Street Soccer/Freestyle Soccer Demo at Soccer Nation

It seems like almost every other variant of soccer have been legitimized. Futsal has professional and amateur leagues around the world. Beach soccer has already had a televised world cup. Indoor soccer is common in many places. Even small-sided leagues have become more common. Still, street soccer or Calle Futbol remains unrecognized by FIFA or national associations.

Companies like Nike and adidas have created street balls and have excellent indoor shoes. Calle Republic and Monta are dedicated to the streets with full lines of apparel, shoes and balls. Some urban areas are converting empty parking lots and alleys to street courts. Unused tennis or basketball courts are being used for pick-up games. Even EA has a street soccer game.
We think it is time to set down some standard rules. We propose two main variants: 4 sided games with no keepers and 5 sided games with a keeper.

Four-a-Side Street Soccer – Laws of the Game

Failing a specific variation below, all FIFA Futsal rules will be enforced

• Court Size:
  • Basketball or Tennis Court
• Time:
  • 20 minute half
  • 5 minute half-time
• Goal:
  • Small pop-up style nets
  • With a 6 foot / 2 meter semi-circle arch for a basketball style key
• 5 Second Rule:
  • Basketball style restriction preventing any player from standing inside the arch for more than five seconds
  • Players violating the rule must take a lap around the court before re-entering
  • Play continues while the offending player runs
• Off-sides Rule:
  • No more than three players on the offensive side of the court
  • No shots are allowed from the defensive side of the field
• Restarts:
  • All restarts are from the ground
  • Restarts from the defensive side of the court must be passed to another player on the defensive side
• Substitutions:
  • A player may be substituted at any time (except where the Powerplay rule applies)
  • The departing player must leave the court before the arriving player can enter
  • All players must enter from the defensive end
• Powerplay rule (Optional):
  • A ball that is kicked far out of bounds must be retrieved by the player that kicked it
  • The opposing team may restart the game immediately and take advantage of the missing player
  • The retrieving player cannot be substituted
  • The player may re-enter to the game as soon as the ball is returned

Did we miss a rule?  Are you ready to start a league?  Tell us what you think and get out and play.

EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 11 Takeover Tour Schedule:

EAST COAST WEST COAST

The EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 11 Takeover Tour will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign, including live Twitter feeds, Facebook fan page updates, PlayStation.com and more, that will drive game and tour awareness, in addition to driving attendance at Tour stops.

FIFA Soccer 11 will be available in retail stores throughout the United States beginning Tuesday, Sept. 28. FIFA Soccer 11 reinvents player authenticity–on and off the ball–with all-new Personality+. Individual abilities are now reflected in-game, allowing clear differentiation for every player on the pitch. Plus, experience true freedom in man-to-man interactions with 360° Fight for Possession that transforms physical play from lateral jostling to full 360° collisions and new Pro Passing, where pass accuracy is determined by a gamer’s ability on the control pad, and player skill, situation and urgency on the pitch.

For more information about the EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 11 Takeover Tour,   including specific Tour stop details, visit the Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/EASPORTSFIFA or via the Tour’s Twitter Feed at http://twitter.com/EAFIFA11Tour. Visit the official FIFA 11 game page at http://www.FIFA.EASports.com.

CHICAGO, IL (Oct. 20, 2009) – Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced the launch of the EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 10 Tour, a nationwide, 15 city, five-week long program that showcases EA’s acclaimed FIFA Soccer 10 videogame and the new slimmer and lighter 120GB Playstation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system. Throughout the five weeks, two vehicles outfitted with 13 TVs along with PS3™systems, plus a full-time crew, will travel the East Coast while another team will visit West Coast cities. At each Tour stop, fans will have the opportunity to play FIFA Soccer 10, as well as receive free prizes courtesy of EA SPORTS and PlayStation®, including the chance to win a PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)go system.

EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 10 Tour Schedule:

• 10/17 – 10/18 Chicago, IL
• 10/24 – 10/25 Boston, MA
• 10/24 – 10/25 Denver, CO
• 10/31 – 11/1 New York City, NY
• 10/31 – 11/1 Seattle, WA
• 11/7 – 11/8 Baltimore, MD/Roanoke, VA
• 11/7 – 11/8 San Francisco, CA
• 11/14 – 11/15 Raleigh, NC
• 11/14 – 11/15 Los Angeles, CA
• 11/21 Atlanta, GA
• 11/21 San Diego, CA
• 11/22 Columbus, OH
• 11/22 Las Vegas, NV

 FIFA Soccer 10 will be available in retail stores throughout the United States beginning Tuesday, Oct. 20. FIFA Soccer 10 features the first-ever true 360° dribbling system that gives players finer control of the ball and the all-new Virtual Pro that enables you to live out the fantasy of playing as a professional player by putting yourself in-game using Photo Game Face. Earlier this month FIFA Soccer 10 launched in Europe selling 1.7 million copies during the first seven days, becoming the largest sports videogame launch in history.

The EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 10 Tour will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign, including live Twitter feeds, Facebook fan page updates, PlayStation.com and more, that will drive game and tour awareness, in addition to driving attendance at Tour stops.

For more information about the EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 10 Tour, including specific Tour stop details, visit the Tour’s Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/EAFIFA10Tour or via the Tour’s Twitter Feed at http://twitter.com/EAFIFA10Tour. Visit the official EA Sports FIFA Soccer 10 game page at http://www.FIFA.EASports.com.

ABOUT ELECTRONIC ARTS
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA™, EA SPORTS™, EA SPORTS Freestyle™ EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is http://www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com. EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Official FIFA licensed product ‘ © The FIFA brand OLP logo is a copyright and trademark of FIFA. All rights reserved.’ Manufactured under license by Electronic Arts Inc. Player names and likenesses used under license from FIFA, International Federation of Professional Footballers “(FIFPro)” and national teams. John Madden, NFL, NHL, NBA, NCAA, Tiger Woods and PGA Tour are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission. Microsoft, Xbox, and Xbox 360 are registered trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. “PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION” and PSP are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately). Nintendo DS, and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.