NEPL SOCCER
New England Premier League
NEPL Soccer - New England Premier League
  • 1) PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
    Players must be enrolled at school's undergrad, graduate school and/or other pre-approved by the league. All players must be registered and listed on Team Roster on www.neplsoccer.com by captain.
  • 2) ROSTERS
    a) Rosters will be submitted by Captains via website and submitted to the League prior to the first game. Print a copy for each game and provide it to the head referee.
    b) There is no roster limit, however, game day roster should not exceed 25 players. Players may be added assuming they are eligible based on rules 1, 2 & 5 until April 21, 2026. Rosters will be locked after this date.
    c) No player may be currently listed on a varsity soccer roster. If any such instance is identified, that player will be suspended from future NEPL activities and that team will be penalized with a forfeit for all games such player participated. If there is any doubt on a former varsity player's eligibility, get league approval.
  • 3) WAIVERS
    ALL players must complete, sign, and return the waiver form to the League via captain before participating in any league-sanctioned or assigned event. One waiver form per player. If it has not been signed, and the player is not confirmed by the league to be eligible, they may not participate. Each player is responsible for signing and submitting their own waiver. All players take full personal responsibility for completing said waiver and not participating in any NEPL events until such time.
  • 4) GAME PLAY
    a) Standard game play is: 11 v 11 players. Maximum of 40-minute halves (never 45) when 1 game. 35-minute halves when round robin style or back-to-back games (men's/men's or men's/women's), especially where time on the field is a restraint. Stoppage time is not permitted. Running clock unless for an injury lasting more than 2-3 minutes. Half time standard length is 5 minutes, max of 7, as field time slots are limited. If one team is not ready at designated kickoff, or after the allotted halftime expires, a referee has the discretion to continuously warn players to start or resume the match, and if they determine that a team is still not ready, blow the whistle and start the clock.
    b) A team cannot start a game with less than 7 players.
    c) At any time up until 1 hour prior to the commencement of the game, a team may request that the game be reduced to 35 minutes and/or it be played 10v10 and both teams must oblige per league rule to alleviate stress on teams and encourage playing of games in the spring season. However, any request within 30 minutes prior to kick off is solely at the discretion of the opposing team.
    d) Regular season games tied after full time will end in a draw.
  • 5) PROFESSIONALISM & GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP
    a) Foul language and behavior directed at officials, players, or other personnel will NOT be tolerated. Good sportsmanship should be always practiced. Whether a card is given or not, any such incident may result in suspension. Referees will be held to a similar standard regarding abusive language towards players and staff.
  • 6) EQUIPMENT
    a) Shin guards are required. No jewelry (unless taped up), no watches. Any casts must be soft foam.
    b) It is suggested that teams should have proper matching uniforms of some kind and wear the same color. They should coordinate with opposing teams to have reasonably different color jerseys unless this is unavoidable.
    c) Yellow cards may be given out for consistent improper equipment.
  • 7) FIELDS
    a) Goals should be anchored and captains are responsible to reach out to school admin about this PRIOR to first game so that goals, lines are prepared. Corner flags or cones are encouraged.
  • 8) CARDS
    a) Fair Play is in effect as a tiebreaker.
    b) Yellow cards = -1 point, indirect Red cards = -3points
    c) Captains are required to self-report all cards in game reports. Continued failure to do so may result in docking of Fair Play points and/or longer suspension for player receiving cards.
    c) An indirect red card will result in a minimum of a half game ban.
    • Accumulation of 3 yellow cards at any point during the season will result in a half to 1 game ban, depending on the nature of the yellow cards. Cards reset at the start of playoffs. If a 3rd yellow is accumulated in a player's last regular season game, a suspension will be enforced.
    A direct red card will result in a minimum 1 game ban barring an appeal.
    If players don't have numbers, it is the duty of the coach and/or captains (in absence of a coach) to properly identify players from the roster to the referee if needed for any reason including injury/cards.
  • 9) EMTS
    a) EMT presence is strongly encouraged and preferred. If a school requires them, it is the home team's responsibility to guarantee their presence for a game. Any game being postponed last minute as a result of lack of EMTs will require full payment and may lead to a forfeit if rescheduling is not an option.
  • 10) STANDINGS & TIEBREAKERS
    a) Order of standings will be as follows: Points, Head-to-Head Record, Goal Differential, Goals Allowed, Goals Scored, Fair Play, Coin Toss. The 6th Standings Tiebreaker will be Fair Play aka # of cards given. Each Yellow card = (-1), indirect Red Card = (-3), direct Red Card = (-4). Goal Differential will be equated at the end of season BASED on (GD/minutes played) as not every team will have played the same amount of minutes for various reasons. While a team may win a game 10-0, there is a cap for GD to be applied to final standings tally of (+/- 6) when determining seeding in the event of any tiebreaker. This may not show up on the website standings and will be provided in the final standings
  • 11) SUPPLEMENTAL RULES & RULES EMPHASIS
    a) When not previously mentioned, NCAA College 2024-2025 rules apply: NCAA RULES
    b) Goalkeepers will have 6 seconds to release the ball after possession is to be established. Failure to do so will result in a warning and ultimately awarding of a corner kick for the opposing team.
    c) Any foul committed with a card given, play must start with a whistle.
    d) Any foul committed where 10 yards was NOT asked for by the kicking team does not require a wall to be made or whistle blown. The kicking team may continue play at their and referee's discretion in such an instance. Fouling team does not get to ask for ten yards, nor may they overtly stop attacking team from continuing play without risking a yellow card for delaying the restart. This includes attempting to interfere on a throw in (yellow card, indirect free kick)
  • 12) SUBSTITUTIONS
    Unlimited substitutions may be made during a stoppage regardless of possession including for injuries ONLY WITH the clearance of the Center/SR1. Otherwise standard rules will apply where the team requesting a substitution is in possession of a throw in, goal kick, free kick or corner.
