Kick-off procedure and the dropped ball — including who the ball is dropped for and the two-touch requirement.
A kick-off starts each half and restarts play after a goal. The team that wins the toss chooses which goal to attack; the other team takes the kick-off. Teams change ends for the second half.
All players except the kicker must be in their own half, and the opponents at least 9.15 m from the ball, until it is in play. The ball is in play as soon as it is kicked and clearly moves — it may be played in any direction, including backwards.
A goal may be scored directly against the opponents from a kick-off. If it goes directly into the kicker's own goal, the opponents get a corner kick.
A dropped ball restarts play after a stoppage that was not caused by an offence or a ball leaving the field.
The ball is dropped for the defending goalkeeper, in their penalty area, if play was stopped inside the penalty area, or if the ball was last there. Otherwise it is dropped for one player of the team that last touched it, at the point of last touch.
It is dropped for a single named player — not contested — and every other player must be at least 4.5 m away until it is in play, which is when it touches the ground. If it touches nobody, or leaves the field, it is dropped again. A goal cannot be scored directly from a dropped ball; if it goes in without touching two players, the restart is a goal kick or corner.
Written against the published IFAB Laws of the Game. For the official text, see IFAB's own Laws documents.
The ball is dropped for the defending goalkeeper in their penalty area if play was stopped there; otherwise for one player of the team that last touched it, at the point of last touch. All other players must be at least 4 m away until the ball is in play.
6 questions on The Start and Restart of Play, each with the correct answer and an explanation of the reasoning. These are drawn from the free question bank.
Which statement about the kick-off is correct?
Directly from a kick-off, the ball is played backwards and goes into the kicking team's own goal without touching anyone else. What is the decision?
Play is stopped for a serious injury while the ball is in the defending team's penalty area. How is play restarted?
At a dropped ball, a second player touches the ball before the ball has been touched by the player it was dropped for. What is the decision?
For whom does the referee drop the ball at a dropped ball restart?
An opponent stands only 6 m from the ball at a kick-off, closer than the required distance, and this affects the taker. What is the outcome?
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