Beer City Cup 2026 Tournament Rules
GENERAL
The Beer City Cup tournament is affiliated with and sanctioned by the US Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and US Soccer. All matches will be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game as issued by FIFA except as modified in these Beer City Cup Tournament Rules.
FORMAT: All games are played with the “8 v 8” format. There is no “Offsides” or “3-Line Rule”. Each team is guaranteed three 50-minute games. Players are allowed to play in more than one division but can only play on one team within a division.
COED: Teams play with 3 females on the field, in any position. Teams that can’t field 3 female players will play down the number of females that they are unable to field. !!! NO SLIDE TACKLING IN COED (only) !!! Sliding is not permitted within playing distance of an opponent. Slide tackling is penalized with an indirect free kick, unless a direct free kick foul has been committed.
SUBSTITUTIONS: can be made on either team’s goal kick, when a yellow card is issued, during an injury, after a goal is scored, at halftime and on any team’s throw-in (if the referee determines it will not negatively impact the flow of play). Substitutions can not be made during corner kicks. Subs must stay off the field until the player leaving the field has come off.
WALLS: 8 yards from the ball. Attacking players must be at least 1 yard away from wall.
PENALTY KICKS: 10 yards from the goal line.
GAME BALLS: Each team must bring quality game balls to be used during BCC.
REFEREES: one USSF Certified Referee will officiate each match. They will use your team’s Picture Roster to check your team in before each match. Referees receive $100 if they find a team cheating, using ineligible or underage players. Referees use a QR code on the match report to submit the score of each match immediately following each game.
PLAYER ROSTERING REQUIREMENTS
Beer City Cup uses the TeamPass player registration / roster system
- Players who are currently registered through a sanctioned adult league that does use TeamPass just need to login with their TeamPass username and password. Their headshot and player details will auto populate. They will not need to purchase the $20 Single Event Tournament Only Pass
- Players who are currently registered through a sanctioned adult league that does not use TeamPass will have to upload a picture / screenshot of their player pass and a proper headshot to add themselves to their team’s roster. They will not need to purchase the $20 Single Event Tournament Only Pass
- Players who ARE NOT currently registered through a sanctioned adult league will need to purchase the $20 Single Event Tournament Only Pass by midnight of the day of Check-In (these passes are non-refundable).
NISA NPSL and US CLUB player passes are eligible to be uploaded to TeamPass.
UPSL WPSL USL 1 USL 2 and professional players who are ‘out of contract’ need to obtain the $20 Single Event Tournament Only Pass.
To start the rostering process, go to www.BeerCityCup.com and click on Roster, then click ‘2026 PLAYER REGISTRATION’.
All players will be able to electronically sign all waivers.
ALL players must have valid ID available throughout the tournament. The Beer City Cup Tournament Directors, Staff and / or the Referee can ask for a valid ID to verify proof of identity or age at any time during the tournament.
Each team is allowed to have a maximum of 25 players. There is no limit on the number of ‘guest’ players. Teams can be created for Beer City Cup tournaments.
