FAQ

Q – Can you provide a summary, a compilation of the most relevant Leeway’s rules and exactly how the affect the game?

Yes, absolutely.Below are 9 points describing the most relevant rules and their impact on Leeway. All of our high school & college players read them:

A) A slightly shorter match (80min divided into 2 half times of 40 minutes, 20 min break time)= makes it easier to TV and Streaming scheduling, easier to retain audience attention span, will allow for the match to keep a higher physical level of performance of most players throughout the whole event and this increase the Entertainment Value (E.V.). As you will see below virtually ALL RULES are geared exactly to increase the speed and intensity of the game and its E.V.

B) The Forward Rule (F.R.)= prohibits that the ball be kicked back into the defense field AFTER it crossed the midfield line. And what it does during the whole 80 minutes of the match is to force and increase the number of interaction player vs player per minute because you cannot avoid it by sending the ball back into your field and this way “running the clock down ” or ” cooling off the game ” as we see in football, especially when the score is beneficial to one of the teams. When a team breaks this rule and kick the ball back into its defense field, the ball possession is REVERTED to the opponent team through a SIDE KICK IN placed on the sideline of the field next to the midfield line. So, if you break the F.R. you lose possession of the ball. Leeway is INHERENTLY a FORWARD MOVING GAME.

C) The Offside Rule= The way the offside is enforced in Leeway makes the game much FASTER and the DISTRIBUTION (spread) of PLAYERS on the field much more even than in Football/Soccer because in Leeway when a team is being attacked and does not have the ball, it can and will have attack players already positioned in the attack field ready to receive the ball in a counterattack (as soon as the team that is attacking loses possession of the ball). How is that possible in Leeway and not in Football? In Football/soccer if you are defending and you do that (position players in the attack field) all these players will be OFFSIDE but not in Leeway where the OFFSIDE RULE has nothing to do with relationship between the position of defenders and attackers. So in Leeway, a team that is defending can and will keep attack players in position in the attack field ready to perform a split second counter attack because a kicked ball travels much faster than any player carrying a ball on the field and this will not only cause the game to be extremely fast with a very short transition DEFENSE-ATTACK TIME (a.k.a. counter attack) and it also cause that players of BOTH TEAMS to be occupying both fields at all times and not AGGLOMERATED and CLUMPED TOGETHER as we see in Football/Soccer and for that reason we have a better FIELD DISTRIBUTION OF PLAYERS and we have 13 (thirteen) players in each team, 12 field players and 1 goalkeeper, as it will be necessary and required to cover and occupy most of the field. So in Leeway, the OFFSIDE RULE only by itself will cause these 2 specific different dynamics. NO LEGIT GOALS ARE DISALLOWED in Leeway because an attacker is behind the line created by the DEFENSE of the other team.

So how exactly the offside rule works in Leeway? The OFFSIDE POSITION is determined based on three factors: POSITION OF THE ATTACK PLAYER ON THE FIELD AT THE TIME THE BALL IS PASSED TO HIM/HER, POSITION OF THE BALL ON THE FIELD (INSIDE or OUTSIDE the 5 YARD LINE) and IF THE BALL IS ROLLING OR IF IT IS A STATIONARY BALL. These three criteria are very EASY and RELIABLE to determine as they are based on PHYSICAL LANDMARKS of the field (the 5 YARD LINE) and most importantly, in Leeway Attack players are allowed to attack in 95.8% of the field without being offside and do NOT need to worry about being BEHIND the line artificially created by the defense of the opponent team. This will cause the game to be EXTREMELY FLUID, FAST, INTENSE DYNAMIC and because of that the match time is SHORTER, PLAYERS CAN BE SWAPPED, and THERE ARE MORE PLAYERS ON THE FIELD. In sum, Leeway is simply MORE INTENSE than Football/Soccer.

D) The SIDE KICK In Rule= In Leeway when the ball goes outbound through the sideline of the field it is PUT BACK into the game by being KICKED IN by foot and NOT THROWN IN by hand as in Football/Soccer. And because anyone can kick a ball FASTER, HIGHER, FURTHER as compared to if one THROWS this same ball with both hands. This fact causes the game to be much faster because you can put this ball literally anywhere on the field including cross the ball in the attack field, launch a counterattack very fast and very deep, and even score a goal which is completely legal in Leeway as you can score a Kick Goal or a Game Goal which are worth 1 point and 2 points respectively. It just gives another dimension and function to a simple re-start of the game making it much faster & capable of deeper plays as opposed to a simple throw in by both hands.

