FOOTBALL RULES
                                  AND
                            INTERPRETATIONS
                              2024 EDITION




                     Original material © BAFA 2024
                        ISBN: 97 8-1-4475-9156-6









                                Foreword




The rules are revised each year by IFAF to improve the sport's level
of safety and quality of play, and to clarify the meaning and intent of
rules where needed.
The principles that govern all rule changes are that they must:





IFAF statutes require all member federations to play by IFAF rules,
except in the following regards:



    


  1. 
national federations may adapt Rule 1 to meet local needs and
circumstances, provided no adaption reduces the safety of the players
or other participants;
BAFA takes advantage of that to allow (for example) 90-yard fields
and reduced end zones that are our solution to using rugby pitches and
the like;


  2. 
competitions may adjust the rules according to (a) the age group of the
participants and (b) the gender of the participants;


  3. 
competition authorities have the right to amend certain specific rules
(listed on page 12);


  4. 
national federations may restrict the above so that the same regulations
apply to all competitions under their jurisdiction.

    
These rules apply to all
contests involving BAFA-affiliated teams
and take effect from 1st March 2024.
(Exception:
Competitions that began before 1st March 2024 will continue
to use 2023 rules until the end of their competition).

    

    
BAFA has established a Rules Committee to discuss and decide future
changes to this book.
The Committee is also our liaison to IFAF on rules matters.
You may make suggestions for changes at any time, but to be eligible
for consideration for the following year they must be received by
31st August.

    

    
Dr Jim Briggs (Editor)
on behalf of the
BAFA Rules Committee

    

    
Those who find it necessary to write to the editor for interpretations
of rules or play situations will receive prompt replies if they number
their questions and email them to
rules@britishamericanfootball.org.

    

    
The editor would like to thank the following people who assisted in the
production of this edition of the rulebook:

    

    
Sergio Avila (Mexico),
Jeff Batzler (Sweden),
Nic Bevan (Great Britain),
Tom Blakeson (Great Britain),
Amir Brooks (Great Britain),
Alan Christopher (Great Britain),
Daniel Coles (Great Britain),
Erik De Boeck (Belgium),
Steve Egan (Great Britain),
Will Fazackerley (Great Britain),
James Ford-Bannister (Great Britain),
Ignacio Galasso (Argentina),
Flavio Garlaschi (Italy),
David Gutteridge (Great Britain),
Daniel Harries Davies (Great Britain),
Perttu Hautala (Finland),
Thomas Hofbauer (Austria),
Jonathan Ireland (Great Britain),
Radek Janhuba (Finland),
Mark Looi (Australia),
Andrea Lopez Rubio (Spain),
Andrew Lovell (Great Britain),
Ben Lovell (Great Britain),
Alistair May (Great Britain),
Gerry Mellough (Great Britain),
Paul Mercer (Australia),
Richard Moger (Great Britain),
Dave Moore (Great Britain),
Emma Payne (Great Britain),
Juan Perez-Canto (France),
Elisey Rodriguez,
Alexandre Roger (France),
Hubert Romanczyk (Poland),
Michal Rosival (Czechia),
Owen Samuels (Great Britain),
Mark Schofield (Great Britain),
Ian Sneddon (Great Britain),
Paul Sutton (Great Britain),
Marcin Szczepanski (Poland),
Pete Thom (Great Britain),
Frank Thomson (Great Britain),
Simon Waterfield (Great Britain),
Ozan Emre Yazici (Turkey)

    

    

    


    

    

    
                           Table of Contents

    

    
Rules changes..........................................................4
Points of emphasis.....................................................7
The Football Code.....................................................10
BAFA Regulations......................................................13
 1 Basic principles...................................................13
 2 Registration.......................................................17
 3 Code of conduct....................................................19
 4 Regulations on organisations.......................................26
 5 Game regulations...................................................29
 6 Competition complaints and appeals.................................31
 7 Procedures for regulatory cases....................................31
 8 Procedures for appeals.............................................34
 9 Grievance Procedure................................................35
Rules and Interpretations.............................................40
  Rule 1 -- The Game, Field, Players and Equipment....................42
  Rule 2 -- Definitions...............................................62
  Rule 3 -- Periods, Time Factors and Substitutions...................82
  Rule 4 -- Ball in Play, Dead Ball, Out of Bounds...................105
  Rule 5 -- Series of Downs, Line to Gain............................111
  Rule 6 -- Kicks....................................................115
  Rule 7 -- Snapping and Passing the Ball............................131
  Rule 8 -- Scoring..................................................148
  Rule 9 -- Conduct of Players and Others Subject to the Rules.......158
  Rule 10 -- Penalty Enforcement.....................................182
  Rule 11 -- The Officials: Jurisdiction and Duties..................191
  Rule 12 -- Video judge.............................................192
  Rule 13 -- Standards for Game Management...........................197
Summary of penalties.................................................213
Officials' Signals...................................................225
Appendix A -- Guidelines for Game Officials for Serious On-Field Player Injuries228
Appendix B -- Guidelines for Game Officials and Game Management To Use Regarding Lightning229
Appendix C -- Concussions............................................231
Appendix D -- Field Diagrams.........................................233
Appendix E -- Equipment: Additional Details..........................240
BAFRA Terms and Conditions...........................................240
Index of Rules and Interpretations...................................247

    

    

    
Next chapter

    

    
Back to index

    

    
Editor: Jim Briggs, BAFA/BAFRA Rules Committee

    
rules@britishamericanfootball.org