It is expected that before every professional football player today turns pro, they would have played through the ranks, either at age-grade tournaments or through a youth system that has invested in their development.
One of the things those age-grade tournaments use is a field size that is different from the standard field size we know. They use what we call the 7v7 soccer field size which allows seven players from each side to play against each other.
This is done firstly, to master the space for the young players rather than exhaust all their energy in a regular soccer field. The field is also able to teach the kids who are always within the ages 9-14 the basics of the game without having to use the main pitch.
When they can understand this on a smaller pitch, replicating it on a bigger pitch won’t be difficult. So the 7v7 soccer field size is the recommended field size for young players coming up and it is what they also use at some training sessions at professional clubs. The training sessions of top club sides whenever it’s viewed show that what they train on is smaller compared to the standard pitch they play the game on.
After knowing the set of people that uses the 7v7 soccer field size, it is time to know how big this field can be. According to the football world governing body, FIFA, a 7v7 soccer field size should not be less than 35m by 45m and at maximum should not be more than 40m by 50m.
This gives a 5m range for teams to work with. 7v7 soccer field size in an area could be 37m by 47m while another could be 39m by 49m. Both are allowed according to FIFA regulations. The advantage of this is that the kids practicing on such field already have a glimpse of what a standard soccer field will be as this is for seven players on each side, it is obvious that what will be for 11 players will be bigger in size in proportion to this recommendation of FIFA.
So, there is already a mindset that the young players play with which will propel them to want to play in the bigger soccer field when they are very comfortable playing in the 7v7 field.
One thing that needs to also be known in a 7v7 soccer field size is that the size is often used in some indoor soccer games. Because it’s an indoor event, there hardly will be any of such events that will have a standard soccer field used for an indoor soccer game, so they stick to a 7v7 soccer field size.
With this, the set of people using the 7v7 soccer field size has increased and a reason why the field is in high demand in some areas in the country. More of 7v7 soccer field size is expected to be seen around with time and it will become something that will be in high demand as people realize it is a step closer to the normal standard field and they can use this for their indoor events too.