E) The scoring system was totally improved & refined with a score by points and NOT by goals (Kick Goal = 1 point, Game Goal = 2 points). It is actually very simple: A Game Goal is the same as the typical goal we see all the time scored in football/Soccer where the ball is played/ touched two or more times and is a rolling ball. This goal is worth 2 points. The other goal type, called KICK GOAL is what is very unique in Leeway. When the ball is STATIONARY on the ground like in a Corner kick, Side Kick In, Direct Kick, Indirect Kick and Major Penalty Kick and AFTER being kicked toward the goal if it crosses the goal line/enters the goal is TOUCHED 1 time (i.e. a Corner kick or a Side Kick In that is headed into the goal) or Not Touched at all (i.e. a direct kick with men barrier, or a Major Penalty Kick) are examples of KICK GOALS and are worth only 1 point. But remember if in any of these situations the ball is touched 2 times or more it will be ruled as a GAME GOAL. So, the differentiation is NOT about being a rolling or stationary ball BUT instead the amount of team participation in the execution of the goal itself. If there is more team/player participation as demonstrated by 2 or more touches at the ball it will be ruled as a GAME GOAL, on the other hand, if there is minimal team participation like in a Major Penalty Kick (MPK) or Corner Kick or Side Kick in with only one touch to score the goal, this will be a Kick Goal worth only 1 point. This is a MORE REFINED scoring system. In Leeway we score the game not only by the fact that a goal was scored BUT also HOW the goal was scored. The score is always in points and not in goals.

F) The Infraction rules are different than in Football /Soccer and geared to higher/intense performance= Infraction in Leeway work with yellow card and Red Card. A player can receive up to 2 (two) yellow cards in the same match and when they receive the yellow card the player MUST leave the field/time out for 3 or 5 consecutive minutes and then comes back into the game. This can happen up to 2 times and every time the team will be with one less player during these 3 or 5 minutes as determined by the event organizers. The Red Card means immediate removal from the field and from the match just like in football. In Leeway, the yellow Card penalizes the team and not only the player and, contrary to what happens in Football/ Soccer because the players exit the field for 5 minutes and both the player and the team are penalized, the Yellow Card is NOT simply an administrative matter as it is in football/soccer, the team and the player are penalized in terms of play time. In Leeway, UNDISCIPLINED players will be very costly to their respective teams in terms of game time. Of note, this time out of 5 minutes can be reduced to 3 minutes if all teams agree to it. But a time out will always exist. 

G) The Substitution Rule is very simple= Coaches can swap players as many times as necessary. Meaning any player can go out and come back in as many times as deemed necessary by the Coach, just like in BASKETBALL. So, this gives a big VERSATILITY as determined by circumstances during the match as sometimes a team is winning a match, removes an attacker, then after some time the match goes into a tie and then this Coach have the option to bring this same attacker back into the match because now, he needs an attacker because the game is in a tie. In Football/Soccer coaches can NOT do that. They cannot swap players; they can only REPLACE PLAYERS. But there is one caveat: YELLOW CARDED PLAYERS CAN NOT BE SWAPPED. THEY CAN ONLY BE REPLACED OR REMAIN ON THE FIELD until the end of the match. This again, penalized teams and players who are UNDISCIPLINED and again, in Leeway a yellow card is NOT an ADMINISTRATIVE matter as it is in Football/Soccer.

H) The Leeway Field= is extremely simple. It is a rectangular field, natural grass or artificial turf, the official size is 70-85 yards by 90 to 120 yards. It has ONLY 3 (three) markings: 1) MIDFIELD LINE/STRAIGHT/NO CIRCLES or other geometric figures, 2) 15 YARD LINE on each half field 3) 5 YARD LINE on each half field. Four corner flag/post. Two goalposts with a size range similar to that of Football (meaning a Football/Soccer goalpost can be used as its size range overlaps with Leeway’s).1 Central referee and 2 sideline assistant referees. The offside rule is completely based on the 5-yard line and other game rules (i.e. goalkeeper’s rules) are based on the 5 and 15-yard line making it simple, easy to referee, reliable and reproducible. VAR can be used but it is much less necessary at least for the offside ruling.

