2025 CANADA CUP TOURNAMENT RULES

The tournament management committee will review all team applications and at its sole discretion, will determine the acceptance of a team application and the committee’s decision is final.
Tournament director / committee may from time to time make decision for the betterment of the teams and players and their design is final.

1. AGE GROUPS / TOURNAMENT DATES

This tournament is open to teams comprised of players who were born on or after the first day of January in the age groups listed below;

• Under 13 – born in the year 2012 or later
• Under 14 – born in the year 2011 or later
• Under 15 – born in the year 2010 or later
• Under 16 – born in the year 2009 or later


NOTE 1: The tournament committee reserves the right at its discretion to combine two age groups if registration numbers warrant.

TOURNAMENT DATES:

April 18 to April 20, 2025 

2. ELIGIBILITY:

Teams and players must be registered with their governing body (Provincial, State, or National Association). Player registration cards, complete with pictures, names, registration numbers and birth year, issued by the team’s governing body Registrar, are required and must be presented to the Tournament Committee at registration and be available for presentation, if and whenever required, to the Field Marshal or other Tournament Official.

All teams will be playing in an Ontario Soccer (OS) Regional or higher OPDL and OASL and equivalent level teams from other provinces (such as “AA” in Quebec) and from other countries;

Ontario teams must obtain a Temporary Eligibility Permit (TEP) from their respective District Association for all guest players coming from another Club.

Teams from outside Ontario must obtain the equivalent TRP document from their respective governing body (if such forms are used in the team’s home jurisdiction).

Any team playing an ineligible player will forfeit all games where such a player participates or participated by a 3 -0 default score. They will also be reported to their governing body for disciplinary action.
Players may not play for more than one team in the tournament, unless special dispensation is given in advance by the tournament director under unusual circumstances.

3. TRAVEL PERMITS, INSURANCE AND PROOF OF PLAYER/TEAM REGISTRATION

All teams must prove that they are registered with their District / Provincial / State soccer association and must play in an outdoor League. In addition, all out-of-district teams (i.e. those teams whose players’ cards or passbooks do not have the individual player registration approval “stamp” or signature from the Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association (EODSA) must produce a Travel Permit from their home soccer association which authorizes that team to compete in the Showcase of Champions and certifies that all players on that team are registered to participate in this Tournament.

In accordance with the requirements of the Ontario Soccer (OS), validly certified player passports or cards will be the only proof of player registration that will be accepted. Improperly registered teams or unregistered players will not be permitted to participate. On Registration Night all teams will also need to provide to a Tournament Official an Official Team Roster that shows the names and birth dates of all players who are members of that team as well as the team’s level-of-play (such as: Premier, Elite, Regional, “AAA” etc.) during the regular outdoor season. In addition, an Official Team Roster for the regular outdoor team for each Guest Player, where the roster shows the player’s name and birth date and their regular outdoor team’s level-of-play will need to be shown and verified by Tournament Officials. These Rosters will be returned, not copied, to the teams that night by the Tournament Officials; but all teams are to keep these documents available should they be required during the competition.

Finally, teams must carry and supply proof of injury and liability insurance while participating in this event.

4. GUEST PLAYERS:

Teams may include up to 3 guest players on their roster from outside their club. Unlimited call up players are allowed from the same club.

Guest players MUST meet tournament eligibility to participate in the tournament as outlined in Section 3 above.


5. LAWS OF THE GAME:

All matches will be played in accordance with the FIFA Laws of the Game.

6. SUBSTITUTIONS:

6.1. Teams may register up to 20 players on their roster and dress and play as many as 20 players in any game. 
Substitutions may be made at the following times, with the consent of the Referee:

• on any goal kick;
• on a team’s own throw-in, or on the opposing team’s throw-in if the team is making a substitution;
• after a goal is scored;
• at half-time;
• in replacement of an injured player; and
• in replacement of a player who has just been shown a Yellow Card.

Substitutions will be unlimited in number. Substitutions will not be allowed for a player ejected from the game.

