Guide · Updated 30 July 2026
Football pitch dimensions
Two different kinds of number get mixed up whenever pitch sizes come up. The overall length and width sit inside a permitted range. The markings inside the pitch do not: they are fixed, and they are the same on a 90 m pitch as on a 120 m one.
The overall size is a range, not a number
IFAB Law 1 sets the field of play as a rectangle with a touchline length of 90 to 120 m and a goal line length of 45 to 90 m, with the touchline always longer than the goal line. For matches in international competitions the permitted range narrows to 100 to 110 m by 64 to 75 m.
That is why there is no single correct answer to “how big is a football pitch”. There is a range, and then there is whatever your competition's handbook requires within it. In England, 100 by 64 m is a common adult size and is the default this site uses for worked examples.
Your competition can require a narrower range than Law 1 allows, and many do. Always check the current handbook for the league you are marking for.
The markings that never change
These are absolute distances in Law 1. They are not proportions, and they do not scale up or down with the size of the pitch.
| Marking | Dimension |
|---|---|
| Goal area | 5.5 m from the inside of each goalpost, extending 5.5 m into the field |
| Penalty area | 16.5 m from the inside of each goalpost, extending 16.5 m into the field |
| Penalty mark | 11 m from the midpoint between the goalposts |
| Penalty arc | An arc of 9.15 m radius from the penalty mark, outside the penalty area |
| Centre circle | 9.15 m radius from the centre mark |
| Corner arc | 1 m radius at each corner |
| Goal | 7.32 m between the posts, 2.44 m from the ground to the lower edge of the crossbar |
| Line width | All lines the same width, no more than 12 cm |
The goal area and penalty area are described by their distance from the goalposts, so their overall widths follow from the goal width: 18.32 m across the goal area and 40.32 m across the penalty area on a full-size goal.
Small-sided and youth formats
Law 1 describes the 11-a-side field. Youth and small-sided formats are set by the national association, so in England the sizes come from The FA rather than from IFAB. The overall sizes below are the commonly published FA small-sided sizes, converted from yards.
| Format | Default size | Goal width | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 v 11 (adult) | 100.00 m × 64.00 m | 7.32 m | IFAB Law 1 markings |
| 9 v 9 (youth) | 73.15 m × 45.72 m | 4.88 m | FA small-sided size, WittyFutty planning markings |
| 7 v 7 (youth) | 54.86 m × 36.58 m | 3.66 m | FA small-sided size, WittyFutty planning markings |
| 5 v 5 (youth and small-sided) | 36.58 m × 27.43 m | 3.66 m | FA small-sided size, WittyFutty planning markings |
The internal markings this site uses for 9 v 9, 7 v 7 and 5 v 5 are planning defaults for estimating paint. They are not official competition dimensions. Take the penalty area, goal area and centre circle figures for your format from your league or county FA handbook, then enter your own length and width in the tools.
Why line width matters more than people expect
Line width is capped at 12 cm and every line has to be the same width. It also drives the entire paint calculation, because the painted area is line length multiplied by line width. Going from 75 mm to 100 mm increases the paint you need by a third, on exactly the same pitch.
Most clubs settle somewhere between 75 mm and 100 mm. Wider lines are easier to see in poor light and take longer to fade, at the cost of more paint per repaint.
Sources
- IFAB Laws of the Game — Law 1: The Field of Play Competition-law dimensions for the 11-a-side field of play.
- The FA — pitch sizes and goalpost sizes The FA's published pitch and goalpost sizes for adult and youth formats.