I) The Leeway Dynamics = This aspect is not based on any specific rule or defined regulation of the game, but instead, by the summation of all these rules together, where as noted, the basic difference is that in Leeway the ball travels, the ball is the one displaced over a time period in the space as opposed to being carried by players for the most part of the game. The number of touches in the ball is reduced because the “destination players” are already in position, ready to receive the ball. This aspect is afforded specially by the combination of the kick in rule, the offside rule, higher number of players on the field, a faster defense- attack transition time and a better field occupation/distribution by the players. It is simply different.

Leeway is better to watch as it has shorter duration of matches, is faster, more intense and consequently more entertaining. You do not have time or opportunity to get bored. Once past the midfield line the ball can only go forward.

It is more physically challenging to play as described many times specially for the way the offside rule works where there is nothing defense players can do to prevent mobility of attack player and there is less room for delaying and running down the clock. Leeway gives “more leeway” to players to move, hence its name.

It is more challenging strategically as it is multi-dimensional as virtually the both half fields are occupied at all times by players both while attacking and defending.

Its scoring system rewards more team participation in the goals scored. It is not so much that a goal was scored, but also how much team participation was involved in it. Hence 1 or 2 points for Kick Goals or Game Goals respectively. Its infraction system rewards sportsmanship & discipline and penalizes players and teams that lack them. Look at the yellow card system.

Q- How does the offside rule in Leeway impact the game and how it compares to Football/Soccer?

• Among all Leeway rules, which are different from those in Football,  the single most relevant rule and that has the strongest impact in the dynamics of the game is by far the offside rule. We have prepared and provided plenty of information through diagrams and tables in our website on how the offside position works in Leeway. If I am asked to give the simplest explanation I will say: If a player is outside the 5 yard area, under no circumstances can this player be offside, if a player is inside the 5 yard area, at the moment the ball is launched to this player, this player is offside regardless of where this ball is coming from and if it is rolling or stationary EXCEPT if the ball itself is rolling inside the 5 yard area. And this is it. These three statements summarize the offside rule in Leeway. Now answering the question of how it impacts the game. This is also very simple: In Leeway the position of defenders and attackers does NOT play any role in determining if a player is offside. It does NOT matter at all where the defender is. And because of that, Defenders cannot make the so called OFFSIDE LINE to put Attackers at offside position and many times disallowing and nullifying completely legit and competitively scored goals. This simply cannot happen in Leeway. So, here there is no surprises and frustration and that overwhelming dependency of the VAR and split second movements and inches of difference in position between Defender and Attackers to determine if a goal was legit or not. Here in Leeway Defenders must defend AND Attackers are allowed to attack freely, as long as they are not inside the 5 yard area except if the ball itself is already in play /rolling inside the 5 yard.

Q- Why the offside rule in Leeway uses the 5 yard line and not the 15 yard or another line further from the goal?

• All Leeway rules were tested in matches and how it worked and what the coaches were doing to go around the rules was observed. So, it was decided to use the 5 yard line because if the Defense players or Coaches try to use the 5 yard line for the purpose of putting attack players offside it will be a very dangerous decision because these attackers will be extremely close to their goalpost and any kick to the goal may score a goal. If instead of the 5 yard line, we had used the 15 yard or 20 yard line, Coaches and players would use this line with the same objective as they make the DEFENSE OFFSIDE LINE in Football to put attackers in offside position. In Leeway this is not possible and the 5 yard line is too close to the goalposts to be used in this manner by the defense or Coaches.

Q- Why Leeway adopted a scoring system where more or less points are awarded to goals scored and in practice how it impacts the game?

