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Football · Laws of the Game

Law 4: The Players' Equipment

3 parts · 7 tests · 70 facts · updated 12 October 2026 · markdown

Law 4 covers what a player may and must wear: the five compulsory items and their conditions, the safety principle that bans jewellery and dangerous equipment, the colour rules that keep the teams, the goalkeepers and the officials distinct, permitted protective and electronic equipment, the ban on slogans and advertising, and the procedure for leaving the field to put a kit fault right.

4.41Compulsory equipment, safety and jewellery

The five items a player must wear and the conditions on each, what happens when a boot or shinguard is lost in play, the safety rule that forbids all jewellery and any dangerous equipment, the pre-match and pre-entry inspections, permitted protective gear, and the limits on electronic equipment for players and team officials.

Test 1The compulsory equipment and losing it in playTake a test

  1. The five compulsory items are a sleeved shirt, shorts, socks, shinguards and footwear. Footwear and socks are not optional, and an armband is not part of the defined kit.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  2. Shinguards must be of a suitable material giving reasonable protection and must be covered by the socks. The Law sets no fixed size and does not name a required material such as plastic.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  3. External tape or material on the socks must match the colour of that section of the sock. It is not tied to the shorts colour and does not have to be hidden.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  4. Goalkeepers may wear tracksuit bottoms at any time; the Law attaches no weather or timing condition. Outfield players must wear shorts.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  5. A player who loses footwear or a shinguard accidentally may keep playing until the next stoppage, when it must be replaced. If they play the ball or score before that, the action counts.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

  6. Kit problems do not require an immediate stoppage. The player is told to leave the field to put it right and returns, after a check, with the referee's permission.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

  7. Re-entering without the referee's permission is cautionable even if the kit is now correct. If play is stopped for the caution, the restart is an indirect free kick to the opponents.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

  8. Equipment corrected off the field must be checked by a match official, and the player re-enters only with the referee's permission, which may be given while play continues.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  9. Each goalkeeper must wear colours distinguishable from the other players and from the match officials. It is not limited to the officials or to the opposing outfield players.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  10. If both goalkeepers wear the same colour and neither can change, the Law simply lets the match proceed. There is no requirement to delay or improvise a change.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

Test 2Safety, jewellery and the pre-match checkTake a test

  1. Every kind of jewellery is forbidden, with no exception for size, material or personal significance, and covering it with tape does not make it acceptable.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  2. A player who will not remove jewellery cannot take part. It is not resolved by hiding the item or by postponing it to a stoppage once play has started.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

  3. Starting players are checked before the match and each substitute is checked before entering. Substitutes are not exempt, and the Law does fix these moments.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  4. Non-dangerous protective items are permitted, and whether a cast is dangerous is the referee's judgement on the day, not a medical certificate or an agreement between captains.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

  5. The Law names headgear, facemasks and knee and arm protectors made of soft, lightweight padded material, together with goalkeepers' caps and sports spectacles.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  6. Goalkeepers' caps and sports spectacles are named alongside the padded protectors. Head covers must not be attached to the shirt, which rules out a collar-fixed snood.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  7. Players, including substitutes, may not wear or use electronic or communication equipment, apart from an approved electronic performance and tracking system.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  8. Team officials may use small, mobile, handheld equipment for coaching or for player welfare or safety. Larger equipment and inappropriate behaviour are sanctioned.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

  9. If play is stopped only to caution the player, the restart is an indirect free kick to the opponents from the ball's position, unless another restart already applied.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

  10. Law 4 contains no specification for studs, their material or their length. Footwear is covered only by the general requirement that nothing a player wears is dangerous.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

4.42Colours, undergarments, head covers and slogans

How the two teams and the officials are kept visually distinct, the matching-colour rules for undershirt sleeves and undershorts, the colour and physical conditions on a head cover, the ban on political, religious or personal slogans and on revealed advertising, who sanctions such infringements, and the procedure a player follows to leave the field and correct a kit fault.

Test 1Colours, undergarments, head covers and slogansTake a test

  1. The two teams must wear colours that distinguish them from each other and from the match officials. There is no default 'away team in white' rule.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  2. Undershirt sleeves must be the same colour as the main colour of the shirt sleeve. Team-mates end up matching, but the reference is the sleeve, not the shorts.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  3. Undershorts and tights must match the main colour of the shorts, or the lowest part of the shorts, and every player on a team must wear the same colour.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  4. A head cover must be black or the same colour as the shirt, with team-mates matching. It is tied to the shirt, not the shorts, and the colour is fixed rather than a contrast choice.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  5. A head cover must not be attached to the shirt, must not have protruding parts, and must not endanger anyone, for instance with a closing mechanism at the neck.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  6. Compulsory equipment must carry no political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images. Team and competition logos are the permitted markings.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  7. Players must not reveal undergarments showing slogans, statements, images or advertising other than the manufacturer's logo; the competition organiser or association applies a sanction.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  8. Infringements of the slogan and advertising rules are punished by the competition organiser, the national association or FIFA, not by an on-field sanction.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

  9. Advertising is barred from a player's base layer with one exception: the badge of the company that made the kit. Squad numbers and crests belong on the outer shirt.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · recall

  10. Outfield teams must be distinguishable, so the team with a change strip wears it. The goalkeeper-only exception, where the match is simply allowed to proceed, does not extend to outfield colour clashes.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 · applied

4.43Safety checks, armbands, electronics and messages

The rest of Law 4: taped jewellery and what the referee orders, replacing a lost boot or shinguard, soft protective equipment and goalkeepers' kit, the captain's armband, head covers, electronic communication for players and team officials, wearable tracking systems, and which slogans, statements and images may appear on equipment.

