Player Equipment

Head

• NO hair barrettes or hard fasteners (straps, combs, etc.).
• NO "pony tail holders" (elastic bands with round plastic balls).
• Plain elastic fasteners, rubber bands, Scrunchies (cloth-covered elastic) are OK as long as they do not contain hard objects.
• Headband OK (cloth only), but no message permitted.
• Long hair should be tied back or up.
• Glasses - prescription only, retaining straps strongly encouraged but not mandatory. Safety or sport glass are strongly encouraged; metal rims are discouraged.
• NO sunglasses, even if prescription (photo chromic or variable tint lenses are allowed if the player only has that one type of glasses).
• NO external head or neck gear (goalkeeper may wear a soft-brimmed hat; referee judges acceptability).
• NO dental retainers with protruding wires (must be removed before match begins). Molded retainers without wires are OK. Orthodontic braces are OK. A mouthpiece is encouraged (but you'll rarely see it).

Jersey

• Team jersey must be worn.
• Another shirt or sweatshirt (long or short sleeve) under jersey is OK. Cannot be the same color as other team jersey. Referee judges if color is acceptable.
• There must be 5 different jersey colors, and only 5 colors, on the field:
  Team A goalkeeper, everyone else on Team A, Team B goalkeeper, everyone else on Team B, and Referee (generally yellow, black, red, or blue).
• NO message T-shirts or sweatshirts.

Shorts

• Non-regulation shorts are OK, but only if color matches team's shorts to referee satisfaction.
• "Bike pants" (tight-fitted stretch shorts) may be worn under regular shorts if they are of the same color as the shorts and end at least one inch above the knee.
• NO long pants except goalkeeper.
• NO knee pads except goalkeeper (soft pads only).

Legs

• Team socks must be worn.
• Shin guards are required [Law IV(2)] and must be completely covered by socks.  (This means players should first put on their shin guards and then put on their team socks.  Players should not put on their team socks first, then their shin guards, then pull their socks down over their shin guards.  Watch for this primarily in the younger age groups.  To prevent chaffing by shin guards, you might want to suggest that players wear thin socks under their shin guards.)
  
• No anklets or ankle bracelets.
• Knee braces are permitted, provided the brace is adequately covered and padded so as to eliminate the possibility of its causing injury to other players.  A player wearing a knee brace must provide a statement from his/her attending physician certifying that the player may participate, and the coach must have the statement at the field and produce it upon the referee's request.

Feet

• Shoes are required. Cleats are recommended and must be FIFA-approved, without a single cleat at the toe (i.e., baseball/football shoes are illegal unless modified to remove toe cleat).  Screw-in cleats are permitted if they meet FIFA requirements regarding size, shape, and method of attachment; a sharp edge or protruding metal core is not permitted.  Turf shoes and sneakers are OK.
• In the younger age groups (Under 10 and below), remind players to tie shoes and suggest double knots.

Jewelry

• NO earrings, at all, PERIOD! Sob stories about holes closing up when studs are removed should fall on deaf ears.  Earrings must be removed before the child can play - padding/taping is not an acceptable substitute.
• NO necklaces.
• NO hard bracelets (metal, plastic, beads, leather, anything that could cut or bruise). Medic-Alert bracelets should be securely covered by tape that allows the information to be read.  Cloth or string ("friendship") bracelets are OK if not loose enough to be caught or snagged (referee judgment; if loose, they can be taped).
• NO rings or watches.
• NO pins or pin-on buttons.

Other

• NO elbow pads.
• NO casts or splints, at all, even if taped or wrapped in foam rubber.  This applies even to plastic and Velcro strap-on casts.
• NO gloves (except goalkeeper).
• NO dangerously long fingernails (referee judgment; can be taped).