• In Leeway, the scoring system award points to goals scored. And because we understand that not all goals are created equally, different goals are awarded different number of points. So, what is the factor that in Leeway is used to differentiate goals? Team Participation. The more team involvement in a goal the more points, on the other hand, less team participation means less points awarded. For a player to participate objectively in a play this player needs to touch the ball. And here the magic word is objectively. Something that can be documented, observed or measured. So we established that a minimal participation would be 1(one) touch or not touch at all after the ball is put back in game. And this is called KICK GOAL. If on the other hand, there are 2 (two) or more touches at the ball once the ball is in game, then we will have a GAME GOAL, which is the most common goal scored. For a goal to be considered a KICK GOAL it must satisfy this strict definition above mentioned. Before I give a couple of examples of KICK GOALS I need to remind you guys of something very obvious but that is necessary to understand and have in mind when looking at how goals can be treated differently in terms of team participation. My point is: When the match is stopped and the ball is NOT rolling, is not being played, when this ball is stationary. This ball is NOT in game and this ball will only get back into the match once it is kicked and put in movement. And every KICK GOAL always starts from a stationary kick such as a corner kick, side kick in, major penalty kick, direct kick, indirect kick or even a frontal kick. In sum ANY STATIONARY KICK as those mentioned above can create a KICK GOAL. Once this stationary ball is kicked and put back in game, if it happens to enter the goal and it is NOT touched at all or touched one 1 time, it will be considered as a KICK GOAL. Now with that said and understood, let me give two examples: A corner Kick, toward the goal, where another team mate head the ball into the goal. This is a KICK GOAL. Another example: A direct Kick with men barrier ( a stationary ball) that after being kicked enters the goal and is NOT touched at all by any player. If for example in this case of a direct kick with men barrier this ball after being kicked is touched 1 time by ANY player, even an opponent, it will still be a KICK GOAL but if it is touched 2 times by player, and enters the goal, it will be ruled as a GAME GOAL. But there is a caveat: There are NEUTRAL elements that do NOT count as touch and these elements are three: The referee, the goalposts and the Goalkeeper. Now let me give an example of a GAME GOAL: any ball that before entering the goal is in normal continuous play and has been touched 2 or more times OR any stationary kick, such as the ones I mentioned above, after being put back in game, entered the goal and was touched 2 or more times. Yes, it is that simple. Surprisingly enough many goals scored meet the requirements of KICK GOALS such as MAJOR PENALTY KICKS, CORNER KICKS and DIRECT KICKS with or without men barrier. All of these stationary kick can create a KICK GOAL as long as after being put back in game they are NOT touched at all or touched only 1 time and enter the goal. This distinction makes goals where there is less team participation to have a lower point value in the game and the final score of the game will reflect the team that produced more as a team. In sum in Leeway it is not so much about that a goal was scored BUT most importantly HOW it was scored.

Q- Why Leeway matches are shorter, have more players on the field and coaches are allowed to swap players?

• In Leeway matches are shorter (80 minutes), teams have more players on the field (13) and coaches are allowed to swap players (take them out and put them back) as many times as the coach feel necessary, as long as the player has NOT received a yellow card during the same match. If the player received a yellow card, this player can only be replaced just like in Football. All these 3 measures together are meant to give players and coaches more flexibility and account for the higher intensity and physical demand of the game. In Leeway the combination of 3 rules: The Offside rule, the Forward Rule and the Side Kick In together creates an intense rhythm in the game which makes it virtually impossible to play 90 minutes, with only replacing a few players, the Offside and Forward Rules being applied and only 10 players on the field. We tested and we could never complete the match in good playing conditions as everyone was exhausted. These changes needed to be made to compensate for the intensity.

Q- What is the practical importance of the Side Kick In and Forward Rules in Leeway? What is the reverted possession of ball kick?

• These 3 rules are very simple and they accomplish exactly what they are intended to, which is to speed up the game and increase the intensity. Let’s briefly define them. Forward Rule simply says that once the ball reaches the midfield line it cannot be kick back into the defense field of the team carrying the ball in order to avoid delay game, avoidance of contact or running down the clock. All of which are done is Football and are anti sportsmanship behaviors. In Leeway this cannot happen. The other rule is Reverted Possession of the Ball Kick, which is applied to the team that breaks the Forward Rule by kicking the ball back into its defense field. How is this kick done? The team that gets the ball, put the ball back in game from the side line, with a Side kick In, just next to the midfield line and the team can choose the attack or defense field side of the midfield line. So, in Leeway if your team cross the midfield line there is only one option which is to attack, if you go back to your field with the ball, you will lose possession of the ball. The last point to talk about is the SIDE KICK IN, which is used every time the ball goes outbound through either of the side lines. When this happens, the ball is simply put on the ground, completely stationary (cannot be rolling), on the side line OR next to it inside the field and is Side kicked In and put back in game. But again, if the ball exited the field on the attack field it cannot be kicked back into the defense field because of the Forward Rule. So all rules are applied at all times for the same reason. What impact all these rules and other have on the game? We already said: The game became intense, fast and purposeful as you cannot avoid interaction with the opponent. Remember anyone can kick a ball faster, higher, further than if you throw this same ball by hands. In other words, you can do more with the ball in Leeway when you are putting the ball back in game with a side Kick In as compared to simply throwing IN this same ball. Also, in Leeway ONLY GOALKEEPERS play with their hands and inside the 5 yard area only. Upon leaving the 5 yard area, the goalkeeper must use their feet inside the 15 yard area. Outside the 15 yard area Goalkeepers cannot touch the ball as they are NOT field players, they are goalkeepers only. We will get into more details and reason for that in an upcoming question about Goalkeeper Rules. Hang in there.

