FOOTBALL RULES AND INTERPRETATIONS 2026 EDITION

Original material © BAFA 2026 ISBN: 97 8-1-291-80400-3

Foreword

The rules are revised each year by IFAF to improve the sport's level of safety and quality of play, and to clarify the meaning and intent of rules where needed. The principles that govern all rule changes are that they must:

IFAF statutes require all member federations to play by IFAF rules, except in the following regards:

  1. national federations may adapt Rule 1 to meet local needs and circumstances, provided no adaption reduces the safety of the players or other participants; BAFA takes advantage of that to allow (for example) 90-yard fields and reduced end zones that are our solution to using rugby pitches and the like;
  2. competitions may adjust the rules according to (a) the age group of the participants and (b) the gender of the participants;
  3. competition authorities have the right to amend certain specific rules (listed on page 37);
  4. national federations may restrict the above so that the same regulations apply to all competitions under their jurisdiction.

    These rules apply to all contests involving BAFA-affiliated teams and take effect from 1st March 2026. (Exception: Competitions that began before 1st March 2026 will continue to use 2025 rules until the end of their competition). Friendly fixtures played on or after 1st March will use these rules, though accommodations may be made for BUCS teams to continue to play to previous uniform or field marking rules until 31st May.

    BAFA has established a Rules Committee to discuss and decide future changes to this book. The Committee is also our liaison to IFAF on rules matters. You may make suggestions for changes at any time, but to be eligible for consideration for the following year they must be received by 31st August.

    Dr Jim Briggs (Editor) on behalf of the BAFA Rules Committee

    Those who find it necessary to write to the editor for interpretations of rules or play situations will receive prompt replies if they number their questions and send them to [email protected] by email.

    The editor would like to thank the following people who assisted in the proofreading of this edition of the rulebook:

    Amir Brooks (Great Britain), Phil Clarke (Great Britain), Eva Cloots (Belgium), John Cooper (Great Britain), Erik De Boeck (Belgium), Frank Eissa Barroso (Great Britain), Will Fazackerley (Great Britain), Dan Harries Davies (Great Britain), Perttu Hautala (Finland), Jonathan Husband (Great Britain), Radek Janhuba (Finland), Mark Looi (Australia), Ali May (Great Britain), Gerry Mellough (Great Britain), Richard Moger (Great Britain), Dave Moore (Great Britain), Cedric Palmans (Belgium), Euan Paterson (Great Britain), Elisey Rodriguez (Portugal), Asbjorn Rohold (Denmark), Hubert Romanczyk (Poland), Mark Schofield (Great Britain), Paul Sutton (Great Britain), Begum Kubra Tokyay (Turkiye), Stephan Tuinenburg (Czechia), Liam Wooton (Great Britain),

    Cover image by Danny Pole (The70sDJ Photography)

    Table of Contents

    Rules changes.......................................................4 Points of emphasis..................................................7 The Football Code..................................................11 BAFA Regulations...................................................13 1 Basic principles................................................13 2 Registration....................................................17 3 Code of conduct.................................................20 4 Regulations on organisations....................................26 5 Game regulations................................................29 6 Competition complaints and appeals..............................31 7 Procedures for regulatory cases.................................31 8 Procedures for appeals..........................................33 9 Appendix -- Guidance on supplying evidence......................35 Rules and Interpretations..........................................37 Rule 1 -- The Game, Field, Players and Equipment.................39 Rule 2 -- Definitions............................................59 Rule 3 -- Periods, Time Factors and Substitutions................78 Rule 4 -- Ball in Play, Dead Ball, Out of Bounds................102 Rule 5 -- Series of Downs, Line to Gain.........................108 Rule 6 -- Kicks.................................................112 Rule 7 -- Snapping and Passing the Ball.........................126 Rule 8 -- Scoring...............................................142 Rule 9 -- Conduct of Players and Others Subject to the Rules....151 Rule 10 -- Penalty Enforcement..................................173 Rule 11 -- The Officials: Jurisdiction and Duties...............181 Rule 12 -- Instant replay.......................................182 Rule 13 -- Standards for Game Management........................187 Summary of penalties..............................................201 Officials' Signals................................................213 Appendix A -- Guidelines for Game Officials for Serious On-Field Player Injuries216 Appendix B -- Guidelines for Game Officials and Game Management To Use Regarding Lightning217 Appendix C -- Concussions.........................................219 Appendix D -- Field Diagrams......................................221 Appendix E -- Equipment: Additional Details.......................230 Rules application.................................................236 BAFRA Terms and Conditions........................................262 Index of Rules and Interpretations................................268

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    Editor: Jim Briggs, BAFA/BAFRA Rules Committee
    [email protected]