1. MAIN OBJECTIVE AND VALUES
Main objective: to have fun playing all together this friendly tournament including representatives of the EU
Agencies family. To enjoy the fruits of success it is not enough to win. Victory can only be celebrated in
association with fair-play, courtesy, friendship and respect. These values are to be respected by all the
players, but also all the persons who will attend the event as supporters.
2. TOURNAMENT
CATEGORIES AND FORMAT
There will be two competitions in parallel; one for males, one for mixed males-females’ teams. The Lisbon
2023 Organising Committee will decide on the best suitable format for the two competitions based on the
number of teams.
MAXIMUM NUMBER OF TEAMS PER EU AGENCY
There will be a maximum 48 teams allowed to participate to the 10th EU Agencies tournament. Each
participating Agency is allowed to sign up 1 team. A second team could be allowed to participate only if after
the first call is expired (19/02/2023) there will be registered less than 48 teams. In such a case, a second call
will be made, immediately after the conclusion of the first call, and the second teams can be signed up by
paying the fee of €465. The enrolment order will be based on the first-come-first-served principle and the
date and time of payment will determine the order.
Eligible Institutions
Previous editions of the tournament have allowed the participation of non-agencies but other EU institutions,
bodies or offices. This will be continued. If there are agencies or organisations that cannot put a team
together it would be nice to combine more than one agency as it has happened in the past.
Team composition
The Tournament is for employees of EU Agencies. Family members (e.g., spouses, children and siblings) of
employees and contractors are accepted to participate. Those not included in the category above are not
allowed to participate. In accordance with the past practice, there is an exception for mixed teams as well as
the male teams of small agencies with not more than 100 employees who are allowed to bring 1-2 players
maximum, who are not employees, but friends playing with you regularly. These should be clearly identified
in the list of players that the Agency will send to the organiser ahead of the Tournament. Considering the fact
that in this edition there are Agencies that can decide at a later stage if their team will be male or mixed,
there is no limited number of players per Agency to come to Lisbon.
THE GAMES
Games will start on Saturday 10h00 and finish on Sunday at 17h00. After the last games on Sunday (the
finals) there will be the awards ceremony. A match is played by two teams, each consisting of not more than
seven players on the pitch, including the goalkeeper (7vs7).
MIXED TEAM
A mixed team consists of a team which shall play every game of the whole tournament with at least three
eligible female players on the field of play at any moment in time. In exceptional circumstances (e.g. injury of
a female player who cannot resume competition), two female players will have to be on the field of play at
any moment in time for this team to remain involved in the Tournament. A team with less than two remaining
female players will no longer qualify as mixed team. A team with only one female can play in the male
competition.
PLAYERS EQUIPMENT
Matches will be played on synthetic grass outdoor pitches. A player must not use equipment or wear
anything that is dangerous to him/her-self or another player. The basic compulsory equipment of a player
comprises the following separate items:
• A jersey or shirt
• Shorts

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• Stocks
• Footwear - No metal (removable or non-removable) studs/cleats will be allowed at any moment in
time on the field of play.
• Shin guards.
All field players of the same team must wear the same shirt colour. Teams are invited to bring two sets of
jerseys/shirts of two different colours (or bibs). The use of them will be decided together with the opponent
team or by the referee with the aim of distinguishing them from each other. In case of same colours and no
extra shirts are available bibs will be provided.
REGISTRATION PROCESS
The registration of the teams will be finalized by end of February 2023. A first call (06-19 February 2023) is
launched to allow Agency to sign up their team. There is a limit to 48 teams. If after the first call the maximum
number of teams allowed will not be reached, a second call will be launched immediately after the conclusion
of the first call for the second teams to be signed up. The date and hours of the payment of the fee of €465
for the second team will determine the enrolment order. Later, the Organizers will send out a form to be
fulfilled by the team captain of the registered Agencies with the following information to be provided: the
name of the players, if possibly and available their t-shirt number, the indication of who is the captain, their
affiliation with the Agency. The list will also contain the other guests and supporters who accompany the
team to:
Danilo.Ballotta@emcdda.europa.eu
Paula.Senra@emcdda.europa.eu
by 31/03/2023 at the latest.
INFRINGEMENTS AND SANCTIONS
Each match is refereed by a federated referee who has full authority to enforce the Tournament’s and playing
rules in connection with the match to which he/she is appointed. The decisions of the referee regarding facts
connected with the game, including whether or not a goal is scored and the result of the match, are final.
SUBSTITUTIONS
The number of substitutions is unlimited, any substitute should be in the list provided by the Agency to the
Organisers. A player can only be replaced by a substitute during any stoppage at any time during the match
(e.g., throw-ins, goal kicks, corner kicks). The referee must be notified before any proposed substitution is
made. The substitute only enters the field of play after the player being replaced has left and after receiving a
signal from the referee. All players on the field of play and substitutes are subject to the authority of the
referee.
PLAYERS AND SUBSTITUTES SENT OFF
A player, who has been sent off during the game (e.g. red card), cannot be replaced and cannot be a
substitute during this game.
3. RULES OF THE MATCHES
MINIMUM NUMBER OF PLAYERS TO START A MATCH
The number of players per team on the pitch during the whole game must be seven until a minimum five,
three of whom must be a female player in case of mixed team (unless injury see infra). A match cannot start if
a team will consist of fewer than five players (Four including the goalkeeper), in this case the match is
abandoned, and three points will be awarded to the opposing teams.

