---
title: "51 Competition Mechanisms for Soccer Training"
description: "Ways to turn a training game into a real contest: how the players compete, which goals count and how much, and one constraint that changes how it is played. Keep the pitch and the numbers; change the competition, and the decisions on the pitch change with it."
canonical: https://hobbit.football/drills/rules
language: en
publisher: Hobbit (https://hobbit.football)
---

# 51 Competition Mechanisms for Soccer Training

> Ways to turn a training game into a real contest: how the players compete, which goals count and how much, and one constraint that changes how it is played. Keep the pitch and the numbers; change the competition, and the decisions on the pitch change with it.

## How they compete

Who plays whom, for how long, and what winning or losing changes.

### Three Pitches, Three Bonuses

Three games run at once, each with its own bonus: a clean sheet, a quick counter or winning the ball high. Teams move on to the next pitch after each game.

**Trains:** Changing what matters most when the pitch changes.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2025/Pressing-and-tackling-session-challenge-recover-and-stop)

### Six Attacks Each

Teams take turns to attack, six times each, every attack starting with a fresh ball. Most goals wins.

**Trains:** Treating each attack as a chance and picking the moment to shoot.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2024/Pressing-session-pressing-as-a-team)

### Concede and Lose a Player

Play a normal match, but a team that concedes takes one of its players off.

**Trains:** Using the extra player when your team is ahead in numbers, and defending as a unit when it is short.

Source: FIFA Training Centre (https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/media/native/test/FIFA_Session_Plan_Grassroots_128.pdf)

### Win Up, Lose Down

Several small games run at once on pitches ranked as levels. After every game the winners move up a pitch and the losers move down one; the team on the top pitch tries to stay there.

**Trains:** Every game against a side at your level, and a loss you can win back straight away.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/articles-and-resources/coaching/resources/2022/How-to-design-a-coaching-session-around-an-international-tournament)

### Conceders Go to the Sides

Two teams play while a third stands along the sidelines as wall players for whichever team has the ball. After a goal, the team that conceded goes to the sides and the wall players come on.

**Trains:** Nobody waits in a queue: the players on the side are passing and watching the whole time.

Source: Danish FA (DBU) (https://dbujylland.dk/media/16579/u11b-traeningsprogram-uge-21.pdf)

### Mini League

Four to six small teams play short games in turn until every team has met every other once. Keep the results; the team with the most points at the end wins.

**Trains:** A new opponent every few minutes, and a few minutes to work out how to beat it.

Source: German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (https://www.sbfv.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Nav_Fussball/Kinder/Trainingsformen/F-Jugend/F-Jugend_Phase_3_Spielform_2_Freie_Spielform_0.pdf)

### Most in the Time

Set a time, from 10 seconds to three minutes, and count when it runs out: gates dribbled or passed through, goals, balls won. Whoever has the most wins; then swap roles and go again.

**Trains:** Choosing fast with the clock running: which gate next, when to pass.

Source: Ontario Soccer (https://cdn4.sportngin.com/attachments/document/4d66-3314813/Fundamentals_-_web.pdf)

### Beat Your Record

Count what you manage in one go, such as passes in a row before the defenders win the ball, then try to beat that number. Each time you beat it, the area gets a little smaller.

**Trains:** Competing with yourself, so every child can win, while the challenge grows with them.

Source: Premier League Primary Stars (https://www.plprimarystars.com/download/resources/haf/haf-playground-champions/haf-pass-through-the-gap)

### Three Down, One More

A team three goals behind may bring on an extra player, who stays until the score is level again.

**Trains:** Games stay close, and the team ahead learns to defend against an extra player.

Source: German FA (DFB) (https://assets.dfb.de/uploads/000/236/239/original_Booklet_-_Spielformen_im_Kinderfußball.pdf?1616499665)

### Score and Switch

Whoever scores swaps to the other team straight away, so the numbers move with the score.

**Trains:** The team ahead plays a player short and the team behind gains one, so the game keeps levelling itself.

Source: FIFA Training Centre (https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/practice/grassroots/12-to-15/different-game-scenarios.php)

### Scorer Steps Off

Whoever scores leaves the pitch and may only come back when the other team scores, which sends their scorer off in turn.

