Match Duration & Stoppage Time

The standard match length is 90 minutes, divided into two halves of 45 minutes each, plus added time at the end of each half.

Half-time is the interval after the first half during which players rest and teams may make tactical changes. It must not exceed 15 minutes.

The board shows the minimum time the referee will add for stoppages; more may be played if play is stopped again.

In a knockout match a draw after 90 minutes leads to extra time: a short break, then two periods with a change of ends between them.

If the match is still tied after extra time, the winner is decided by a penalty shootout: typically five kicks each, then sudden death if still tied.

Full-time is the moment the referee blows the final whistle, ending the match. It comes after the regulation 90 minutes plus the added time at the end of the second half.

The final whistle is the referee's signal that the match has ended. It is also called the 'long whistle'.

If both teams have the same score after 90 minutes (plus any added time), the result is a draw. Each team is awarded 1 league point.

Regulation time is the standard 90 minutes. Extra time is two 15-minute halves played afterwards to break a draw in knockout fixtures.

After five kicks each, a level shootout goes to sudden death, which ends in the first round where one team scores and the other does not.

Each half is 45 minutes long, totalling 90 minutes of regulation play (plus added time).

Half-time must not exceed 15 minutes. Competitions may set a shorter break, but never longer.

Extra time consists of two halves of 15 minutes each, totalling 30 minutes.

Each team takes five kicks, alternately; if the score is still level, sudden death follows.

Players are allowed a short break — up to 5 minutes — to take refreshment before extra time begins. They do not return to the dressing room.

The teams only change ends between the periods of extra time, get a short break before extra time, and the longest break is at half-time.

The Football Association set the duration of a match at 90 minutes in 1866, a few years after its founding (1863).

A period of extra time is shorter than a half, and a match is longer than either.

FIFA introduced more accurate stoppage-time calculations at the 2022 World Cup, leading to noticeably longer added time — sometimes more than 14 minutes per half.

Sudden death continues round after round until a winner emerges. There is no formal limit, although some legendary shootouts have run to 20+ kicks per side.

The referee decides how much time to add to compensate for stoppages. The fourth official displays the minimum amount, but the referee may extend play further at their discretion.

The referee blows a whistle (and a longer one for full-time) to officially end each period of play. Their decision overrides any other clock.

The fourth official shows the minimum added time on the board at the end of each half.

The referee decides the amount of added time, accounting for substitutions, injuries, time-wasting, VAR, celebrations and other delays.

Extra time begins on the referee's signal after a short break, in accordance with the competition rules.

Before the first kick, the goal and the order of kicking are settled; then the teams kick alternately.

The referee tosses a coin. The winning captain decides which goal is used (along with the referee's safety check) and whether to kick first or second.

Only the whistle ends a match, and the players leave the pitch after it.

The referee oversees each kick in a shootout — ensuring kickers and the goalkeeper follow procedure. There is no public countdown; kicks proceed in alternating order.

All substitutions need the referee's authorisation, including those during added time. The fourth official manages the procedure.

Football's clock runs continuously. Any stoppages are accounted for by the referee adding time at the end of each half rather than freezing the clock.

Each half must last the full 45 minutes (plus added time). The referee cannot shorten a half except by abandoning the match, which has its own procedure.

The board shows the minimum; stoppages during added time can be added on, and the half ends only at the whistle.

The match length is set by the competition rules. Friendlies may use shorter lengths, but for any official competition, 90 minutes (or as the rules specify) must be played in full.

Golden goal was used from the 1990s, silver goal briefly in the early 2000s, and both were dropped in 2004 in favour of the full 30 minutes.

If extra time is required by the rules of the competition, it must be played. Refusal could lead to forfeit and disciplinary action.

In a shootout, the kick ends after the ball stops moving, leaves play, or after the goalkeeper or a goalpost diverts it. Rebounds are not played.

Only players on the pitch at the end of extra time may take part, but an injured goalkeeper may be replaced if the team still has a substitution.

The match ends at the referee's whistle. Players, coaches and spectators must wait — encroaching too early can lead to fines for the home club.

Deliberate time-wasting (slow restarts, faking injury, slow substitutions) results in a yellow card, and the time wasted is added on at the end of the half.

In a knockout match a draw at 90 minutes leads to a short break and then two periods of extra time.

If the score remains level after extra time in a knockout fixture, the match is decided by a penalty shootout.

League matches that end level result in a draw. Both teams receive 1 league point. Extra time is only used in knockout fixtures.

The announced added time is a minimum; the match ends only when the referee blows the final whistle.

Abandonment outcomes depend on the competition rules. Some count the score at abandonment; others replay in part or in full.

After 5 kicks each, sudden death begins: each team takes one kick per round; the first round in which one team scores and the other misses ends the contest.

A player sent off during the shootout cannot take a kick. The team carries on with the remaining eligible players. Both teams must always have an equal number of eligible takers.

If one team has been reduced (red cards), the imbalance carries into extra time and the shootout (with the 'reduce-to-equate' rule applied for the shootout itself).

Before a shootout both teams must have the same number of kickers, so the side with more players leaves some out.

Outside interference that forces abandonment is handled by competition rules — sometimes replay, sometimes score-stands, sometimes a forfeit decision.

