Grassroots Football Glossary
New to youth football? The touchline has a language of its own. Here's a plain-English guide to the terms you'll hear as a football parent — what they mean, and where to learn more.
11v11
Full eleven-a-side football on a standard pitch, introduced from U13. Ball size steps up to a size 5 at U14.
9v9
The nine-a-side format for U11–U12 — the stepping stone between 7v7 mini-soccer and full 11v11, on a mid-sized pitch with size-4 balls.
Affiliation
The annual registration every grassroots club pays to its County FA so its teams can play in sanctioned leagues and cup competitions.
Bio-banding
Grouping players by physical maturity (height and weight relative to predicted adult size) rather than strictly by age, so late developers get more of the ball and early developers face a fair challenge.
Charter Standard
The FA's long-running quality mark for well-run clubs, now succeeded by England Football Accreditation (1–3 stars). It signals a club meets standards for coaching qualifications, safeguarding and player welfare.
County FA
The local governing body for grassroots football. Your County FA runs leagues, registers referees, and delivers FA participation programmes across a region.
DBS check
A Disclosure and Barring Service check — the criminal-records check required for coaches, managers and volunteers in regulated roles working with children. See our safeguarding guide.
EPPP
The Elite Player Performance Plan — the framework professional clubs' academies use, which grades academies (Category 1–4) and governs how young players are recruited and developed. Relevant if your child is scouted.
Fixture
A scheduled match. Grassroots seasons typically run September to May, with fixtures most weekends plus cup competitions.
Futsal
A fast five-a-side game played indoors on a hard court with a smaller, low-bounce ball. Widely used to develop close control and quick decision-making.
Mini-soccer
The FA's small-sided formats for the youngest players: 5v5 at U7–U8 and 7v7 at U9–U10, on smaller pitches with smaller goals. See our age-group formats.
Pathway
The route a talented player can take from grassroots towards academy, RTC or representative football. Read our pathway guidance.
Play-up
When a player is registered to compete a year (or more) above their age group — permitted within FA rules and sometimes used for advanced players.
Retreat line
A halfway-ish line used in mini-soccer: at goal-kicks and when the keeper has the ball, the opposition must retreat behind it, encouraging young teams to play out from the back rather than launch it.
RTC
A Regional Talent Club — the girls' talent-pathway equivalent of a boys' academy, providing advanced coaching within the female game.
Safeguarding
The policies, trained Welfare Officers and DBS checks that keep children safe in football. Every affiliated club must have safeguarding in place — see our safeguarding hub.
Small-sided games (SSG)
Any format with fewer than eleven players a side (5v5, 7v7, 9v9). Used through the youth age groups so children get more touches, decisions and goals.
Wildcats
FA Wildcats — fun, informal weekly sessions introducing girls aged 5–11 to football, run through County FAs and clubs.
Missing a term? Let us know and we'll add it.