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At its core, soccer is a fairly simple game to organize, as there are not a lot of complicated rules regarding the game structure. Let’s learn about the format and length of a soccer game for different leagues and levels of play.
A single soccer match is divided into two halves of game time. Each half has the same amount of time allotted for play. The exact time for each half depends on the level of competition. All collegiate and professional play matches with two 45-minute halves.
In professional matches, the game clock will continuously count up from zero to 45:00 for the first half and from 45 minutes to 90:00 in the second half. The game clock only stops at halftime.
Stoppage time is additional minutes tacked onto the clock based on the referee's decision from lost time due to substitutions, injuries, and other significant delays. A referee will add stoppage time to the end of both halves. Stoppage time can range from only one minute to upwards of ten minutes.
Extra time in soccer is overtime added to the end of regulation if a knockout game is tied. Extra time consists of two 15-minute halves with a one-minute break in between. The full 30 minutes will be played in any game that goes into extra time regardless of any goals being scored. There is a five-minute break between the end of regulation time and the start of extra time.
How long is a youth AYSO soccer game?
For youth soccer leagues like AYSO, the game’s length can vary based on the age group.
- 10-minute halves (5-6 year olds)
- 20-minute halves (8 Year olds)
- 25-minute halves (10 year old)
- 30-minute halves (12 year olds)
- 35-minute halves (14 year olds)
- 40-minute halves (16 year olds)
How long is a FIFA soccer game?
FIFA soccer games last 90 minutes of regulation time and have two halves of 45 minutes each. Halftime separates each half and lasts 15 minutes. Additional stoppage time and extra time (if required) can make games slightly longer. Most leagues like the MLS and UEFA follow the traditional match length described in the FIFA rulebook.
How long is an MLS soccer game?
In Major League Soccer, matches last 90 minutes, divided into halves of 45 minutes, just like international leagues like FIFA. Halftime requires a break from play for 15 minutes. Finally, stoppage time is added to the game clock for each half. Extra time may be played if the score is tied at the end of regulation. This means that games can often reach two and a half hours long.
How long is a UEFA soccer game?
A UEFA soccer match is 90 minutes on the game clock, with two halves of 45 minutes. Like in the MLS and FIFA games, two halves of 45 minutes, stoppage time, and extra time are used in UEFA matches. The overall length of a game will typically be around two hours.
How long is a World Cup soccer game?
World Cup matches follow a traditional FIFA format and last 90 minutes. Stoppage time will be added to each half to account for time wasted for injuries, substitutions, and restarting play. There is also a 15-minute halftime break in all World Cup games. However, if the score is tied at the end of the game, there may not be extra time if the game is in the group stage. Instead, the World Cup utilizes a tie-breaking point system. Penalty kicks and extra time only happen in knockout rounds.
Trying to figure out how long a soccer game lasts can be tricky. This is because there are so many different leagues, divisions, skill levels, and more. That is why in today’s article, we are going to give you a detailed breakdown of how long a soccer game takes and we will talk about the different types of levels.
The average professional soccer game will take up to 111 minutes without extra time. If extra time is added you can expect the match to take approximately 150 minutes. An average match will be broken down into two 45-minute halves with a 15-minute break in between. Injury time is on average 6 minutes in total.
| Skill Level | Quarters/Halves | Average Time |
| World Cup | 2x 45-minute halves | 111 minutes with injury time. |
| Professional | 2x 45-minute halves | 111 minutes with injury time. |
| College | 2x 45-minute halves | 105 minutes |
| High School | 2x 40-minute halves | 95 minutes |
| Youth | 2x 20-minute halves | 55 minutes |
Soccer Game Overview
It is best if you think of this section as the structure of a soccer game in terms of time. This is because we will not be mentioning the actual times yet. It is important to remember that each league has their own set of rules. However, all soccer games will look as follows.
- Two Halves: This is pretty simple. Each soccer game has two halves. For youth games, especially kids under 10 years old will have quarters.
- Halftime: Between those two halves, you have halftime which is where the players will take a break. This is also where the coaches get to talk to the players about what they have to do in the next half.
- Extra Time: This is normally used in knockout competitions. If there is no winner during regular time, the teams will go to extra-time. This will generally consist of two halves that are usually much shorter than regular time.
- Injury Time/Added Time: This should not be confused with extra time. Injury time gets added on to every half. This is because the clock does not stop in a soccer game. The 4th official and the main referee will decide how much time they should add on according to how much time was wasted in the game. Time can be wasted due to stoppages and injuries.