Three years after founding, the FA standardised match duration at 90 minutes in 1866 — a length that has remained stable ever since.

Before whistles became standard in the late 1870s, referees signalled with shouts or by waving handkerchiefs. The whistle made signals clearer and fairer.

Penalty shootouts entered the Laws in 1970, replacing replays, coin tosses and drawing lots.

Drawn cup ties were long settled by replays; shootouts decide them on the day and entered the Laws much later.

The golden goal (1993–2004) and silver goal (briefly used in 2002–2004) were both abolished in 2004. Today, full 30 minutes of extra time are played.

Golden goal came first, silver goal was tried briefly after it, and today the full 30 minutes of extra time are played.

FIFA emphasised more accurate added time at Qatar 2022, leading to substantial increases — some matches added more than 14 minutes per half.

Italy reached the 1968 final by winning a coin toss after a 0–0 draw. Such methods led to the introduction of penalty shootouts.

Two equal halves with a half-time interval has been the format of football since the 1860s codification — with the only major change being the standardisation at 45 minutes each.

Two 15-minute halves of extra time became established in the early 20th century. Variants (golden/silver goal) were tried in the 1990s and 2000s but reverted by 2004.

The match ends at the moment of the whistle. A goal is valid only if the ball wholly crossed the goal line before the whistle.

The referee may not shorten a competition match. Friendlies may use shorter rules but only by prior agreement.

The announced added time is a minimum. Further stoppages during it can be added. The half ends only on the referee's final whistle.

Time is extended so that a penalty awarded before the end of a half can be taken; nothing else is played.

An extended half ends as soon as the penalty is completed: scored, saved and out of play, or missed.

Abandonment during extra time is handled the same as in regulation: the competition rules decide the outcome (replay, score-stands, etc.).

Half-time substitutions are allowed and do not count as a separate substitution opportunity (they all count as one). The total number of substitutions is still capped by competition rules.

Fifteen minutes is the maximum. A shorter break is permitted by mutual agreement. Many lower-division and youth matches use shorter intervals.

Youth and amateur football often uses shorter periods (2 × 35 or 2 × 30 minutes, etc.). The competition rules dictate the length.

No new player may come on: another player who was on the pitch at the end of extra time goes in goal.

Football: 2 × 45 minutes (clock running). Basketball: 4 × 10 (FIBA) or 4 × 12 (NBA) minutes (clock often stopped). Different time-keeping styles.

American football frequently stops the clock, leading to a 60-minute game lasting 3+ hours. Football's continuous clock keeps total match time more compact.

Futsal has the shortest playing time, ice hockey a little more, and football the most.

Apart from the kicker and the two goalkeepers, the eligible players stay in the centre circle during a shootout.

Rugby union extra time is two periods of 10 minutes, football extra time two of 15, and one football half 45 minutes.

American football's half-time is normally about the same as football's. The Super Bowl halftime show stretches the break to about 30 minutes.

Tennis has no fixed match duration; the match ends when one player wins enough sets. Football's structure is fundamentally time-based.

Futsal has 2 × 20 minutes with a stopping clock — much shorter actual time but more intense. Football is longer and continuous.

American football has a structured 'two-minute warning' which stops the clock with 2 minutes left. Football has flexible stoppage time decided by the referee.

Football is time-based. Cricket is event-based — based on overs bowled or wickets taken, not time.

The board shows the minimum added time; the referee may add more if there are further stoppages.

The announced added time is the minimum. Until the referee blows the final whistle, goals continue to count.

Penalties awarded before the end of a half are taken even if added time has begun. The half ends when the kick has been completed (saved, scored, missed, etc.).

In a knockout match drawn at 90 minutes, extra time is played. If still tied, a penalty shootout decides the winner.

Sudden death continues until one team scores and the other misses in the same round. There is no fixed number of rounds.

Time lost to substitutions and other delays is added on at the end of the half.

The match ends at the whistle; a ball that goes in afterwards does not count, even if it was already in flight.

Before the shootout, the team with more players must reduce its squad of takers to equal the smaller team. Both teams will then have 10 eligible takers.

If no substitutions remain, an eligible outfield player must take over in goal. The team continues taking its kicks normally.

Time lost to outside interference is added by the referee at the end of the half, exactly as for other stoppages.

Regulation play is 90 minutes — two halves of 45 minutes each.

Two halves of 15 minutes are played, totalling 30 minutes of extra time. Teams change ends at the break, but there is no formal half-time interval.

The referee keeps the official time. Other clocks are unofficial.

League matches do not go to extra time: a level score is a draw worth one point to each team.

Kicks from the penalty mark, the shootout, decide a knockout tie still level after extra time.

The shootout starts as 'best of 5': each team takes 5 alternating kicks. If still tied, it moves to sudden death — one kick per team per round until one scores and the other misses.

The half-time interval may not exceed 15 minutes; competitions may set it shorter.

Goals scored at any time during the match — including added time — count fully, provided the ball entered the goal before the final whistle.

The 90-minute match was fixed in the 1860s, shootouts arrived in 1970 and golden goal was dropped in 2004.

FIFA pushed for more accurate stoppage time at the 2022 World Cup, leading to large added times — sometimes more than 14 minutes per half.