ROSTER DEADLINES and LATE FEES
FEBRUARY 8 no fee to roster window closes
FEBRUARY 9 – 15 $25 late fee for each new / added player
FEBRUARY 16 – 22 $50 late fee for each new / added player
FEBRUARY 23 – 26 $75 late fee for each new / added player
FEBRUARY 27 ‘Check-In Day’ $100 late fee for each new / added player
FEBRUARY 28 ROSTERS ARE FROZEN / NO NEW PLAYERS ALLOWED
PLAYER AGE REQUIREMENTS
- Women’s / Co-Ed / Men’s (Elite, Premier, 2nd) teams’ players must be 18 by kick-off
- Men’s O30 teams’ male players must already be 30+ or will turn 30 in 2026
- Men’s O40 teams’ male players must already be 40+ or will turn 40 in 2026
- Men’s O50 teams’ male players must already be 50+ or will turn 50 in 2026
- Men’s O55 teams’ male players must already be 55+ or will turn 55 in 2026
- Men’s O60 teams’ male players must already be 60+ or will turn 60 in 2026
- Men’s O65 teams’ male players must already be 65+ or will turn 65 in 2026
Female players are allowed in any of the Men’s Divisions with these limitations:
- Female players ages 18 – 30 are allowed in the Men’s Premier + O30 Divisions
- Female players ages 30+ are allowed in the Men’s O40 Premier + 2nd Division
- Female players ages 40+ are allowed in the Men’s O50 Division
- Female players ages 45+ are allowed in the Men’s O55 Division
- Female players ages 50+ are allowed in the Men’s O60 Division
- Female players ages 55+ are allowed in the Men’s O65 Division
- A team of all Female players who are all 30+ can enter the Men’s O40s
- A team of all Female players who are all 40+ can enter the Men’s O50s
- A team of all Female players who are all 45+ can enter the Men’s O55s
- A team of all Female players who are all 50+ can enter the Men’s O60s
- A team of all Female players who are all 55+ can enter the Men’s O65s
POINT SYSTEM (very important) WIN: 6 points TIE: 3 points LOSS: 0 points
SHUTOUT: 1 point (0 points in case of a forfeit)
GOALS SCORED 1 point each up to 3 per game
ADVANCEMENT TO THE KNOCK-OUT ROUNDS
At the end of group play, teams will be ranked in their group based on the Point System. Any situation in which two or more teams have the same number of points, the Tie Break Rules will be applied in the following sequence:
1. Head to Head Competition: the result of the game played between the teams
2. Goal Differential: team with the higher goal difference will be ranked prior to others
3. Most Goals Scored: team with the most goals scored will be ranked prior to the others
4. Least Goals Allowed: team with fewest goals allowed will be ranked prior to the others
5. Most Shutouts: team with the most shutouts will be ranked prior to the others
6. Penalty Kicks or Coin Toss: If two teams are still tied for the same ranking, the FIFA penalty kick procedure will be used to determine the winner. If three or more teams are still tied, the Tournament Committee will decide how to proceed. Or, teams can agree to a coin toss.
Knock-out round games go straight to Penalty Kicks. Finals: Two 5-minute Over-Time (OT) periods will be played with the “Golden Goal” rule except for the ELITE division which will have two 10-minute periods. If the game is still tied after OT, the FIFA Penalty Kick procedure will be used to determine the winner.
VIDEO REVIEW (new 2026)
When a Beer City Cup stream is available on the match, video review may be used to overturn clear and obvious errors in the following situations:
- Determining whether the entire ball passed over the goal line
- Identifying players for disciplinary matters
- Determining whether violent conduct occurred
- Determining if an offense punishable by a penalty kick has occurred; including whether or not a foul was committed inside the penalty area
- Determining whether a straight red card should have been issued. The referee can upgrade the decision to a straight red card or downgrade it to a yellow card or a free kick.
- Determining the proper punishment in cases of stopping a promising attack or denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity. The referee can examine the validity of the decision to call a foul or not and whether the play meets the criteria for denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity or stopping a promising attack.
- Determining whether a foul by an attacker occurred or the ball exited the field during the attacking phase of play in the build-up to a goal
(*) Video reviews must take place prior to the restart of play, with the exception of player identification issues, which may take place at any time.
TOURNAMENT CHECK-IN
Friday eve before tournament. A Captain, Manager or Team Representative must come to check-in to drop off their teams’ $250 Refundable Performance Bond CHECK and pick up their teams’ final, approved and stamped Beer City Cup roster
WAYS FOR YOUR TEAM TO LOSE IT’S PERFORMANCE BOND
VIOLATING THE BEER CITY CUP RULES: The Beer City Cup Tournament Directors have the right to forfeit the matches of teams who do not follow the Rules or Eligibility Requirements.
VIOLENT CONDUCT: The Beer City Cup will retain the team’s Performance Bond if one of it’s player(s) is ejected due to violent conduct.
DISCRIMINATION: Any kind of discrimination against a team, private person or group of people on account of ethnic origin, gender, language, religion, politics.
OUTSIDE ALCOHOL: Bringing outside alcohol to the Soccer Complex.