How Long Professional Soccer Games Take
When we mention “professional soccer games”, we are talking about high-profile games in leagues and tournaments that take place across the world. This could be professional club soccer such as the EPL, Bundesliga, and so on. It could mean international professional soccer.
A full professional game can take up to 111 minutes. This is broken down into 45 minutes per half. You then have to add injury time to each half which is approximately 3 minutes on average, it could go all the way up to 10 minutes. You also have to include 15 minutes for the halftime break. That gives you a total average of 111 minutes.
How Long Is Extra Time In A Professional Soccer Match?
In the section above, we did not take into account knockout soccer games. This is because a knockout tournament will have different rules depending on the tournament. However, there is a general rule that most competitions stick to.
Extra time is broken down into two halves. These halves will generally be up to 15 minutes with 1 minute of injury time for each. There is also a five-minute break between the two halves. This gives you a total of 39 minutes of extra time.
So, a full match in a knockout round of a professional tournament can take up to 155 minutes. This is because we have to add a 5-minute break between the end of regular time and extra time.
How Long Major League Soccer Games Take
Major League Soccer is also a professional soccer league. It is the biggest club league in the United States of America and also includes Canada. It is best to think of this league like the Premier division. It has the best teams in the country. Let’s take a look at how long a Major League Soccer game takes.
In a major league soccer game, there are two halves of 45 minutes each. There is a break of 15 minutes in between. At the end of each half, the 4th official and the ref can decide how much injury time there will be. This is usually 3 minutes on average. So, a full game takes approximately 111 minutes.
How Long Minor League Soccer Games Take
Minor League Soccer is also considered professional. However, it is the lower division in the United States of America. The teams are smaller than those in the MLS and are often not as good but they still get paid, which means that they are professionals. Let’s take a look at how long a Minor League Soccer game takes.
In a Minor League Soccer game, there are 90 minutes of regular time. This is divided into two halves of 45 minutes each. Injury time can be added to the end of each half. There is also a 15-minute break in between the two halves. This gives you around 111 minutes on average.
How Long College Soccer Games Take
College soccer is very similar to professional soccer. After all, it is from here that the best players will move on to either the MLS or another professional League somewhere in the world. This means that the amount of time a soccer game takes is similar to the MLS and other pro leagues.
In college soccer, you can expect the match to last 90 minutes with two halves being 45 minutes each. Sometimes the referee will add extra time to each half. However, in college soccer, they can stop the clock so we will not include that. When we add the 15-minute break between the two halves, you can expect a college soccer match to last 105 minutes.
How Long High School Soccer Games Take
High School soccer is a lot more tricky in terms of time. This is because each region has its own set of rules and because each age group generally has a different time. In High school, a half can be either 35 or 40 minutes for students 14 and older. So, we will stick with 40-minute halves.
In terms of regular time, a high School soccer game will be 80 minutes long. Injury-time is added if the referee sees fit and this will be approximately 2 minutes. You then have a 10-minute break in between both halves. So, the average high school soccer game takes approximately 95 minutes in total
How Long Youth Soccer Games Take
Youth soccer games are the shortest for obvious reasons. In fact, for some youth games, you can expect to be in and out within 60 minutes. Each youth League is different. Very young kids might have 6 or 12 minute quarters but generally, they still stick to only two halves.
The average youth soccer league will have matches that have 20-minute halves with 10 minutes halftime breaks. Usually, the refs do not add injury time. This means that a youth soccer game can take less than 60 minutes but the average is approximately 55 minutes.
What To Expect During A Soccer Game
In a league soccer game, you can expect two teams to play one-half of 45 minutes before taking a 15-minute break. This is where the crowd should get snacks and drinks. After the 15 minute break, each team will run back out onto the field and play for another 45 minutes.
Whether 1 team wins or if it’s a draw, in a league game, there won’t be any extra time.
In a knockout tournament, you can expect almost the exact same thing. Here’s the difference, if nobody wins in regular time, you can move on to extra-time which is two halves of usually 15 minutes.
If it is a knockout tournament and there is still no winner after extra time, you can expect the teams to go to a penalty shootout. The first team to score six penalties will win, if there is still no winner after this, it will be a sudden death penalty shootout.
Final Thoughts
Most professional leagues have the same set of rules with minor differences. However, in terms of time, most professional leagues have almost identical sets of rules. For high school and youth leagues, the time can differ depending on the regional association’s rules and guidelines.