7. POSITION OF TEAMS

Teams (players, Coaches, Managers and other Bench Staff members) for both teams will take up position on the same side of the field but on opposite sides of, and at least ten yards away from, the center line. Players and Coaches (and other Bench Staff members) shall restrict their movements to within ten yards from this starting point going towards the nearest goal line. All spectators will take up position on the opposite side of the field across from their respective team’s first-half bench. All players, Bench Staff members and spectators shall remain at least two (2) meters back from the touchline.

8. PLAYING EQUIPMENT & GAME BALLS

Uniforms:

Each team should have two sets of different coloured jerseys. In the event of a conflict of jersey colours, the home team will be required to change. The goaltender’s jersey must be distinct from those of his/her team mates and the opposing team. All players must wear shoes, which conform to the requirements of FIFA Law IV. Shin guards are mandatory for each player.

Game Balls:

Home team is responsible to provide the game ball.

9. FIRST AID

Each team is responsible for providing its own first aid requirements and pre-game and post-game “taping” etc. requirements.

10. GAME SHEET

Each team shall hand the Official Tournament Game Sheet to the Referee prior to start of the game. The Game Sheet will remain with the Referee during the game and will be handed over to the Field Marshal at the end of the game. Hand written game sheets are not permitted unless written permission is given in writing in advance of the tournament by the tournament director. 

11. DISCIPLINE

11.1. The Referee’s decision in matters concerning the application of the Laws of the Game, and the decisions of the Tournament Committee regarding conduct of the tournament shall be final and with no appeal rights.

11.2 All registrant discipline will be dealt with according to the Ontario Soccer (OS) Rules and Regulations under the Discipline-By-Review System. The Tournament Discipline Committee will review the Referee’s report and render suspensions as appropriate according to the Ontario Soccer (OS) Rules, Regulations and Standard Penalties for Misconduct. All discipline not covered by the Ontario Soccer (OS) Discipline-By-Review System or served in full during the tournament, will be referred to the Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association for further action, which will include referral of the matter to the registrant’s home association for further action.

11.3. Red card suspensions, coach suspensions, referee assaults will be forwarded to the district for further discipline. For clarity red carts or suspensions not served at the tournament will be forwarded to the teams district  for further discipline as per 11.2 above. 

11.4 THERE IS ZERO TOLERANCE FOR REFEREE, TOURNAMENT OFFICIAL ABUSE.

12. PROTESTS AND DISPUTES

12.1 No protests regarding a Referee’s decision(s)- All Referees’ decisions are final.

12.2 Protests regarding non-Referee decisions will be permitted.
All Non-Referee protests must be in writing and accompanied with a protest fee of $300 payable in cash or money order. Protest fee will ONLY be refunded if the protest in question is deemed to be valid.

All potentially affected parties will be notified of the protest and each will be permitted to make a presentation (of five minutes maximum duration) to the Tournament Management Committee or Director, which will make a decision on the same day that the protest is filed or upon receipt of all reports; its decision will be final and binding.

ONLY PROTESTS AND DISPUTES THAT FOLLOW THE ABOVE PROCESS WILL BE WILL REVIEW.

13. FAILURE TO SHOW

13.1. Failure of a team to appear at the tournament will lead to a forfeiture of the team’s entry fee, and reporting of the incident to the Eastern Ontario District Soccer Association for referral to the team’s home association for further action.

13.2. Failure of a team to appear at a game, or to field seven (7) players, within 15 minutes after the game’s scheduled kick-off time, will result in a 3 – 0 score being awarded to the opposing team. Should both teams fail to appear or to field seven (7) players, within 15 minutes after the game’s scheduled kick-off time, neither team will be awarded points, and both will be shown having a loss, with a 0 – 0 score being recorded. In both instances of game appearance failures (as opposed to a tournament appearance failure), the Tournament Discipline Committee will decide whether the team(s) in question shall be suspended from the remainder of the Tournament.

In no case shall a team that forfeits a game be declared a division winner or wild card team. The team with the next best record will advance.

14. TOURNAMENT AND MATCH SCHEDULES

The tournament is designed as follows:

Preliminary stage of the tournament, teams will play in a pool play format as per below notes.

