T-CONNECT CUP 2025 FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT REGULATIONS – CELEBRATION OF T-CONNECT'S 6TH ANNIVERSARY

The T-connect Cup 2025 is one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year, gathering many Vietnamese amateur football teams from many different regions in Japan. This is not only a playground for physical training and skills, but also a place to exchange and connect the community of football lovers. In this article, we will update details about Competition time, rules and prize structure for teams to easily follow and prepare.

1. Participants:

– Vietnamese citizens working, studying and living legal in Japan.

– Male, born before September 21, 09 and not over 2007 years old on the day of competition.

– Be healthy enough to compete, not have infectious diseases, cardiovascular diseases or other diseases that affect your health and competition quality. Be responsible for your own health during the competition.

Some foreign players as stipulated in Article 2.1

2. Player registration regulations

2.1 Number of players

• Each team is allowed to register an unlimited number of players but must have a minimum of 13 players. After the teams submit the player registration list to the Organizing Committee (OC) before 18:14 p.m. on September 09, 2025, they will not be allowed to register additional or replace new players. Each player can only play for 1 team in the tournament. T-CONNECT CUP 2025.
  
• Before the match, the Organizing Committee will take the roll call of players. If after 5 minutes from the time the stadium manager announces the roll call, any team does not have the minimum number of 13 players on the field, the Organizing Committee will immediately forfeit the match.
  
• Each team is only allowed to register a maximum of 3 foreign players, but only a maximum of 2 foreign players are allowed to play on the field at the same time. No more than 1 foreign player can play on the field at the same time.
  

Regulations on foreign players:
Players belonging to the following categories are considered “foreign players”:

• Foreigners (non-Vietnamese citizens).
  
• Players from Vietnam come with short-term visas and do not have residency status in Japan.
  

The player will No A person is considered a "foreign soldier" if he can prove that he had long-term residency status in Japan and has not returned to his home country.
Foreigners with Vietnamese nationality are not considered "foreign soldiers", Vietnamese people who have changed their nationality are considered "foreign soldiers".

2.2 Registration documents for the tournament include:

– List of coaching staff, team management and players with full name, date of birth, jersey number, phone number, email of head coach and team captain.
– Players registering to participate in the tournament must have a clear portrait photo taken within the last 3 months.
– Teams submit player lists according to the Organizing Committee's form.

2.3 Registration of competition uniforms:

– Teams must register their main and secondary uniform colors, each team has 2 shirt colors to change when 2 teams have the same shirt color. Including shirt color, shirt number, sock color…
– All players' jerseys must have their numbers printed on the back in a visible position.
– Players must wear shoes specifically designed for artificial turf (shoes with or without studs), absolutely no high-studded shoes.
– Over-the-knee socks and shin pads are recommended.

3. Regulations on player registration and substitution during the match

– 10 minutes before the match, the Organizing Committee will call the players according to the pre-registered list.
– Each team can register a maximum of 20 players to play in 1 match.
– During the match, each team is allowed to substitute 10 players. Each player can only be substituted once.

4. Competition method and scoring

4.1 Competition format

The tournament consists of 32 teams..

Group stage

• Grouping: 32 teams are divided into 8 groups (A – H), each group has 4 teams.
  
• Each team plays 3 matches (against the other 3 teams).
  
• Select teams to enter the knockout round: Top 2 teams from each group (16 teams in total).
  

Round of 1 (Knock-out 16 teams)

• Format: Knockout, if draw → penalty shootout (no extra time).
  
• Number of matches: 8 matches.

Quarterfinals (8 teams)

• Number of matches: 4 matches.
  

Semi-finals (4 teams)

• Number of matches: 2 matches.
  

Final

• Number of matches: 1 matches.

4.2 Scoring and ranking

– Win: 3 points, Draw: 1 point, Lose: 0 points.

+ How to choose 16 teams (8 group winners and 8 group runners-up) in order: Calculate the total number of points achieved by the teams to rank in the same group.

– If two or more teams have the same number of points, first calculate the relevant results of the matches between teams with the same number of points in the following order:

・Direct confrontation results between teams with the same score 

・The difference between the number of goals scored and the number of goals conceded between teams with the same number of points 

・The team with the higher total goals between teams with equal points. 

Teams with higher ratings are ranked higher.

– If the above indexes are equal. The Organizing Committee will consider the indexes of all matches of all teams in that group in the following order:

・Difference between total goals scored and goals conceded 

・Total goals 

Teams with higher ratings are ranked higher. 

– If the indexes are still equal. The Organizing Committee will consider the number of yellow and red cards that the teams received in all matches.

・1 yellow card counts as 1 point. 

・1 red card (due to receiving a second yellow card in the same match) counts as 1 points 

・1 direct red card counts as 3 points 

・1 yellow card and 1 direct red card in the same match count as 4 points 

The team that gets fewer points will be ranked higher. 