FORFEITS: The Beer City Cup will retain the team’s Performance Bond if they forfeit a match. A team that forfeits a match will not be eligible for advancement. Their participation in future Beer City Cups will be reviewed by the Tournament Directors.
A minimum of 5 players at the time of kickoff will constitute a team.
If a team forfeits a match at any time during the tournament, then all of their other matches will be considered forfeits as well. Forfeit scores are 3-0 (9 pts.)
A forfeit shall be awarded if a team starts the game + quits at any time during the game.
A forfeit shall be awarded if a team is not present and prepared to play within 10 minutes of the scheduled time of kick-off.
A match should not start nor continue if either team drops below 5 players.
A forfeit shall be awarded if a team has less than 5 players on the field.
*** LOSS OF PRIZE MONEY *** If there is fighting / violent conduct during the finals, the prize money for the offending team will be forfeited; or, violating Beer City Cup Rules.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
Unless there is lightning, teams must still appear on the field ready to play as scheduled.
Failure to appear within 10 minutes after the scheduled kick-off time will result in forfeiture of the match.
The Beer City Cup Tournament Directors reserve the right to make changes such as relocation or rescheduling of matches, reduce match length time or cancel matches in the event of inclement weather.
In case of severe weather directly before or during play, game officials may postpone match play. Should a match be terminated due to weather conditions after the first half of play, the match will be considered official and the score at that time will stand as the official match score.
The decision about cancellation will be made by the Beer City Cup Tournament Directors as soon as they are able to make a call on the conditions of the fields.
Only a Beer City Cup Tournament Director may cancel a match in its entirety.
EJECTIONS
If a player receives a Red Card, they must sit out one game, unless it is for Violent Conduct, which carries a minimum 2-game ban. Violent Conduct penalties can be lengthened at the discretion of the Tournament Directors based on the severity of the act.
Any player, coach or spectator ejected from the match will not be replaced and must leave the Jennifer Ross Soccer Complex. The ejected player / coach / spectator will be suspended for the following match. The Tournament Directors reserve the right during the tournament to administer additional penalties as warranted.
Any player / coach / spectator who is guilty of physical or verbal abuse deemed as threatening to the referee will be suspended from all games for the rest of the tournament, whether he or she is registered for one team or more than one team; and shall be referred immediately to USASA.
USASA and the team’s home league shall, except in the case of referee assault, have the responsibility for imposing, should circumstances warrant, additional sanctions within their respective jurisdiction regarding any matters arising from the tournament. The issuance of all yellow and red cards and other matters involving the conduct of a team, its players, coaches or supporters will be recorded by the host organization; and, also reported to USASA and the team’s home league.
FANS AND SPECTATORS
Each Manager / Captain and player is responsible for the conduct of their fans and spectators of their team. The match official or the Beer City Cup Tournament Directors have the authority to suspend a game as a result of the actions of spectators.
DISCLAIMER
The Beer City Cup Tournament Committee, Directors or any sponsors of the Beer City Cup activities shall not be held responsible for expenses incurred by any person, team, club, league or any other association if the tournament is canceled in whole or in part.
If the tournament is canceled in whole in advance, the teams will be reimbursed their tournament entry fee minus $50 fee to cover website, credit card and processing expenses.
If the tournament is canceled in part after games have begun, there will not be a reimbursement of any entry fees.
The Beer City Cup Tournament Directors reserve the right to split divisions into Premier and 2nd Divisions; and, to use their discretion for resolving conflict or other matters not specifically provided for under these Tournament Rules.
If needed, the tournament reserves the right to finish on the Monday post weekend
Captains are responsible for verifying and ensuring their players are eligible to play in the division they are entering.
Playing as an ineligible player carries a minimum 5 year ban from ALL Beer City Cup events.
Any violation of these rules will result in the forfeiture of that team’s Performance Bond.
Prohibited items at the Beer City Cup:
Artificial Noisemakers / Weapons of any kind / Illegal Substances
Outside alcohol at Soccer Complex
Beer City Cup Officials are permitted to inspect any coolers brought to Soccer Complex
No refunds once a team has registered and paid their entry fee.
Entry fee is non-refundable.
No protests allowed.