**Trains:** Every goal hands the other team an extra player: attacking with one more, defending with one less.

Source: German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (https://www.sbfv.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Nav_Fussball/Kinder/Trainingsformen/E-Jugend/E-Jugend_Phase_1_Spiel_oder_Spielform_Fussballspiele.pdf)

### Out to the Next Square

In a game where you can be knocked out, a player whose ball leaves the square does not sit down but carries on in the square next door.

**Trains:** Nobody stands watching: a loss is followed straight away by another go.

Source: Ontario Soccer (https://cdn1.sportngin.com/attachments/document/0113/0283/Active_Start_Week_18.pdf)

### Duels Feed the Team

Pairs play their own one against one at the same time; whoever scores first earns a point for their team, and the team points are added up at the end.

**Trains:** Every duel counts for the whole team.

Source: German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (https://www.bfv.de/bildung-und-foerderung/ausbildung-und-schulungen/bfv-coaching-zone/taktik/schnell-umschalten-und-gezielt-torchancen-herausspielen)

### New Teams Every Game

Shuffle the teams after every game. Every player banks the points their team earned (win, draw and goals), and the individual totals decide the winner at the end.

**Trains:** Today’s opponent is the next game’s teammate: playing well with anyone.

Source: Japan FA (https://www.jfa.jp/youth_development/players_first/pdf/grassroots_fes_gl.pdf)

### Strongest on the Short Side

When numbers are uneven, put the strongest players on the smaller team: with seven players, a 4v3 with the three strongest as the three.

**Trains:** The best are stretched, and the others get room to succeed.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/articles-and-resources/coaching/resources/2022/How-to-coach-an-unexpected-number-of-players)

### Children Run It

Hand the competition to the players: they pick the teams, choose their opponents, referee their own games and keep the results.

**Trains:** Agreeing, judging and owning the result themselves.

Source: FIFA Training Centre (https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/media/native/test/FIFA_Session_Plan_Grassroots_107.pdf)

### Start from a Scoreline

Before kick-off, set the game up as a moment in a real match: one goal down in the cup with five minutes left, say. Play from that score.

**Trains:** The same ball needs a different decision when you are behind and when you are ahead.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/articles-and-resources/coaching/resources/2022/How-to-use-match-scenarios-in-training)

### Pauses and Power Cards

Each team gets a set number of pauses per game, say four, to stop play and talk tactics. In a pause it may also play one card from a list on the whiteboard, such as cancelling a goal the other team scored or asking the coach for a clue; each card can be used only once.

**Trains:** Choosing the moment to stop, and the moment to spend the card.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/articles-and-resources/coaching/resources/2022/How-to-design-a-coaching-session-around-an-international-tournament)

### Exactly Ten

Goals are worth 1, 2 or 3 points depending on the zone they are shot from. The winner is the first team to reach exactly 10.

**Trains:** Choosing the shot the score needs, not the easiest one.

Source: German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (https://web.archive.org/web/2025id_/https://www.hfv.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Trainingsvorschlaege-Kinderfussball-E-JuniorInnen.pdf)

## How it scores

Which goals count, and how much.

### Where You Win It Counts

Split the pitch into thirds. The further up you win the ball back, the more the next goal is worth: 3 if you won it in the attacking third, 2 in the middle, 1 in your own third.

**Trains:** When to press up together and when to drop back.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2022/Pressing-session-press-for-success)

### Quick Counter Bonus

A goal scored within 5 seconds of winning the ball back counts 3.

**Trains:** Looking forward first, the moment you win the ball.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2024/Pressing-session-press-together-to-win)

### Finishing Bingo

List a few ways to score: left foot, right foot, header, volley, nutmeg. Each counts once and is crossed off; the first team to cross them all off wins.

**Trains:** Daring to finish in ways you rarely use.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2022/Five-goals-five-ways)

### Through Two Channels

Split the pitch lengthways into three channels. A goal only counts once the ball has passed through at least two of them.

**Trains:** Switching play when one side is closed.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2025/Moving-with-the-ball-and-turning-session-scanning-and-turning)

### Everyone Over Halfway

A goal only counts if the whole team is in the opponents' half when it goes in.

**Trains:** Moving up together in attack, with nobody left watching.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2024/Turning-session-improving-turning-techniques)

### Clean Sheet Bonus

Keep a clean sheet for the whole game and your team gets 3 extra goals.