    If the team requesting a sub is NOT in possession of the following, there must be an opposing player waiting for a substitution as well for them to enter the field.
    • It is ultimately solely up to their discretion for pace of play, advantage of the subbing/non-subbing team. (i.e. team with possession is not subbing, but the ball goes way out of bounds and the other team's sub is ready, and NO delay or advantage is provided, get that sub in. Practice common sense here). Subs may NOT be made without ref's permission and subs must report to half-line prior to the ball going out of bounds or play being stopped. Improper subs on the fly will result in a yellow card and indirect kick at the site of the illegal sub.
    • Players must be waiting at half field and fully come off the field before the new player can enter. Play shall only be restarted when it is established the new player coming on the field are in position.
    Benches MUST be on the same side. No opposite side subbing. All players will sub in from the same side of the field.
  • 13) FORFEITS
    • At the end of season, during final standings and tiebreaking, forfeit wins will be applied as 1-0 score and +1 point. Website will apply 1-0, 3 points in the meantime. Forfeit losses are 0-1 and -3 points. Same story applies for forfeiting team: -3 points will be applied at the end of season. Now that the schedule has been posted in multiple locations for some time, cancellations the week of games will result in a monetary penalty to cover the full cost of referees. Both of these rules are in place to discourage forfeits & encourage games to be played. If a game needs to be postponed, this decision should not be last minute. Both teams and the league should be in close communication about any issues. Keep the league in the loop EARLY of any issues. With advanced notice, schedule can be shifted around.
    • If any game is requested to be rescheduled, it ultimately will rest in the decision of the league whether such a postponement is valid. Many requests have been made and some have been granted. Other games must be played as is, because ultimately there is little other time or field space.
    • Forfeits are strongly discouraged. NEPL does not look highly upon them. A lot of time and effort is put into setting up games between the captains, referees, school admin and the league itself. On top of the monetary and a negative point penalty, forfeits without rescheduling will most likely result in disqualification from postseason participation.
    • Any team disqualified or eliminated from playoff contention that forfeits another game will again, be required to cover the cost of referees regardless of timing and risk future suspension from NEPL events. Do not cancel on a team and senior's potentially last game ever, after the game has been on the schedule for 2+ months.
  • 14) REFEREES
    A) Games will be refereed by 2- or 3-man crews and assigned/invoiced to teams by the league.
    B) Referees have been requested to be on the field and announce themselves to captains no later than 15 minutes before designated kickoff. Please DO NOT reach out prior to the 15 minutes window. At such time, however, notify the league they are not there. Hold a captain's meeting to confirm player eligibility, rosters/waivers, rules, timing, ball/side should be had, please remind referees if one has not taken place.
    C) Again, all referees are to be respected and treated with the utmost professionalism and respect and in kind they will be held to the same standard. If you disagree with a call, only captains should be addressing them with referees. Captains are responsible for helping game management as much as the referees.
  • 15) END OF SEASON
    a) All league games MUST be completed by April 28th to count for playoff standings. Games may still be played May 2 weekend, but this is during league playoffs.
  • 16) POSTSEASON
    a) Teams will be required to confirm their participation in the postseason if qualified by April 28th at 11PM EST
    b) POSTSEASON QUALIFICATION
    MENS: 14 team playoffs. Division winners automatically qualify. 7 wild cards ranked by points will also qualify. Division winners are not guaranteed a top 7 seed. All teams will be seeded by points. Top two seeds receive first round byes. First round will consist of 12 teams in 6 matchups, followed by 8 teams in quarters, then semis and finals. If a division winner declines postseason participation, second place will be offered division spot at playoffs. If this team declines, next best wild card team regardless of division will take that division's guaranteed playoff spot. No team outside of the top 20 in points will be invited to playoffs as to not dilute playoffs, unless they are hosting. League reserves right to alter the playoff format when final playoff list of teams is confirmed.
    WOMENS: 6 team playoffs. Division winners automatically qualify. 4 wild cards ranked by points will also qualify. All teams will be seeded by points. Top two seeds receive first round byes. 4 teams in first round, then semis and finals. If a division winner declines postseason participation, second place will be offered division spot at playoffs. If this team declines, next best wild card team regardless of division will take that division's guaranteed playoff spot. No team outside of the top 10 will be invited to playoffs. League reserves right to alter the playoff format when final playoff list of teams is confirmed.
  • 17) GAME REPORTS
    a) Captains are required to submit game reports with scores, states and ref evaluation at the conclusion of each game and within 24 hours or potentially risk point deduction for continued delay The league would appreciate not chasing teams after each game. Game reports consist of an accurate detailing of the game score and YOUR OWN goalscorers, assists, saves by full name, plus self-reporting any cards, a ref evaluation and any other pertinent information, but not including complaints about discretionary calls by the referee.
  • 18) PLAYER IDS
    A) All players must bring either a physical or digital copy of student ID to games and be prepared to show refs in pre-game meetings.
  • 19) LEAGUE STATEMENT
    • Final discretion on ALL league matters that may arise and not covered by league rules listed here will ultimately lie solely with league coordinator and will be made in the best interests of the league.
    • The league is not liable for any injuries sustained in regular season, post season or league affiliated tournaments. Refunds will not be permitted.
    • Any previous mention of any rule is overruled by this rule page updated as of March 6, 2026.