Minimum number of teams at any age/flight is 4; maximum is 16.

Tournament reserves the right to have multiple flights within an age group.

All teams will play 3 scheduled games.

Tournament reserves the right to schedule up to 2 games per day.

15. GAME DURATION:

U13 & U14 Age Groups – Two – 35 minute halves, no overtime period.

U15 – U18 Age Groups – Two – 40 minute halves, no overtime period.

There will be a five-minute half-time break in all games

The following competitions shall not exceed the permitted time limit per day

Under-13 and Under-14 – not to exceed 150 minutes per day

Under-15 and older – not to exceed 180 minutes per day

There will be at least one hour break between games

16. FIELD CHECK-IN TIME AND FIELD AND GAME EQUIPMENT

PLAYER REGISTRATION CARDS AND THE OFFICIAL TEAM ROSTER, APPROVED BY TOURNAMENT STAFF, MUST BE PRESENT AT THE FIELD 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO A GAME AND FOR THE DURATION OF THE GAME.

A. Teams must arrive at their field 30 minutes prior to the scheduled kick-off.

B. Players’ numbers MUST be listed on the Team Roster. Players must wear numbers visible on the back of their uniforms and these numbers shall coincide with those listed on the team’s official Roster.

C. Players shall wear shin guards in accordance with FIFA laws.

D. No metal cleats will be allowed, and no jewelry will be allowed.

E. Where opposing team’s uniform colors are similar, the designated home team will change colors. The designated home team is listed first on the schedule.

F. A #5 ball is used for U13 through U16.

G. Players and coaches of both teams will take the same side of the field. All other supporters / spectators will take the opposite side.

17. DETERMINATION OF GROUP WINNERS

Standings in a group will be determined by;

Game Points: 3 points for a Win 1 point for a Tie 0 points for a Loss

If teams Tie;

Starts with Tie breaker number 1 and proceed through each level as needed to determine a winner.

1. Head to head competition,

2. Most Wins,

3. Net Goal Differential,

4. Most goals scored.

5. Penalty Shoot Out* in accordance with FIFA “Taking of Kicks from 
the Penalty Mark.”

18. TERMINATED GAMES

Games terminated for violent or uncontrollable situations will not be replayed.

The decision as to the score of such games and whether teams advance will be made by the Tournament Director after receiving reports from game officials. The decision of the Director will be final and is binding on all parties. Further disciplinary actions may be taken.

Games terminated for inclement weather:

No game will be played in an electric storm. Where a storm occurs during a game, play will be immediately suspended until the storm passes. Under no circumstances may teams withdraw from the playing field area, i.e., the parking lots, etc., until the referee has advised that they may do so. If a game is abandoned, the tournament committee will rule on its status, but every attempt will be made to complete the game as scheduled unless the delay exceeds 1 hour from the time the game was suspended at which time the score will stand. 

A game is deemed to be complete if 50% of the game has been played when called off by a game official due to weather or playing conditions or for any other reason as the referee or tournament director sees fit.

21. REFEREE FEES - U13-U19

• Centre Referee - $52-$57 per game 
• Assistant Referee - $41 per game 

22. REFUND POLICY

Teams that have been accepted by the tournament will not be entitled to any refunds.

23. CANCELLATION POLICY

Should the tournament be cancelled in its entirety the Tournament Entry Fee will be fully refunded to all participating teams. The tournament Host will not be responsible for other expenses incurred by teams as a part of participating in the tournament including and not limited to Hotels, transportation etc.

24. UNFAVOURABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS

Under normal weather conditions, games are to be played at the scheduled time and location.

In the event of inclement weather, the Tournament Director or official representative(s) will have the authority to:

• Relocate and / or reschedule any game(s);
• Change the duration of any game(s);
• Cancel a game(s);

Unless previously advised by the Tournament Convener, teams must appear at the scheduled location on time, regardless of weather conditions.

Tournament director / committee may from time to time make decision for the betterment of the teams and players and their decision is final