**Trains:** How to protect a lead, and who goes back to cover.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2025/Pressing-session-pressing-zones)

### Golden Player

Each team names a golden player whose goals count 3; everyone else's count 1. Change the golden player every game.

**Trains:** Attackers find that player; defenders mark them.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2024/Pressing-and-tackling-session-3v3-tournament-challenge)

### Each Goal Worth Less

A player's first goal counts 3, their second 2 and their third 1.

**Trains:** Giving the chance to a teammate who has not scored yet.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2022/Teamwork-session-three-two-one)

### Wide Areas Score

Getting the ball into a wide area, by dribble or pass, earns 1 point; a goal from a cross or pass out of a wide area earns 3.

**Trains:** Using the full width of the pitch.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2024/Dribbling-session-attacking-principles)

### First-Time Finishes Only

Only goals scored with a first-time shot count.

**Trains:** Looking before the ball arrives and getting the body ready early.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2026/Passing-and-receiving-session-passing-to-score-festival)

### Everyone Touches First

A team may only score once every one of its players has touched the ball in that attack.

**Trains:** Bringing everyone into the attack instead of leaving it to the best player.

Source: Swedish FA (https://aktiva.svenskfotboll.se/4931a8/globalassets/svff/bilderblock/skolbollen/bannerblock/skolbollen-folder.pdf)

### First Touch Away Scores

A team scores a point every time a player receives the ball and takes it off in a new direction with the same touch.

**Trains:** Looking before the ball arrives, so the first touch already goes where the space is.

Source: US Youth Soccer (https://www.ohtsl.com/coaching/file325.pdf)

### Beat a Player, Score a Goal

A goal is scored by beating an opponent on the dribble, not by shooting; a defender who is attacked may only back off three steps before having to tackle.

**Trains:** Taking on a defender at the right moment, and defending without backing off.

Source: US Youth Soccer (https://www.ohtsl.com/coaching/file325.pdf)

### Goals by Zone

The pitch is split into zones, and a goal is worth 1, 2 or 3 points depending on where the shot was taken.

**Trains:** Choosing between a closer, surer shot and a harder one that is worth more.

Source: German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (https://web.archive.org/web/2025id_/https://www.hfv.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Trainingsvorschlaege-Kinderfussball-E-JuniorInnen.pdf)

### Cutbacks Only

A goal only counts if it follows a pass played back out of the penalty area; a shot from inside the area does not count.

**Trains:** Looking up in the box for the teammate arriving behind the play.

Source: US Youth Soccer (https://web.archive.org/web/20111203150757id_/http://www.usyouthsoccer.org:80/assets/U12_Finishing_Games.pdf)

### Nobody Scores Twice Yet

Once you have scored, you may not score again until every teammate has scored one.

**Trains:** Setting up the teammate who has not scored yet, instead of finishing every chance yourself.

Source: Massachusetts Youth Soccer (https://mayouthsoccer.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/12-_semana_12-fall_2020.pdf)

### Three Passes, Then Score

A goal that comes after three passes in a row by the scoring team is worth 3; any other goal is worth 1.

**Trains:** Choosing between a quick shot and a few passes that set up a goal worth more.

Source: Massachusetts Youth Soccer (https://mayouthsoccer.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/12-_semana_12-fall_2020.pdf)

### Five Passes Score Too

A team scores a point with a goal, and also with every five passes in a row it completes.

**Trains:** Keeping the ball when the way to goal is shut, and going for goal when it opens.

Source: FIFA Training Centre (https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/practice/grassroots/grassroots-and-youth-football-essentials/grassroots-coaching-essentials/coaching-children-to-master-ball-control.php)

### Give and Go Bonus

Beating a player with a give and go earns a point, and a goal that comes from a give and go earns an extra one.

**Trains:** Playing the ball off a teammate and going straight for the return at the moment the defender commits.

Source: Ontario Soccer (https://cdn4.sportngin.com/attachments/document/b7d7-1663944/MF_Session__5_-_L2T_-_Developing_Creativity_when_Dribbling__2_.pdf)

### One Foot, Then the Other

A goal where the scorer controls the ball with one foot and shoots with the other counts double.