Q- What is the rationale behind the infraction system (yellow cards) in Leeway and how it impacts the game?

• In Leeway the infraction system borrowed concepts from other sport modalities that also use TIME OUT for players with bad sportsmanship. For example Hockey has been doing it for a long time and we know that unfortunately when a player understand that every time he get a YELLOW CARD he will be time out and his or her team will have ONE LESS player than the opponent for a few minutes, 3 OR 5 minutes, depending on what is agreed upon among the teams participating in the competition. The player will very easily understand that there is no need for him to get a RED CARD for him to create a problem and a state of DISADVANTAGE to their team, they will think a little more before behaving in a non-sportsmanship or fair game way. Plus, coaches will make it very clear to players to behave properly because here in Leeway yellow card is NOT simply an administrative matter like in Football/ Soccer. If you are a goalkeeper and you get a yellow card, your team will have to get the reserve Goalkeeper from the bench and swap temporarily with a field player. So, just reviewing, in Leeway any player can receive up to 2 yellow cards in the same match, a yellow card impose a time out of 3 or 5 minutes, after which the player may return to the field or if the coach prefer this player will NOT return to play. But again, yellow carded players CANNOT be swapped they can only be REPLACED at any time, but once replaced they cannot come back to play. So this is one more penalty imposed, this time, to the team. The message that Leeway wants to send with its Infraction system is that REFEREES will have more tools in their toolbox before expelling a player with a RED CARD. So the player will have more opportunity to correct his/her behavior before being EXPULSED and the Referees will like to have more tools, in this case an additional Yellow Card before expulsing the player. But, keep in mind, depending on the type of the infraction, the VERY FIRST CARD CAN BE A RED CARD. It is all dependent on the assessment made by the Referee, their assistants and the Virtual V.A.R. system. As we are talking about infraction, one brief comment that Goalkeepers cannot make contact with the ball in any way, foot, head, hands, etc OUTSIDE the 15 yard area. If they do, it is a Direct Kick with men barrier against the team. Remember this is NOT Football. Again, we have an upcoming question about Goalkeepers Rules and I will talk about the reason for this rule and you will see that it make sense.

Q- How and why exactly the defense- to- attack transition phase is faster in Leeway as compared to Football/Soccer?

• This is a very interesting and important question and probably one of the most important ones: How and why the defense to attack transition time is shorter/faster in Leeway as compared to football? First we need to understand what the Defense to Attack transition time is. It is the amount of time a team that is DEFENDING itself, takes to reach the attack field once this defending team gets the ball back. So what happens in Leeway that is so distinct to football is that here even when a team is defending itself, this team can and will have players positioned in the attack field ready to receive the ball once this defending team get ball. But why a defending team would position one, two or three players in the attack ready to receive the ball? Because this will have two consequences. #1 this will allow the defending team to launch the ball immediately to team mates ALREADY positioned in the attack and NOT players that will need to run to the attack field OR even worse, will need to carry the ball from the defense field to the attack field and all that takes time. And by the way, this cannot be done in Football because these players in the attack field will be OFFSIDE because they will be behind the line of the defenders and already in the attack field and in Football this is OFFSIDE. The second reason as to why a defending team will position attack players in the attack field even while defending is because by doing so this team will REMOVE an EQUIVALENT NUMBER of opponent players from its field and make these opponent players be positioned in their defense field to mark or cover these attackers. So it they put 2 attackers in the attack field, another 2 opponent players will be removed as well and this is good to put less pressure in their defense. I hope I articulated well the explanation of that. None of that can happen in Football for the same reason which is the offside Rule. Another factor very important in the transition defense to attack time is that in Leeway we have the SIDE KICK IN where we can very efficiently, fast and promptly put the ball back in game and in virtually in any location inside the field as most players can kick a ball very deep in the attack field and effect a dangerous counter attack by KICKING the ball as opposed to throwing it in by hand. These 2 factors, as mentioned above explain why we have, as demonstrated in our matches a much faster Defense to Attack transition time in Leeway.