Test 1Jewellery, shinguards and lost bootsTake a test

  1. All jewellery is forbidden and must be removed; using tape to cover jewellery is not permitted.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  2. The referee orders the player to remove the item, and to leave at the next stoppage if the player cannot or will not.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  3. A player unable or unwilling to remove the item must leave the field of play at the next stoppage.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  4. A player who refuses to comply, or wears the item again, must be cautioned.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  5. Shinguards must be of a suitable material and size, covered by the socks, and players are responsible for their size and suitability.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  6. Lost footwear or a lost shinguard must be replaced as soon as possible and no later than when the ball next goes out of play.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  7. Non-dangerous protective equipment such as gloves, headgear, facemasks and knee or arm protectors of soft, lightweight padded material is permitted.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  8. Players are inspected before the start; a player who refuses to remove forbidden jewellery is cautioned.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  9. A goal scored before the lost boot is replaced still counts; the boot must be back on no later than the next time the ball is out of play.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  10. Shinguards must be covered by the socks and tape must match the sock (C). A wears the guards outside the socks, B has no socks over them and D's tape is a different colour.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

Test 2Armbands, head covers and goalkeepersTake a test

  1. The captain wears the armband issued or authorised by the organiser, or a single-coloured armband that may also show 'captain' or 'C', itself in a single colour.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  2. The armband may carry the word 'captain' or the letter 'C', or a translation, which should also be a single colour.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  3. A head cover must be black, or the main colour of the shirt provided team-mates wearing one use the same colour.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  4. A head cover must not be dangerous to the wearer or anyone else, for example through an opening or closing mechanism around the neck.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  5. A head cover must be in keeping with the professional appearance of the player's equipment, not attached to the shirt and with nothing protruding.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  6. Goalkeepers may wear tracksuit bottoms, and goalkeepers' caps are permitted; they are not treated as head covers.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  7. Sports spectacles are listed among the permitted items, along with goalkeepers' caps and soft padded protectors.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  8. A head cover must not be attached to the shirt; once the fault is put right the player may take part.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  9. Without an organiser's armband the captain may wear a single-coloured one, which is checked with the rest of the equipment.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  10. Without an issued armband the captain wears a single-coloured one (B); A's band is in two colours, C wears none and D wears a bib.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

Test 3Electronic devices and tracking systemsTake a test

  1. The ban on electronic and communication devices applies to everyone in the team, substitutes and substituted or sent-off players included, with approved EPTS the one exception.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  2. The list of small, mobile, handheld equipment includes microphones, headphones, earpieces, phones, smartwatches, tablets and laptops.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  3. Team officials may use electronic communication directly related to player welfare or safety, or for tactical or coaching reasons.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  4. Only small, mobile, handheld equipment may be used, such as a microphone, headphone, earpiece, phone, smartwatch, tablet or laptop.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  5. A team official who uses unauthorised equipment, or behaves inappropriately as a result of using electronic equipment, is sent off.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  6. The organiser must ensure the technology attached to the players' equipment is not dangerous and meets the FIFA Quality Programme requirements for wearable EPTS.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  7. Where EPTS are provided by the match or competition organiser, it is responsible for the data sent to the technical area being reliable and accurate.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  8. Handheld devices may be used for coaching, but inappropriate behaviour resulting from their use gets a team official sent off.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  9. The FIFA Quality Programme for EPTS supports organisers in approving reliable systems before they are worn and their data used.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  10. Players may not wear electronic equipment; the one exception is wearable technology that is part of an approved electronic performance and tracking system.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

Test 4Slogans, statements and imagesTake a test

  1. The player's number, name, team crest or logo and slogans promoting football, respect and integrity are usually permitted.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  2. The facts of a match - teams, date, competition or event and venue - are usually permitted.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  3. Permitted slogans, statements or images should be confined to the shirt front and/or the armband; sometimes only on the captain's armband.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  4. Law 4 applies to all equipment worn by players, substitutes and substituted players, and its principles apply to team officials in the technical area.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  5. Slogans or images related to any person, living or dead, are treated as political unless part of the official competition name.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  6. Law 12 requires action against offensive, insulting or abusive language or provocative, derisory or inflammatory behaviour; a slogan in those categories is not permitted.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  7. It is recommended that disputes relating to slogans, statements or images are resolved before a match or competition takes place.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · recall

  8. When commemorating an event the sensibilities of opponents and the public should be considered, and disputes are best resolved before the match.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  9. Slogans promoting football, respect and integrity are usually permitted on the shirt front, and competition rules may limit their size, number and position.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

  10. Permitted slogans, statements or images belong on the shirt front and/or the armband (D), not on the shorts, socks or sleeve.

    Source: IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 4 · applied

Sources

IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 4 (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the Law, not reproduced)

  • IFAB Laws of the Game 2025/26, Law 440
  • IFAB Laws of the Game 2026/27, Law 430