The Playing court and appurtenances are shown in the following illustration:

Dimensions

The playing court must be rectangular. The length of the touchline must be greater than the length of the goal line. 

International Games

Playing Court Markings

The playing court is marked with lines. These lines belong to the areas of which they are boundaries.  

The two longer boundary lines are called touchlines. The two shorter lines are called goal lines.

All lines are 8 cm.  wide.

The Playing Court  is divided into two halves by the halfway line.

The center spot is indicated at the midpoint of the halfway line. A circle with a radius of 3 m is marked around it.

The Penalty Area

A penalty area is defined at each end of the playing court as follows:

Quarter circles, with 6 m radius, are drawn centered on the outside of each goal post. The quarter circles are drawn from the goal line to meet imaginary lines drawn at right angles to the goal line from the outside of the goal post. The upper part of each quarter circle is joined by a 3.16 m line running parallel to the goal line between the goal post.  

Penalty Spot

A penalty spot is drawn 6 m from the midpoint between the goal posts and equidistant from them.

Second Penalty Spot

A second penalty spot is drawn on the playing court 10 m from the midpoint between the goal posts and equidistant from them.

The Corner Arc

A quarter circle with a radius of 25cm from each corner is drawn inside the playing court.

Substitution Zone

The substitution zone is situated on the same side of the playing court as the teams’ benches and directly in front of them and is where the players enter and leave the playing court for substitutions.

Goals

Goals must be placed on the center of each goal line.

They consist of two upright posts equidistant from each corner and joined at the top by a horizontal crossbar.

The distance (inside measurement) between the posts is 3 m and the distance from the lower edge of the crossbar to the ground is 2 m.

Both goal posts and the crossbar have the same width and depth of 8 cm. Nets, made of hemp, jute or nylon, are attached to the posts and crossbars behind the goals. The lower part is supported by curved bars or some other adequate support.

The depth of the goal, described as the distance from the inside edge of the goal posts towards the outside of the playing court, is at least 80 cm (in) at the top and 100 cm (in) at ground level.

Safety

The goals may be portable but they must be anchored securely to the ground during play.

The Playing Court Surface.

The surface is smooth and flat and non-ab­rasive. The use of wood or artificial material is recommended. Concrete or tarmac should be avoided.

Decisions

·       Decision 1

In the event that the goal lines measure between 15 to 16 m, the radius of the centre circle measures only 4 m.  In this case the penalty mark is no longer situated on the line defining the penalty area but remains at a distance of 6 m from the midpoint between the goal posts and equidistant from them.

·       Decision 2

The use of natural turf, artificial turf or soil is permitted for league games but not for international games.

·       Decision 3

A mark may be drawn outside the playing court, 5m from the corner arc and at right angles to the goal line to ensure that this distance is observed when a corner kick is being taken. The width of this mark is 8 cm.

·       Decision 4

The teams' benches are situated behind the touch lines directly next to the space beside the timekeepers table, but no closer that 3 meters.