Q- Why the Major Penalty Kick (MPK) is kicked from a further distance than the equivalent penalty in Football/Soccer? Is there a practical impact?

• This next question is about the MAJOR PENALTY KICK (MPK) in regard to why it is kicked from a distance further from the goal as compared to football/soccer. Contrary to what many may think, in Leeway this distance is NOT different for the sake of being different from Football but because there is an actual reason for it. The reason is MPK is the result of an infraction that MANY TIMES is wrongly signaled or wrongly awarded because sometimes it is hard to interpret what actually happened in a fraction of second during the match even with the V.A.R. So what happens is either the infraction was wrongly interpreted or faked by the attacker player. Bottom line is a team will have the opportunity to score a goal that should not exist. To offset this fact, in Leeway it was decided to increase the chance Goalkeepers have to defend the MPK and prevent the goal to be scored. So the distance in Leeway is 15 yards as compared to 12 yards as in Football. In addition to that, because the amount of team participation in a MPK is much lower than in a multi-touch and multi-pass goal, a MPK most likely will yield a KICK GOAL worth 1 point BUT REMEMBER that ANY STATIONARY KICK including a MPK if touched 2 times before entering the goal will be scored as a GAME GOAL which is worth 2 points. It is all about team participation and not about being a stationary or moving ball when it comes to the worth of a goal. So in Leeway the distance is bigger to increase the chance of goalkeepers to defend because from the 12 yards the chances are almost none. In Leeway the MPK kicker will need a little more talent and competence to score the goal. Plus remember the 15 yard area in the Leeway Field is a very big area as it is from one side of the field all the way to the other side of the field. It is not a box area like in Football, it is a side to side area, so the chance faults and infractions that will yield a MPK are very high.

Q- Why is it expected that Leeway will attract sport fans, professional coaches and players, the sport media and even more business to it?

• For this question I want to first make one thing clear: We all love FOOTBALL/SOCCER and it was Football that served as the motivation to the engineering of Leeway. The creator of Leeway, just like the creator of any product that comes after another existing product, had the luxury to have this product to look at and analyze all its issues and field performance problems. And the opportunity to address these issues one by one has made Leeway a very effective, intense, competitive, fair, versatile and entertaining modality. All these attributes have been attracting players, coaches and all those getting to know the Leeway. We expect it to be a great success both as a professional and as an amateur sport very soon. If you want more details for this answer simply look at everything that is different between Football and Leeway and ask yourself which one do you prefer to play, to watch, to coach and even to referee? One final comment: As you have noticed Leeway matches are shorter, they are 80 minutes divided into 2 half time of 40 minutes. This as explained above not only has a lot to do with the intensity of the game, as compared to Football, but as an unintended consequence, it has made it easier to schedule and accommodate in the streaming and TV scheduling  as well because it is shorter.

Q- Why Leeway was created and why the name “Leeway “?

• Simply put Leeway was created because of the existing issues in Football. If Football corrected these issues another sport modality would be created and it could NOT continue to be called Football. Remember every line on our field has a specific reason to exist and every rule on the book as well. Nothing is by chance or unjustified. Leeway creator tried to produce something fair, fast, competitive and entertaining. Its rules are very consistent and some of them borrowed from other existing sports for example the Forward Rule already exists in BASKETBALL for the same reason. Almost all rules are unique BUT most importantly the combination of these rules are completely UNIQUE. As for why the name Leeway simply look at the dictionary what this word means:” the amount of freedom allowed to move or act.” And the choice of name was actually one of the last things to be done. If you pay attention to its rules, attackers and defenders are allowed and required to move much more than in Football for example, and many other rules prevent unwanted movements and encourage and permit other wanted and desirable ones. Leeway represents a philosophy of sportsmanship in motion.

Q- Does Leeway has any mission or aspiration outside sport activities?

• Leeway does have aspirations and a mission other than strictly sport activities. What are they? As mentioned in the “what we do” page of this site, to participate, to sponsor, to support, to coordinate initiatives to minimize hanger, disease and other situations due to unfavorable socio-economic conditions. Also, to help and promote personal and professional development programs to communities where Leeway is practiced or not.

Q- How about Goalkeepers? How do Leeway rules work for them? Is there any improvement regarding safety for them?

