Throw-in rules, explained

How to take a legal throw-in

When the whole ball crosses the touchline, on the ground or in the air, the team that didn't touch it last takes a throw-in. At the moment you let go of the ball:

• Face the field of play.
• Have part of each foot on the touchline or on the ground outside it. One foot can be on the line; neither can be fully on the pitch.
• Use both hands, and throw from behind and over your head.
• Take it from the point where the ball left the pitch.
• The ball is in play once it enters the pitch. If it never enters, the same team throws again from the same place.

What makes a foul throw

Any of these gives the throw to the other team: a foot fully on the pitch, one hand doing the work, the ball starting in front of your head, or a throw from the wrong place. Dropping the ball instead of throwing it is a foul throw too.

If you touch the ball again before another player has, it's an indirect free kick to the other side. Throwing it at an opponent to win it back is allowed, as long as it isn't careless, reckless or with excessive force.

Scoring, offside and distance

• Scoring: not straight from the throw. If it goes into the opponents' goal untouched, it's a goal kick; into your own goal, a corner to the other team.
• Offside: you can't be offside when you receive the ball straight from a throw-in.
• Distance: opponents must be at least 2 metres (2 yards) from where the throw is taken. Standing closer, or jumping about to distract the thrower, is a caution.
• Goalkeepers: a keeper can't handle a ball thrown straight to them by a team-mate. That's the back pass rule.
• New for 2026/27: if a team takes too long, the referee counts down five seconds, and if the throw isn't taken by then it goes to the other team.

Throw-ins in 5-a-side and kids' football

Most 5-a-side pitches have walls or boards, so the ball rarely goes out; when it does, many leagues restart with a kick-in instead of a throw-in. In England's youth football, the youngest age groups use a pass-in or dribble-in instead (see the under-9 rules).

For a friends' game, agree it before kick-off along with the rest of your 5-a-side house rules, and let the team generator pick fair sides so nobody argues about that either.

Questions