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DURATION OF A GAME AND ALLOWANCE FOR TIME LOST
A game consists of a total of 20 minutes divided in two half of 10 minutes. In order to minimize the disruption
on the games’ schedule, each second half must re-start, one/two minute after the end of the first half at the
referee’s discretion. The referee will take the appropriate disciplinary action against players and/or teams
which will delay the re-start of the game. At his/her discretion, the referee may decide to give allowance for
time lost if the natural stoppages in play (e.g., throw-ins, goal kicks) are considered to be excessive delays. At
his/her discretion, the referee may decide to give allowance for time lost if the natural stoppages in play (e.g.,
throw-ins, goal kicks) are considered to be excessive delays.
SHOOT-OUT PROCEDURE
The Shoot-out Procedure for ties only applies in the knockout stages after the first round of group games. If
at the end of regular time, the teams are tied the referee will stop the game and both teams will immediately
proceed into a penalty shoot-out:
o Each team will be allowed to elect four (4) players to take the proceeding penalty kicks (from the
seven presents on the field at the conclusion of the game).
The elected players and the order with which they will kick the penalties will have to be communicated to the
referee. In the mixed tournament, at least two of the four penalty takers must be a female.
o No sent-off player (i.g. red card received during the game) can be elected to take a penalty kick;
o If both teams remain tied at the end of the first round of four penalties, the shoot-out will continue
with the remaining players left in. The same player cannot kick the penalty twice in the same game
before every other eligible player in the team has done that.
o The penalties will continue one-by-one until all players in the team have taken one penalty or one of
the teams misses a penalty while other team scores.
FAIR PLAY POINTS
As part of his/her report, the referee will provide at the end of each game Fair play grade for each team
according this grade:
• 1: not at all fair play;
• 2: poor fair-play;
• 3: fair-play;
• 4: good fair-play;
• 5: outstanding fair-play.
There will be a trophy for the best fair play team.
QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

In order to establish the general classification of the teams that, at the end of the competitions, have the same number of points, the following criteria will be applied, in order of priority, for tie-breaking purposes:
a) Number of points achieved by the tied teams, in the game or games played between them;
b) Greater difference between the number of goals scored and the number of goals conceded by the tied teams, in the games played against each other;
c) Greater difference between the number of goals scored and the number of goals conceded by the teams in the matches played throughout the competition;
d) Greater number of goals scored in the entire competition
e) Greater number of victories in the entire competition;
f) “Fair-Play” table points throughout the competition
4. DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS
The referee will show a yellow card to a player (or substitute player) to communicate that he/she has been
cautioned. If a player (or substitute player) is shown a second yellow card during the same game, he/she will
be shown a red card and will be sent off. Any player from a players’ list can be shown the red or yellow card.

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A player will receive a one game suspension and not be allowed to take part in the next game after the third
yellow card shown to him/her during the same day or after one red card. The yellow and red cards shown to
any player will be cleared at the end of day one. The referee can make a recommendation to the
Organisation Committee to exclude a player or a team from the Tournament for aggressive or not suitable
behaviour. The Captain will be informed and will be his responsibility to implement the decision. Failure to
this will lead to the exclusion of the team. The Organisation Committee will exclude from the Tournament and
the social event any player and/or team involved in mass confrontation.
CAUTIONABLE AND SENDING OFF OFFENCES
Dangerous behaviours:
Any dangerous, or potential dangerous, behaviour should be prevented and if it happens will be sanctioned
by the referee. It will be sanctioned by the referee with a free kick for the opposing team any:
• Slide tackle 1
Cautionable offences:
At his/her own discretion, the referee may caution a player or a substituted player and show him/her the
yellow card if he/she commits any of the following offences:
• unsporting behaviour
• dissent by word or action
• persistent infringement of the Tournament’s rules
• delaying the restart of play
• failure to respect the required distance (normally min 5 meters) when play is restarted with a corner
kick, free kick or throw-in
• entering or re-entering the field of play without the referee’s permission
• deliberately leaving the field of play without the referee’s permission
Sending-off offences:
At his/her own discretion the referee may send off a player or substituted player if he/she commits any of the
following offences:
• serious foul play
• violent conduct
• spitting at an opponent or any other person
• denying the opposing team, a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity by deliberately handling
the ball
• using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures
• receiving a second caution (i.e., yellow card) in the same match
Any player who has been sent off must leave the vicinity of the field of play and will be forbidden to play the
following game.
5. INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Immediately after the end of the final(s) for the first place there will be the awarding ceremony.
The following trophy’s will be awarded:
• Top Goal Scorer Male
• Top Goal Scorer Female
1 Slide tackle in the penalty box will not give a direct penalty (unless is considered a foul by the referee) but an indirect
free kick inside the penaly box.