Stoppage Time in Soccer

What is stoppage time in soccer?

Under the Laws of the Game (IFAB Law 7), a match is two equal halves of 45 minutes. Play stops all the time, for injuries, substitutions, cards and goals. Rather than pausing the game clock for each delay, the referee keeps track of the time lost and adds it at the end of the half.

The Laws call this additional time. Fans and commentators also say stoppage time, added time or injury time. They all mean the same thing.

How is stoppage time calculated?

Law 7 lists what the referee makes an allowance for:

The list says what counts, not how many seconds each event is worth. The referee judges how much time was actually lost in each half, and that becomes the added time.

How the referee shows added time

Near the end of each half, the fourth official holds up a board with the number of added minutes. That number is a minimum. The referee may increase it but can't reduce it, so "+4" means at least four more minutes.

If there's another delay during added time, such as an injury or a goal celebration, the referee can play on past the number shown. The half ends when the referee blows the whistle, not when the board's minutes run out.

Stoppage time vs ball-in-play time

Stoppage time makes up for only part of the lost time: at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2025, FIFA measured an average of 54 minutes and 1 second of ball-in-play time per match. Our game length guide explains how much actual playing time is in a soccer game and what it means for a youth sub plan.

Extra time in soccer: how it works

Extra time is not the same as stoppage time. The referee doesn't decide it during the game; the competition's rules do, and only when a match needs a winner, such as a knockout game that is tied after 90 minutes.

• Length: IFAB Law 10 sets two equal periods of no more than 15 minutes each.
• Breaks: Law 7 allows a drinks break of up to 1 minute at half-time of extra time. At the FIFA World Cup 26 there was a 5-minute interval before extra time began.
• Youth games: the Laws let national associations shorten both the halves of the game and the halves of extra time for youth, veterans, disability and grassroots soccer.

How long is extra time in soccer?

At the top level, up to 30 minutes: two 15-minute periods. A knockout game that goes the distance is 120 minutes of play, plus stoppage time, and then a penalty shootout if it's still level. Lower levels use shorter overtime: up to two 10-minute periods in the NCAA postseason, up to 20 minutes in high school (set by each state), and up to two 5-minute periods in futsal.

Substitutions in extra time

Under IFAB Law 3, unused substitutes and substitution opportunities carry into extra time. If the competition allows one more substitute in extra time, each team also gets one more opportunity. Changes made between full time and extra time, and at half-time of extra time, don't count as opportunities.

The World Cup 26 used that rule. Each team had 5 substitutes in 3 opportunities, plus half-time. In extra time it got 1 additional substitute, whether or not it had used all 5, and 1 additional opportunity. Add the permanent concussion substitute, and a team in a knockout game with extra time could use up to 7 substitutes. More on this in our soccer substitution rules guide.

Penalty shootouts (kicks from the penalty mark)

If a game that needs a winner is still tied after extra time, it's decided by kicks from the penalty mark, the official name for a penalty shootout, set out in IFAB Law 10. Teams take kicks in rounds, and only players eligible to take kicks can take part. A team with more eligible players than its opponent leaves some out so the numbers are equal.

Some competitions skip extra time. In US Youth Soccer's national championship knockout games, a tie goes straight to penalty kicks.

The goalkeeper rules are the part coaches ask about most:

• A goalkeeper who can't continue before or during the kicks may be replaced by a player who was left out to equalize the numbers, or by a named substitute if the team hasn't used its maximum number of substitutes.
• The replaced keeper takes no further part and can't take a kick.
• If the keeper had already taken a kick, the replacement can't kick until the next round.
• A keeper who is sent off must be replaced by an eligible player.
• Any eligible player may change places with the goalkeeper.
• A player replaced by a permanent concussion substitute takes no further part, including in the shootout.

For keeper changes during the game itself, see the goalkeeper substitution rules.

Stoppage time, overtime and extra time by level

Is there stoppage time in youth soccer?

Not in US Soccer's small-sided games. Its standards set 7v7 (U9–U10) at two 25-minute halves and 9v9 (U11–U12) at two 30-minute halves, each with a 10-minute halftime and no added time. 4v4 (U6–U8) is four quarters of up to 10 minutes, and quarters can be shorter when coaches and parents run the game.

From U13, games follow league and tournament rules, and the Laws let national associations shorten halves for youth. AYSO's "Everyone Plays" rule, at least half of every game for every player, doesn't count overtime. Check the game length for your child's age in the youth soccer age groups guide.

For coaches, no added time makes planning simple: a 25-minute half is 25 minutes, so a sub plan built on the game clock matches the real game. Subs still happen at stoppages, so treat each planned sub time as a target and make the change at the next stoppage. The substitution planner builds the plan for you.

Overtime in high school and college soccer

High school (NFHS): overtime is allowed by the state association, up to 20 minutes, and states may use sudden victory. Post-season tiebreakers are also left to the states. There's a 5-minute break before the first overtime period and 2 minutes between periods. States vary: New Mexico plays two 10-minute sudden-victory periods in the varsity regular season, and Iowa plays two 10-minute periods, then penalty kicks. In the last 5 minutes of regulation or overtime, the clock stops when the leading team substitutes. More in our high school soccer rules guide.

College (NCAA): regular-season games tied after 90 minutes go down as a tie. In the postseason, teams play up to two 10-minute sudden-victory periods, then a penalty-kick tiebreaker, with 5 minutes before overtime and up to 2 minutes between periods. Division I men keep their unused substitution moments in postseason overtime and get one more. New for 2026-27, the clock keeps running in the last 15 minutes when a team leads by 5 or more goals, except for serious injuries and reviews. See the NCAA soccer substitution rules for the rest.