Under current FA Regulations (the Standard Code of Rules for Youth Football) no player under the age of 6 is permitted to participate in matches of any kind. This includes tournaments and friendlies.

The age groups that children are eligible to play in are set out in the attached table, along with the permitted football formats for each of those age groups.

In order to play open-age (adult) football at grassroots level, an individual must have attained the age of 16.