• Safety is of paramount importance and focus as our modality was created. How specifically Leeway is safer than, for example Football for goalkeepers and all other field players? In Leeway, no attack player can be already positioned inside the 5 yard area at the time the ball is launched to the attack. In Corner kicks or Side Kicks In (to put the ball back in game) no one attacker can be inside the 5 yard area and this eliminates the opportunity attackers have to charge physically the G.K. and also prevent altercation between attackers and defenders, when both can get hurt. Also G.K. cannot play outside the 15 yard area and this again prevent G.K to be exposed to the risk of getting far out to play with their feet against attackers of the opponent team. These are the 2 situation where GK are most of time injured. This are greatly prevented and minimized in Leeway. All of our college/ high school and otherwise amateur test players liked that. Injuries still occur but these 2 rules minimize them. Of note, attackers can run and make contact with the ball inside the 5 yard AFTER the ball is launched and also attackers can be inside the 5 yard when the ball is passed to them IF the ball is already rolling inside/ in play in the 5 yard area. But these 2 situation are not particularly source of altercation or prolonged physical contact and injuries.

Q- How about Referees? How do Referees like Leeway rules? Is it easy to referee? Do they like the offside and infraction rules?

• Referees have particular difficulty with two aspects: to rule offside and to keep undisciplined players under control in Football? Why? And how is different in leeway? A sideline referee to correctly rule an offside in Football requires an extremely precise (to the fraction of second) because it depends on the position of the attacker, the defender and the exact time the ball was launched to the attacker. This is simply too many moving parts, at the same time, to be captured by an official running by the sideline. The end result is unavoidable errors both allowing or disallowing plays and even scored goals. In Leeway this cannot happen because the offside ruling depends on a field landmark (the 5 yard line), the position of the attacker player in relation to this landmark and the time the ball was launched. No relationship with position of defense players.

  This makes it a lot easier, predictable and reproducible. VAR can be used in Leeway but is not nearly as necessary and complex as in Football. Sorry for the comparison with Football but this and other issues are the reasons as to why leeway was created in the first place.

  The other issue Referees struggle with as well is the infraction system. In Leeway any one player can receive up to 2 yellow cards per match and in each instance this player will get a time out of 3 or 5 minutes. This penalizes the yellow carded player and the team as well. So, Referees have more tools in the tool box before having to expulse (red card) a player. Plus after the 1^st yellow card the player is not targeted by the opponent to cause or force a 2^nd yellow card (as in football) as this means an expulsion from the match. But just to make it clear, the very first card any one player receives can very well be the red card and not necessarily a yellow one. It is up to the infraction made and the referee interpretation of it.

  All Referees we talked and surveyed liked these both aspects as they are present in every game and every minute. These are not rare technicalities.

Q- How about Coaches? What has been the feedback received from coaches? And from players themselves?

• Coaches of all teams we surveyed, liked that they can swap players just like it is done in many sports (i.e. Basketball, Hockey, NFL Football, Baseball, etc) because it provides the option to remove and re-use the same player for tactical, physical, injury or any other reason giving it an incredible versatility and decreasing overuse, heatstroke and dehydration injuries. And this can be done to all players allowing a greater BENCH participation and importance in the match. The end result are less injuries, more versatility and more intensity as a coach can always have the most rested and appropriate player available. We never had one Coach or player that complained about that. Players do not need to play through pain or cramps as they can get out, hydrate, rest a little bit and if fit to come back and useful for the game situation, be back and re-join the match. And this can be done with all players if necessary. In Football we cannot replace all 10 players.

Q- How about the fans? What have you heard from those (non-professionals in sport) watching Leeway matches?

• The audience present by the field, watching the matches, and experiencing the effects of all these rules together, creating an intense atmosphere loved it. Every single rule present in Leeway was engineered and geared to intensity by the forward rule and side kick in; geared for a more refined scoring system awarding different points to goals scored with more or less team participation; a slightly shorter (80 min), compact and easier to schedule and broadcast event; a more flexible, resourceful and effective infraction system where both undisciplined players and teams are penalized even without red cards, many rules to avoid delay of game and running down the clock; more safety for G.K. and field players as mentioned above; a Side Kick In which rewards the team putting the ball back in game with some actual possibility to do some effective play with the ball by kicking it and not throwing it in by two hands. By having a very fast transition defense-attack game where the ball is launched instead of having players carry it from defense to attack until teammates are positioned in the attack or are not offside. And the list goes on and on. Every one exposed to Leeway dynamics loved it for all these reasons.