Official Rules, Regulations and Tournament Format

Team captains are responsible for ensuring that every registered player understands and complies with these regulations throughout the competition.

Tournament Details

• Start date: Wednesday, 30 September 2026
• Match days: Every Sunday and Wednesday
• Match times: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
• Venues: Astro Pitch 1 and Astro Pitch 3

Team and Squad Requirements

• Maximum number of teams: 12
• Squad size: 10–15 players
• Registration fee: SAR 350 per team
• Every player must be officially registered before participating.
• Eligible players include KAUST employees, community members, and service-provider employees.
• Each team may register a maximum of 3 external players not employed by or otherwise affiliated with KAUST, subject to organizer approval.
• Players must be 17 years old and above.
• A player may represent only one team throughout the tournament.

Responsibility for External Players

The team captain assumes full responsibility for every external player brought into KAUST under their team - including that player's conduct, compliance with KAUST rules, and behavior within KAUST grounds and facilities. Captains must ensure external players understand and respect KAUST's rules before entering the community, and must accept this responsibility before registering an external player.

Team Kits

• Every team must wear a suitable and coordinated playing kit.
• All outfield players representing the same team must wear the same color.
• Goalkeepers must wear a color clearly different from both teams' outfield players.
• If both teams arrive in similar colors, the referee or organizer decides which team wears bibs or an alternative color.
• No metal studs are permitted.

Substitutions

• Unlimited substitutions are permitted throughout each match.
• All substitutions must be made in accordance with the referee's instructions.
• A substitute may only enter the pitch after the player being replaced has left the playing area.
• Substitutions must not delay the restart or disrupt the flow of the match.

  Yellow Cards and Suspensions

• Yellow cards accumulate throughout the league phase (not necessarily in consecutive matches).
• A second accumulated yellow card results in an automatic one-match suspension.
• After a suspension is served, the player's yellow-card count restarts from zero.
• Any suspension not served before the end of the league phase carries over into the team's next eligible knockout match.

  Red Cards

• A straight red card results in an automatic one-match suspension, served in the team's next eligible match.
• Depending on the seriousness of the offence, the organizer may impose additional suspension or disciplinary action.
• Any outstanding suspension at the end of the league phase carries over into the knockout stage.

Knockout-Stage Card Reset

• A single accumulated yellow card is reset to zero at the start of the knockout stage.
• Any suspension already earned during the league phase remains in effect and must still be served - the reset does not cancel an outstanding suspension.

Referees and Match Officials

• Referees and assistant referees are appointed from among the participating teams.
• Each team captain is responsible for appointing one referee and two assistant referees who, to the best of the captain's knowledge, are competent, impartial, and understand the Laws of the Game.
• The referee's decisions during the match are final.
• Abusive, threatening, discriminatory or aggressive behavior toward a match official will not be tolerated.
• Team captains are responsible for helping control the conduct of their players and substitutes; serious misconduct may result in further disciplinary action.

Team Coach

Each team may appoint one Team Coach, responsible for representing the team and maintaining proper conduct. For disciplinary purposes, the Team Coach is treated as a player and may receive yellow or red cards and any resulting suspensions.

No Sliding Tackles

Sliding tackles are prohibited. A player committing a sliding tackle may, at the referee's discretion, receive no card, a yellow card, or a red card depending on the nature and severity of the offense.

Match Forfeits and No-Shows

• Teams must arrive early and be ready to begin at their scheduled kick-off time.
• A maximum 10-minute delay is permitted; beyond that, the match is declared a forfeit.
• A team must have a minimum of 6 players present and ready to play at kick-off (including the grace period) to start a match, or the match is forfeited.
• A forfeited match is recorded as a 4–0 defeat for the absent team.
• Repeated no-shows may result in further disciplinary action or removal from the competition, decided case by case by the organizers.

Match Rescheduling on the Same Day

Teams may mutually agree to change a match's scheduled kick-off time, provided that:

1. Both participating teams submit the request to the Tournament Organizing Committee.
2. The change is approved by all other teams affected by the schedule, if any.
3. The match remains on the originally scheduled date.
4. The match is played on the originally assigned field.
5. The revised kick-off time doesn't conflict with any other tournament fixtures or operational requirements.
6. Final approval rests with the Tournament Organizing Committee, whose decision is binding.

Tournament Format

The KAUST Super League 2026 consists of three connected competitions. League positions determine qualification and seeding for both knockout competitions.

Stage One: KAUST Super League

• All 12 teams compete in one league table; each team plays every other team once (11 league matches per team).
• League matches are 40 minutes total (20 minutes each half).
• The team finishing first is crowned KAUST Super League Champion.

Points: Win = 3, Draw = 1, Loss = 0.

Tie-breakers (applied in order, if teams are level on points):

1. Goal difference
2. Goals scored
3. Goals against (fewest)
4. Head-to-head result(s)

If teams remain tied after all of the above, a playoff match is played between them to determine the final standing.

Stage Two: KAUST Champions League

• The top 8 league finishers qualify for the knockout stage; the bottom 4 are eliminated from this competition.
• Quarter-final and group matches are 40 minutes total (20 min/half); semi-finals, the Bronze Medal match, and the Final are 60 minutes total (30 min/half).
• Quarter-finals: 1st vs 8th, 2nd vs 7th, 3rd vs 6th, 4th vs 5th.
• Semi-finals: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4, and Winner QF2 vs Winner QF3.
• Semi-final winners advance to the Final; semi-final losers play the Bronze Medal match.

Stage Three: KAUST Super Cup

• The top 4 league finishers qualify. Played as a separate knockout competition; final league positions set the semi-final pairings.
• Semi-finals: 1st vs 4th, 2nd vs 3rd.
• Semi-final winners advance to the Final. There is no third-place match.
• Semi-finals and the Final are 60 minutes total (30 minutes each half).

Knockout Match Procedures

Applies to every Champions League and Super Cup knockout match (quarter-finals, semi-finals, Bronze Medal match, and both Finals):

• Every knockout match must produce a winner.
• If level after normal time, the match goes directly to a penalty shootout (5 penalties per team, then sudden death if still level).
• No extra time is played unless otherwise confirmed by the organizer.

Final Player Registration Deadline

Deadline: Monday, 28 September 2026. By this date, every team must have added all participating players, removed anyone not participating, finalized its official squad (10–15 players), declared all external players, and received approval for every registered external player.

After the deadline: no players may be added, removed, or transferred between teams except by exceptional approval from the organizer. An unregistered, ineligible or unapproved player may not participate - fielding one risks an automatic match forfeit or further disciplinary action.