# Kick-Off & Restarts · Football Level 1: Beginner

Football · Level 1: Beginner · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/football/level-1/kick-off-restarts/)

Kick-Off & Restarts in Football (Level 1: Beginner) on Insporta: 100 sourced facts behind 10 tests. Covers: definitions; numbers; who and where; and more.

How a match starts and restarts: the kick-off, restarts after a goal, and the role of the centre circle.

## Test 1: Definitions

- A kick-off starts each half and restarts play after a goal. It is taken from the centre mark.
- The ball sits still on the centre mark until the referee signals; only then may the kicker play it.
- The 9.15 m-radius centre circle ensures opponents stand at the legal distance during a kick-off.
- A dropped ball restarts play after a stoppage with no offence. Since 2019 it is dropped for one player, everyone else at least 4 m away, and it is in play once it touches the ground.
- The ball is in play whenever it is on the pitch and play has not been stopped by the referee or by the ball going out of play.
- The ball is out of play when it fully crosses a boundary line, or when the referee has stopped play.
- Restarts include kick-offs, throw-ins, goal kicks, corner kicks, free kicks, penalty kicks, and dropped balls.
- The centre mark is the spot in the middle of the halfway line (C). A is a penalty mark, B a point on the halfway line near the touchline and D a corner of the goal area.
- The ball is in play as soon as the kicker kicks it and it clearly moves. Since 2016, it does not have to move forward.
- The referee tosses a coin. The toss-winning team chooses which goal to attack in the first half; the other takes the kick-off.

## Test 2: Numbers

- Opponents must be outside the centre circle (radius 9.15 m) until the ball is in play.
- The kicker may not touch the ball a second time before another player has touched it.
- Players need less room at a dropped ball than opponents at a kick-off, and the penalty mark is further from the goal line than either distance.
- Each half begins with a kick-off. Additional kick-offs occur after each goal.
- At the moment of a kick-off every player of both teams must be in their own half.
- Opponents must be outside the centre circle until the ball is in play.
- Since 2019, the ball is in play immediately when kicked. It does not have to leave the penalty area.
- Exactly one player takes the kick-off. Since 2016 it can be played sideways or backwards.
- Since 2025 a goalkeeper may hold the ball for up to eight seconds; the referee counts the last five with a raised hand, and holding on longer gives the opponents a corner.
- Drop balls are rare — used only when play stops in unusual circumstances (ball striking the referee changing possession, etc.).

## Test 3: Who and where

- The referee tosses the coin to decide kick-off and ends.
- The team that wins the toss chooses which goal to attack in the first half, and the other team kicks off.
- After a goal, the conceding team takes the kick-off from the centre mark.
- Every kick-off is taken from the centre mark, and only after the signal is given.
- Opponents must be in their own half AND outside the 9.15 m centre circle.
- All players (including the kicker's teammates) must be in their own half at the moment of the kick-off.
- If play is stopped without an offence, it restarts with a dropped ball at the spot where the ball was when play stopped.
- When play stops with the ball inside a team's penalty area, the dropped ball goes to that team's goalkeeper.
- The team taking the kick-off places the ball on the centre mark.
- The referee signals — usually with a whistle — when the kick-off may be taken.

## Test 4: Allowed and forbidden

- Since 2016, a goal can be scored directly from a kick-off against the opposing team. An own goal cannot be scored directly.
- Since 2016, the ball at a kick-off can be played in any direction. The old 'must move forward' rule was removed.
- Like with all restarts, the player taking the kick-off may not play the ball again until another player has touched it.
- An own goal cannot be scored directly from a kick-off. If the ball goes directly into the kicker's own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opponents.
- Opponents must be outside the centre circle until the kick-off ball is in play.
- All players must be in their own half at the moment of the kick-off. After the ball is in play, free movement resumes.
- A dropped ball has to touch at least two players before a goal can count. If it goes straight into the opponents' goal, play restarts with a goal kick.
- The referee's decisions are final; arguing with them is dissent and can be punished with a caution.
- The kicker's teammates only need to be in their own half, so they may stand inside the circle.
- Any player from the kicking team may take the kick-off — though in practice an outfielder usually does.

## Test 5: Consequences of violations

- The player taking any restart may not touch the ball again until another player has; doing so gives the opponents an indirect free kick.
- If any player from either team is in the opposing half at the moment the ball is kicked, the kick-off must be retaken.
- If an opponent enters the centre circle before the ball is in play, the kick-off is retaken (without a card unless persistent).
- If the ball is not at the centre mark, the kick-off is retaken once the ball is properly placed.
- Unauthorised entry of an extra player may lead to a caution and the kick-off being retaken.
- The dropped ball goes to the goalkeeper when play stopped inside the penalty area. Once it is in play, the keeper may handle it there as usual.
- Own goals cannot be scored directly from a kick-off. The opposing team is awarded a corner kick instead.
- Since 2019, if the ball touches a match official and the possession changes, play is stopped and restarted with a dropped ball.
- Unauthorised entry of a substitute is a caution and the player is removed from the pitch. The kick-off is then retaken.
- Deliberately delaying the restart is unsporting behaviour and a yellow card offence.

