THE LEAGUE
HARVEST CUP

LIVE DRAW: Groups are drawn on tournament day and live-streamed.

1. Groups. 12 teams are split into 3 groups of 4 (Groups A, B and C). Each team plays the other 3 teams in its group once.
2. Group draw. Groups are set by a random draw on the day of the tournament, before the first kickoff. The draw is live-streamed so every team can watch it happen.
3. Fields. Each group plays on its own small field: Group A on Field 1, Group B on Field 2, Group C on Field 3.
4. Game slots. Games run in 40-minute slots starting at 9:00 AM. The group stage ends at 1:00 PM. Playoffs run from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.
5. Playoffs. The top 2 teams from each group advance, 6 teams in total. Seeds 1 and 2 get a bye to the semifinals. Seeds 3 to 6 play quarterfinals.
6. Schedule. The official game schedule is published separately. The League may adjust kickoff times on the day to keep the event on schedule.

Game rules follow the League's Game Night Rules. Anything not covered below is played under those rules.

GAME LENGTH

1. Games are 2 halves of 15 minutes with a 5-minute halftime.
2. The clock runs continuously. Only the referee may stop it, for injuries or other serious delays.
3. Group stage games can end in a draw. Playoff games cannot (see Section 5).

PLAYERS AND ROSTERS

1. Teams play 7v7: 6 field players and 1 goalkeeper.
2. A team needs at least 5 players to start or continue a game.
3. Rosters are capped at 26 players. Every player must be on the submitted roster and have a signed waiver before playing.
4. A player may play for only one team in the tournament.
5. Players must be 18 or older.

SUBSTITUTIONS

1. Substitutions are unlimited and rolling.
2. Subs enter at the halfway line, and only after the player coming off has left the field.
3. A team may change its goalkeeper only at a stoppage, after telling the referee.

PLAY

1. There is no offside.
2. No slide tackles. A slide tackle is a direct free kick, and a reckless one is a card.
3. The ball goes back into play with a throw-in from the sideline.
4. All free kicks are direct. Defenders must stand at least 5 yards away.
5. A foul by the defending team inside its own box is a penalty kick.
6. The goalkeeper may handle the ball only inside the box. A goalkeeper may not handle a deliberate back pass from a teammate's foot.

EQUIPMENT

1. Shin guards are required.
2. Turf shoes or molded cleats only. No metal studs.
3. Teams wear matching colors. If both teams' colors clash, the team listed second on the schedule wears pinnies.
4. The game ball is a size 5.

CARDS

1. A yellow card is a caution. Two yellows in one game equal a red.
2. A red card means the player leaves the game and the team plays one player down for the rest of the game.
3. A red-carded player also misses the team's next game.
4. A second red card in the tournament, or any red for violent conduct, removes the player from the tournament.

FORFEITS

1. Teams must be ready at their field at kickoff time. There is a 5-minute grace period.
2. A team not ready by the end of the grace period forfeits.
3. A forfeit counts as a 3-0 win for the opponent.

POINTS

GOAL DIFFERENCE (GD) WITH A +8 CAP

1. GD is goals scored minus goals allowed.
2. A single game counts for no more than +8 or -8 GD. A 10-1 win counts as +8 for the winner and -8 for the loser.
3. Goals scored and goals allowed always count in full. Only GD is capped.
4. The cap keeps teams from being rewarded for running up the score on the weakest team.

BREAKING TIES WITHIN A GROUP

Who finishes 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th. Teams level on points are separated in this order:

1. Head-to-head result between the tied teams. If three teams are tied, use a mini-table of points from only the games among those three.
2. Capped GD across all group games.
3. Goals scored across all group games.
4. Fewest goals allowed across all group games.
5. Penalty shootout between the tied teams: 3 kickers each, then sudden death, using the Section 5 shootout rules. It is taken right after the group's last game. If three teams are tied, each takes 3 kicks at the same goal, and the most goals ranks highest.

If a three-way tie is reduced to two teams at any step, restart at step 1 for those two teams.

WHO ADVANCES

1. The 1st and 2nd place teams from each group advance, 6 teams in total.
2. 3rd and 4th place teams are eliminated.

HOW SEEDS ARE SET

1. Seeds 1-3 are the three group winners.
2. Seeds 4-6 are the three runners-up.
3. A group winner is always seeded above every runner-up, whatever the records.

RANKING TEAMS FROM DIFFERENT GROUPS

Group winners are ranked against each other, then runners-up against each other, in this order:

1. Points
2. Capped GD
3. Goals scored
4. Fewest goals allowed
5. Penalty shootout: 3 kickers each, then sudden death, taken before the 1:00 PM quarterfinals

Head-to-head is not used here, because teams from different groups have not played each other.

BYES

Seeds 1 and 2 skip the quarterfinals and go straight to the semifinals. Seed 3 is the lowest-ranked group winner and plays a quarterfinal against seed 6.

NO GROUP REMATCHES IN THE QUARTERFINALS

If a quarterfinal would pair two teams from the same group, seeds 5 and 6 swap places. If the swap creates a new same-group pairing, the original pairings stand. Semifinals are never re-paired.

BRACKET

TIES IN PLAYOFF GAMES

1. There is no overtime. A playoff game tied at full time goes straight to penalty kicks.
2. Each team takes 5 kicks, alternating. The team with more goals after 5 kicks each wins.
3. If still tied, kicks continue one at a time, sudden death, until one team scores and the other misses in the same round.
4. Only players on the field at the final whistle may kick.
5. No player may kick a second time until every eligible teammate has kicked.
6. The referee chooses the goal and flips a coin to decide which team kicks first.

OTHER PLAYOFF RULES

1. All game rules in Section 2 apply.
2. Red card suspensions from the group stage carry into the playoffs.
3. Yellow cards do not carry over from one game to the next.
4. The Harvest Cup champion receives the $1,600 prize.

CONDUCT

1. The League's Code of Conduct applies to all players, coaches and spectators.
2. Only the team captain may speak to the referee about a call.
3. Fighting, threats or abuse toward a referee, player or spectator means immediate removal from the tournament. The League may remove the whole team.

SCORES AND DISPUTES

1. Both captains confirm the final score with the referee before leaving the field.
2. Referee decisions on the field are final.
3. A protest about a rule or an ineligible player must go to the League Director within 10 minutes of the final whistle. The Director's decision is final.
4. A team that plays an ineligible player forfeits that game.

WEATHER AND DELAYS

1. The League may shorten halves, cut the halftime or move games to stay on schedule.
2. If weather stops play, the League will announce a delay, a shortened format or a new date.
3. A game stopped after halftime stands as the final result. A game stopped before halftime is replayed or rescheduled.

LEAGUE DIRECTOR AUTHORITY

The League Director decides anything these rules do not cover. That decision is final.