**Trains:** Using both feet, and choosing the touch that sets up a shot with the other one.

Source: FIFA Training Centre (https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/media/native/community-area-document/resources/futsal/FIFA_GFD_Futsal_Coaching_Manual_EN.pdf)

### The Guarded Goal Counts Double

Each end has a goal with a keeper and two small goals without one: a goal past the keeper counts 2, a goal in a small goal counts 1.

**Trains:** Choosing between the harder goal worth more and the open goal worth less.

Source: FIFA Training Centre (https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/media/native/test/FIFA_Session_Plan_Grassroots_137.pdf)

### Bet Your Points

Before each one against one, the attacker says how many points they bet: score and win them, lose the ball and the defender takes them.

**Trains:** Judging your own chances before a duel, and taking a risk you can stand behind.

Source: German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (https://www.bfv.de/bildung-und-foerderung/ausbildung-und-schulungen/bfv-coaching-zone/taktik/die-spieler-als-einzelkampfer-fordern)

### Not the Same Goal Twice

With several goals or gates on the pitch, you may not score twice in a row in the same one: after a goal, find another.

**Trains:** Looking up for the next open goal instead of going back to the last one.

Source: Ontario Soccer (https://cdn1.sportngin.com/attachments/document/48d3-3314812/Active_Start_-_web.pdf)

### Feint Bonus

A goal that comes after a feint or a good dribble counts three.

**Trains:** Trying the trick in a real game, because it pays.

Source: Danish FA (DBU) (https://dbujylland.dk/media/16600/u7a-traeningsprogram-uge-22.pdf)

### Streak Goals

If the same team scores again before the other team does, its second goal counts double and a third counts three.

**Trains:** Pushing for the next one while you are on top, knowing the run ends with their next goal.

Source: Royal Belgian FA (https://belgianfootball.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/voetbalvlaanderen/Club/Clubondersteuning/OFF+eindpresentaties/Formafoot+do's+and+don'ts+voor+de+(beginnende)+jeugdtrainer.pdf)

### Power Play Music

Music plays at random moments during the game; while it plays, every goal counts as two.

**Trains:** Spotting the moment the game changes, and taking it.

Source: Premier League (https://www.premierleague.com/en/footballandcommunity/youth-development/EPPP/games-programme)

### Pick Your Channel

Three dribbling channels side by side: getting through the empty one scores 1, the one with a defender who can only steal tails 3, and the fully contested one 5. Each player picks a channel every time.

**Trains:** Weighing the risk against the reward on every attempt.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/sessions/resources/2022/Dribbling-session-skills-tunnel-hat-trick)

### Points for the Defender

In a one against one, the defender scores a point each time they touch the ball, win it or force the attacker out of the area; after each point they run out of the area and come back in.

**Trains:** When to step in and when to wait, with something to win as a defender.

Source: The FA (https://learn.englandfootball.com/articles-and-resources/coaching/resources/2022/How-to-coach-tackling-in-football)

### Agree What a Goal Is Worth

Before the game, the teams agree how many points a goal is worth in each situation: the harder the numbers, the more it is worth.

**Trains:** Weighing how hard a situation is, together, before you play it.

Source: FIFA Training Centre (https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/media/native/test/FIFA_Session_Plan_Grassroots_99.pdf)

## How it is played

One constraint that changes the way the game is played.

### Ground Passes Only

Every pass has to stay on the ground. A pass that leaves the ground gives the ball to the other team.

**Trains:** Finding an open lane on the floor instead of lifting the ball over trouble.

Source: Italian FA (FIGC) (https://figc.it/media/125459/allenare-lattivita-di-base-versione-estesa.pdf)

### Carry It Over, Go Alone

A player who dribbles the ball over the halfway line may no longer pass and has to take it to goal alone.

**Trains:** Choosing whether to pass before the line or commit to the run.

Source: US Youth Soccer (https://www.ohtsl.com/coaching/file325.pdf)

### Nobody Ahead of the Ball

No attacker may cross into the opponents’ half before the ball does: it goes over by a pass or a dribble, and then everyone may follow.

**Trains:** Following the ball forward at the right moment, so the team arrives together instead of waiting up front.

Source: German regional FAs (Bavaria, Hamburg, South Baden) (https://www.bfv.de/bildung-und-foerderung/ausbildung-und-schulungen/bfv-coaching-zone/taktik/aus-dem-zentrum-nachruecken)

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