Whatever age group you coach, the FA's Future Fit changes affect your pitch and goal setup from the 2026/27 season. Here's the complete reference, one table covering every stage from Under-7 through to senior football, in feet and metres. For the full story behind these changes, see our FA Future Fit explainer.

The full pathway

What's actually new here, and what isn't

The single biggest change is the new U7 entry point: 3v3 on 4ft x 2.5ft goals didn't exist as a standard format before, so it's a genuine addition to most clubs' equipment lists. Everything from 5v5 upward keeps the same goal sizes clubs already use, the change is when players move between them, not what the goals look like at each stage.

That timing shift matters more than it first appears. Under the previous pathway, 11v11 began at Under-13. Under Future Fit, it now begins at Under-14, giving players an extra season in 9v9 before making the jump to the full-sized game. The same one-year delay applies moving into every format along the way.

The only genuinely new goal size under Future Fit is 4ft x 2.5ft for Under-7 3v3; every other format keeps the goal sizes clubs already use.

Ball sizes, summarised

• Size 3: 3v3, 5v5 and 7v7, covering U7 right through to U11
• Size 4: 9v9, covering U12-U13
• Size 5: 11v11, from U14 upward

The most commonly missed change is at U11, where clubs sometimes default to Size 4 out of habit from the old pathway. Under Future Fit, Size 3 now applies all the way through U11, reflecting 7v7 extending an extra year into that age group.

A note on pitch markings

Most youth football pitches are marked with cones or temporary lines rather than permanent markings, particularly for the smaller formats. If your club does use painted or permanent line markings, it's worth checking these against the table above before the season starts, since a pitch marked out under the old U13 11v11 assumption will now be the wrong size for that age group under Future Fit.

Do I need to check with my league or County FA?

Yes, for local specifics. The national framework and the dimensions above are fixed, but individual leagues and County FAs may publish their own implementation timing or local variations, so it's worth a quick check if anything in your fixtures or venue booking looks inconsistent with the table.

Bookmark this page

This table doesn't change through the season, so it's worth keeping as your go-to reference whenever a new age group comes up, whether that's ordering goals for a newly formed U8 team or double-checking ball sizes ahead of a U12 tournament.