## Test 6: Historical changes to kick-off rules

- Before 2016, the ball had to move forward into the opponent's half. Since 2016/17 the ball can move in any direction.
- Direct goals from kick-offs have been allowed for over a century. The 2016 change related to the direction the ball must travel.
- Before 2019 a drop ball was dropped between two opponents, who were not allowed to play it until it touched the ground.
- Goal-line technology came first, then kick-offs in any direction, then uncontested dropped balls, and most recently the eight-second corner rule.
- The centre circle keeps the opponents of the kicking team at least 9.15 m (10 yards) from the ball at a kick-off.
- The coin toss has been part of football since the early days of the codified game in the 19th century.
- The requirement that the ball be kicked AND move has been a Law 8 principle for over a century.
- Direct goals from goal kicks have been allowed in modern Laws. Specific clarifications came in the 20th century reforms.
- The 'no second touch before another player' rule applies to nearly all restarts and has been a Law principle from the early days of football.
- The 10-yard rule for opponent distance has been a long-standing Law, dating from the late 19th century along with the centre circle.

## Test 7: Exceptions and edge cases

- Play has not started until the ball is kicked, so the ball is simply placed back on the centre mark.
- The referee signals when the kick-off may be taken — usually with a whistle.
- The ball must be kicked AND clearly move. If it doesn't clearly move, the kick is retaken.
- If the referee realises the wrong team received the dropped ball, they can stop and re-drop before play resumes.
- The 'must leave the centre circle' was never a rule. The ball just needs to be kicked and clearly move.
- The referee does not start play while an injured player lies on the pitch; the kick-off waits until play can resume properly.
- Law 12 offences before the kick-off are addressed (caution, etc.), but the kick-off still proceeds.
- Goals can be scored at any time after the kick-off, including immediately. Many famous matches have begun with goals in the first 30 seconds.
- If a player is being treated outside the pitch and not affecting play, the kick-off may proceed.
- Since 2019 a goal cannot come straight off a match official: play restarts with a dropped ball.

## Test 8: Comparisons

- Kick-offs occur at specific moments (start of halves and after goals). Free kicks are awarded for offences elsewhere on the pitch.
- Kick-offs occur at specific moments. Goal kicks are awarded when the ball crosses the goal line off an attacker.
- Drop balls give the ball directly to one player at the spot; kick-offs are taken at the centre mark by the team.
- The procedure is identical. The only difference: the team taking it (toss winner vs conceding team).
- Penalties are formal one-on-one shots at goal. Kick-offs are team restarts from the centre mark.
- Football kick-off is a possession given to one team. Basketball's tip-off is contested by jumping players.
- Until 2019 two opponents contested a drop ball; since then it is dropped for a single player.
- Different restarts use different locations. Kick-offs are central; corners are at the corner arcs.
- A throw-in is the one restart taken with the hands: both hands, from behind and over the head, with both feet on or behind the touchline.
- Opponents must stay 2 m from the point of a throw-in, other players 4 m from a dropped ball, and opponents 9.15 m from the ball at a kick-off.

## Test 9: Mini scenarios

- The team that conceded the goal restarts play with a kick-off from the centre mark.
- Since 2016, a goal can be scored directly from a kick-off against the opposing team.
- Since 2016, the ball at a kick-off can move in any direction.
- Any player in the wrong half at kick-off forces a retake.
- Encroachment into the centre circle by an opponent before the ball is in play forces a retake.
- A dropped ball must touch at least two players before a goal can count. If it goes straight into the player's own goal, the opponents get a corner kick.
- With no offence and no clear restart, play resumes with a dropped ball for the team that last touched the ball, at the spot where it was.
- If play stops while the ball is in a team's penalty area, the dropped ball is given to that team's goalkeeper.
- Backwards passing is allowed at kick-off. As long as the ball touches another player before the kicker plays it again, the play is legal.
- Once the ball is in play, an offence is punished in the normal way: a free kick from where it happened.

## Test 10: Mixed review

- Kick-offs are always taken from the centre mark.
- The conceding team takes the kick-off after a goal.
- Since 2016, direct goals from kick-offs are valid against the opposing team.
- 9.15 m is the legal distance, enforced by the centre circle.
- Since 2019 the dropped ball is uncontested and given to one player at the spot.
- The player taking a restart may not touch the ball a second time until another player has touched it.
- All 22 players must be in their own respective half at the moment of the kick-off.
- The toss-winning team picks ends; the other team takes the kick-off.
- Until 2016 the kick-off had to go forward into the opponents' half; since the 2016/17 Laws it may go in any direction.
- A goal cannot be scored directly into your own goal from a kick-off; the opponents get a corner kick.

Sources: 

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