Football at Under-7 level is changing. From the 2026/27 season, the FA is replacing 5v5 with a new format for the youngest players in the grassroots pathway: 3v3.

If you're a coach picking up a U7 team for the first time, or a parent trying to work out why the goals at your child's session suddenly look smaller, here's what you need to know.

3v3 means three players a side, with no goalkeepers. The FA's research, carried out with Liverpool John Moores University across more than 400 grassroots games, found that smaller formats give the youngest players significantly more touches of the ball, more 1v1 situations, and more time actually playing rather than waiting for the ball to come to them.

That's the whole point of the change. More touches, more decisions, more fun, earlier.

What does a 3v3 game actually look like?

Games are short, usually 6 to 10 minutes, and children rotate through several of them across a session to build up 30 to 40 minutes of total playing time. There are no substitutes in the traditional sense, because everyone plays throughout. There's no heading, no penalty kicks, and no offside. Free kicks must be taken at least 3 metres from goal, and after a goal is scored, the team that conceded restarts from their own goal line.

The FA's research behind 3v3, carried out with Liverpool John Moores University across more than 400 grassroots games, found that smaller formats give Under-7 players significantly more touches of the ball and more 1v1 situations per session.

What size pitch and goals does 3v3 use?

The FA's recommended pitch size is 15 metres by 10 metres, with a permitted range of 10x15m up to 15x20m depending on what space a club has available. Because the pitches are so much smaller than a 5v5 setup, up to four 3v3 games can be marked out within the space of a single standard 5v5 pitch, which is part of why the format is easy for clubs to adopt without needing extra land.

Goals are correspondingly smaller too: the FA's recommended size is 4ft x 2.5ft (120cm x 75cm), a significant step down from the goals most U7 teams have been using. The ball size also changes, down to a size 3.

Is this a trial, or is it definitely happening?

It's confirmed and mandatory, not a trial. The 2025/26 season was treated as a transition period, and full rollout begins with the 2026/27 season across England. Individual leagues and County FAs may publish their own local implementation details, so it's worth checking with yours if you're unsure of exact timings in your area, but the national framework itself is set.

What about older age groups?

3v3 is specifically the new U7 entry point, but it's part of a wider set of changes under the FA's Future Fit framework. Every format across the youth pathway shifts a year later than before: 11v11 now starts at U14 rather than U13, for example, with 5v5, 7v7 and 9v9 all adjusted to match. We've covered the full pathway, age group by age group, in our companion guide to Future Fit pitch and goal sizes.

What does this mean practically, this season?

If you're coaching or managing a U7 team, the main practical task is making sure you have goals at the right size before your first session or fixture. A lot of clubs have been using mini 5v5 goals for this age group, which are the wrong size under the new format. If you're a parent, the same logic applies at home: a goal sized for 3v3 means your child is practising shots, angles and finishing at the same scale they'll actually be playing at.

It's a small change in dimensions, but it reflects a bigger idea that runs through Future Fit as a whole: give the youngest players a version of the game that's actually built for them, not a scaled-down copy of the adult game. More touches, more confidence, and a better first experience of football. That's a good foundation for any player's journey, whatever they go on to do with it.