Soccer Field Dimensions

They say you aim to be jack of all trades and master of one. This applies to anything you pursue - academics, sports, business and a plethora of fields. If you want to be an expert in a field, you have to be absolutely thorough with the basics. Those concepts should be crystal clear in your mind. Same thing goes with sports. If you are pursuing sports, let's say soccer and aim to be a la Beckham, knowing how far are the 2 goal posts from each other for instance, is necessary. If you are a soccer enthusiast, well, perhaps you should go ahead and check out soccer field dimensions.

Dimensions of a Soccer Field

Total Playing Area
The total area of a soccer pitch is that it is 100 meters long and around 64 meters in width. Now let's divide the pitch into different zones and see the dimensions. The International Football Association Board has recently laid down the overall measurements of the soccer field as 105 meter in length and 68 meters in width. Earlier this was flexible, the length was somewhere between 100 meters to 110 meters and the width at the most was between 64 meters and 75 meters.

Center Circle
A 10 yard circle indicates the area where defenders are not allowed at the time of kick off. The rule says that the defenders have to stay outside that line during the kick off.

Goal Area
Goal area is a small rectangle inside the area marked as 'penalty area'. It is centered on the goal. This box measures 20 yards in width and 6 yards in depth. A goal kick has to be placed from this box in case of a penalty.

Penalty Area
A rectangular box centered on the goal is the penalty area. This box measures 44 yards in width and 18 yards in depth. This penalty area also has an arc which is at a distance of 10 yards from the penalty mark. The advantage of a penalty kick is enjoyed by a team if the players from the opponent team commit a foul in this area.

Penalty Mark
This mark is inside the penalty area. It is at a distance of 12 yards from the end line. The ball is placed in this zone for a penalty kick. This is the most glamorous and very dear amongst soccer field measurements because the fortune of a lot of teams greatly depends on what happens in this area.

Midfield Line
The line which divides the field lengthwise exactly in the middle of the field is called the midfield line.

Corner Kick
A quarter circle, measuring a yard is made on each corner of the field for marking as to where a player has to keep the ball before taking the corner kick. This is a very crucial factor, as many extra time and sudden death goals are scored thanks to these corner kicks.

Goal
The goal post as far as soccer field measurements are concerned measures 8 feet in length and 24 feet in width.

These are soccer field dimensions for 'A' class and international matches. As the level goes down, the size of the field decreases. For instance, for kids around 7 years of age, the length of the field is between 25 to 30 yards and the width is between 15 to 20 yards. For those under 11, the length of the field is around 80 yards, may be a bit less and the width ranges from 40 yards to 50 yards at the most.

Philosophically speaking, when a player is playing extremely well, these dimensions seem inconsequential. The same dimensions seem like 3 soccer fields put together if a player is not in form!

You have to decide, ultimately, if you want to be in the former category or the latter if you are training to be a soccer player!