  In the event of a tie between group winners, the wildcard team will be passed to the winner of Group A unless the wildcard team came from Group A, in which case it will be passed to the winner of Group B. 

 

Forfeits

 

A minimum of seven players constitutes a match. Matches will start at the given start time. In case the team does not have seven players present, there will be a maximum of five minutes grace period before awarding the match to the opponent. A forfeit will be scored 1-0. 

In no case shall a team which forfeits a match be declared a group winner or wild card team. The team with the next best record will be named group winner or wild card. 

 

Match Protests And Disputes

 

There will be no protests or disputes. Decisions by referees may not be appealed.

 

Post Match Procedures

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The manager/coach of each team must ensure their respective sideline areas are clean and that all trash is in containers. 

 

The match report will be submitted to the site director, complete with scores and a supplemental report for send-offs, injuries or special circumstances that need explanation. 

 

Control Of Sideline Conduct 

 

Players, managers, coaches, and team supporters are expected to conduct themselves within the letter and spirit of “The Laws of the Game.” The Site Director has the authority and the responsibility to remove any person(s) from the tournament for abuses of conduct, in addition to any specific disciplinary action brought about by any other authority.

 

Both teams will share one sideline. If spectators are allowed, they will occupy the opposite sideline, with supporters of a given team sitting directly across the field from the team.  While the match is in progress the manager/coach/trainer and all reserve players must remain on their respective benches and may not roam the sidelines, except as necessary to warm up for entry into the match. The manager/coach is responsible for the behavior of their team’s supporters. The referees will have the authority to warn and ultimately send off, any manager/coach whose supporters behave in an abusive or disruptive manner. Artificial noise - making devices are prohibited.

 

Conduct and Discipline 

 

It shall be the team’s responsibility to provide the eligibility status of each of its players.  Any active suspension from the tournament, local league, etc. must be reported to the Tournament Director at the time of the team’s check in.

 

The tournament has a Discipline Committee of no less than three members. The Discipline Committee will review and rule on all reports of unacceptable conduct by players, manager, coaches, referees, spectators, etc. 

 

All players and managers/coaches shall be subject to Arizona Soccer Association Discipline and Sanctions. 

 

A player, manager, or coach ejected will have an automatic minimum one-match suspension regardless of the reason for the ejection. 

 

A coach who is ejected must leave the field area immediately (out of sight and sound). Failure to comply will result in suspension from the entire event and may jeopardize inclusion into future events. 

 

Suspended Coaches must not be present in the field area while serving the suspension. Suspended players may sit with the team but must not be in uniform. Depending on the severity of the unacceptable conduct, the Discipline Committee may recommend the suspension of up to the duration of the tournament, with further disciplinary action subject to appropriate National and State Associations, Federations or any other USSF affiliated organization. Discipline Committee recommendations will be available to that affected parties no later than before the start of the next scheduled match. 

At the conclusion of the tournament, it is the responsibility of the team’s coach or manager to pick up the passes of suspended players and coaches from the tournament office (even if the suspension has not been completed). A complete report will be sent to the Arizona Youth Soccer Association Review & Discipline Committee for forwarding to the appropriate State and National Association. 

 

External Conditions, Weather, Etc.

 

The tournament officials cannot control the weather, nor can they control whether the fields remain playable.  Regardless of weather conditions, players and coaches must be on the field at the scheduled time, ready to play.  In the case of inclement weather or field conditions, the tournament will strive to keep teams informed through the website, email, texts, Facebook and Twitter. Please do not call for information as we will work diligently to keep you informed. 

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Any disruption to the tournament because of inclement weather will be communicated to all teams via the website, social media, email and text.

 

In the case of inclement weather or other circumstances beyond the control of the tournament, the following may occur: 

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• Matches may be shortened.  The Tournament Director may reduce the length of matches due to weather conditions before the start of a match; all such matches will be considered official. 

• Halves may be shortened.  The Tournament Director may reduce the length of halves before the restart of a match once delayed due to weather; all such matches will be considered official. 

• Matches may be rescheduled (time and location determined by Tournament Director).

• There will be no taking of PKs to determine the outcome of any matches.

• Some matches or the entire event may be canceled.  Cancelled matches will be scored as a 0-0 tie.

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Only referees or a facility manager can suspend a match already started due to weather conditions. Any one single suspension of a match may last no longer than 60 minutes or to the next scheduled match start time whichever is later. The tournament director has sole discretion to reschedule and/or shorten Monday matches to accommodate the special needs of our participants. While we request that teams make travel plans that do not interfere with planned match schedules, sometimes unexpected events (e.g. flight cancellations) occur that make playing on schedule impossible. If a match can reasonably be rescheduled and/or shortened, it will be.  If it cannot, the team that was unavailable to comply with the originally scheduled match shall forfeit that match.

 

Terminated Matches

 

If due to inclement weather matches must be prematurely terminated, the following rules will apply:

 

Group Play:

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In the event a referee terminates a match (different from temporarily suspending), before halftime, it will be up to the Tournament Director whether to record the score at the time of the termination or finish the match at a rescheduled time and location. 

In the event a referee terminates a match (different from temporarily suspending) after halftime, the score will be recorded as it was when the match was stopped.

 

Semi-Finals:

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In the event, a referee terminates a match (different from temporarily suspending) the score will be recorded as it was when the match was stopped.  In the event the match ends in a tie, the team that earned the most points during group play will be declared the winner.  If the teams have the same number of points, the criteria in the tie-breaker scenarios of the determination of group winners will be applied, including head-to-head, if applicable.

 

Finals:

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In the event, a referee terminates a Final match (different from temporarily suspending) while the teams are tied, co-champions will be declared.

Matches terminated for other than inclement weather (e.g. violent play or uncontrollable situations) will not be replayed. 

The decision as to the score of such matches and whether teams advance will be made by the Tournament Director after receiving reports from match officials. The decision of the Director will be final and is binding on all parties. Further disciplinary actions may be taken, depending upon the circumstances. 

 

Championship Ceremony:

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Following the completion of each Finals match, the two competing teams will present themselves to the site director for awards.

 

Additional Info:

 

The Presidents' Day Tournament, the Tournament Committee, Arizona Soccer Association and/or the host affiliate will not be responsible for any expense incurred by any team due to the cancellation in part or whole of this tournament. 

 

The Tournament Committee’s interpretation of the tournament rules and regulations shall be final and the Committee reserves the right to decide on all tournament matters. 

 

The Tournament Committee has the responsibility to uphold any previous suspension imposed by Arizona Soccer Association, US Youth Soccer and/or affiliates of USSF. The Presidents' Day Tournament is not responsible for the behavior of players, coaches, and spectators off the field, or damages resulting from such behavior. Coaches and players committing breaches of the law may be ejected from the tournament at the discretion of the tournament committee. 

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Players may not play for more than one team in the tournament.

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Videography:  NextPro will be the only videography provider at PDT 2022.  No other professional company is allowed.  NextPro has first choice of filming locations.  Any team representative filming with elevated equipment must do so on the spectator sideline.

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Please Remember:​​​

• Please ensure your team removes all trash from the sideline after each match.

• In the event of a medical emergency, there are certified athletic trainers on site.

•  Coaches are responsible for the behavior of their own spectators.

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