Question Number: 19458

Law 7 - Match Duration 6/19/2008

RE: Under 13

kayla of Fairfield, California U.S.A. asks...

I was wondering exactly how long each half of the match lasts with half time included.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

An international or professional game has two halves of 45 minutes each, with a halftime of somewhere around 15-20 minutes. At U13 you are more likely to be playing 35 minute halves, 10 minutes halftime.

For any game, the referee adds time on to the half to compensate for time lost. The amount of the time added is at the discretion of the referee. So for instance if you kick the ball out through the bushes and into the ditch, and it takes 2 minutes to find it, the ref should add about 2 minutes at the end of the half. This is a different concept than most timed sports have, where they shut off the clock when play has been stopped.

Answer provided by Referee Ben Mueller

The match itself is 90 minutes plus added time. Half time is roughly 15 minutes. Thus on average, games usually take about 112 minutes. Give or take a few. That's not even 2 hours.