– If the indexes are still equal. BTC will proceed to draw lots.

4.3. How to calculate points for selecting individual awards 

+ Best goalkeeper award: 

– Be the goalkeeper of one of the four teams that reached the semi-finals 

– Calculate the number of goals conceded by the team's goalkeeper to the opponent out of the total number of matches played since the beginning of the tournament. 

– Count the number of saves for a beautiful goal. 

– Calculate the number of penalty cards and warnings from the referee and the Organizing Committee. 

+ Best player award: 

– Be a player of one of the 4 semi-final teams, play excellently according to the evaluation of the Organizing Committee and the referee team 

– Calculate the number of penalty cards 

– Calculate the total number of warnings 

– Consider attitude, behavior, way of playing football… on the field 

+ Top scorer award:

– Calculate the total number of goals that player scored from the group stage until the end of the tournament

5. Competition location and time

• Venue: Redsland Stadium Saitama.
  
• Time: Sunday 21/09/2025 (Matches start from 8:00 am until the end of the tournament).

6. Main referee

The referee is T-connect Invite experienced referees who have no close connection to the teams participating in the tournament.

The referee is the one who makes the decision and can also be allowed to change his decision but the change must be before the next situation occurs.

7. Competition rules and other regulations:

7.1 Apply some competition rules of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) from August 22, 8. Non-professional football regulations, disciplinary regulations of the VFF and the latest supplementary and amended documents of these documents are issued by the VFF.

7.2 Apply some 5-a-side and 7-a-side competition rules of the Vietnam Football Federation and some competition rules of FAVIJA.

The most important thing to note is that all situations where the ball goes out of play will be a dead ball at that position, and situations where the ball goes out of play will be a throw-in from the goalkeeper's position. All dead ball situations will apply the 5-second rule. For situations where the referee calls for a whistle, it will apply from the time the referee blows his whistle.

BTC will apply the rule of accumulating 6 direct fouls in 1 round. (direct free kicks are counted, not indirect free kicks. The referee decides whether the foul is direct or indirect. Any team that commits a 6th direct foul in a half will be awarded a 1-meter direct free kick. There is no wall and if the goalkeeper saves it, or the ball bounces off the goal, there will be no rebound. The ball will be returned to the goalkeeper of the penalized team to take the goal kick. If the goalkeeper catches the ball, the referee will also blow his whistle to take the goal kick again (determined as a dead ball situation). In a half from the 9th direct foul situation onwards, if a direct foul continues to occur, each of those situations will be awarded a 6-meter free kick). The second half will be counted from the beginning.

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7.3 The decisions of the Organizing Committee are expressed in the form of written notice. The participants are responsible for strictly implementing the decisions of the Organizing Committee.

7.4 The match duration consists of 2 halves, each 15 minutes long (2 minutes break between halves).

7.5 Match ball: Ball meets competition standards on artificial turf

7.6 Resume or reschedule the match:

In case the match is postponed, the Organizing Committee will base on the actual developments, time and reason for the postponement to decide on specific handling according to the principle "The guilty party shall not benefit" specifically as follows:

+ If the reason for the postponement of the match is due to the team, the team at fault will be considered to have lost with a score of 0-3. If the team is losing by more, the score will remain the same.

+ If the reason for the postponement of the match is due to completely objective reasons (weather, field... affecting the organization of the match), then the score will remain the same and the match will be continued from the time of the postponement or the score will be recognized and not re-organized.

+ During the match, in the technical area all reserve players and coaching staff must stand 2m behind the playing field from the touchline.

7.7 Rules for serving and dropping the ball:

Before the match starts, the referee will toss a coin to decide which team will kick off and the other team will have first choice of playing field. The kick-off is taken from the centre mark to start the match or after a goal has been scored. There is no requirement that the ball be kicked into the opponents' half. The opponents must be 6 metres away from the ball on their own side of the pitch. If play is stopped suddenly, the ball must be dropped to restart the match at the position before the stoppage.

(There are cases where the referee performs a free toss)

＊Note: Players may touch the ball in the penalty area immediately after the goalkeeper kicks the ball up.

7.8 Rules for balls in play (live balls) and balls out of play (dead balls):

– The ball is considered in play from the start of the match until:

+ The ball goes over the boundary line and out of the field, including the goal line.

+ The match is stopped by the referee (due to a player committing a foul or being seriously injured, or due to the ball being damaged…)

Note that a ball is still in play if: it bounces into the field from a goalpost, crossbar or corner flag; it only touches the touchline without going all the way over the touchline (note that a goal is scored only if the ball goes all the way over the goal line. If the ball touches the referee on the field, the referee will stop the ball and drop it back to the side that kicked the ball). A team cannot substitute a player while the ball is still in play.

– The ball is considered out of play when:

+ The ball has completely crossed the touchline and touchline.

+ The referee blew the whistle to stop the match.

The referee will add the time the ball is out of play to the official playing time.

When the ball is in and out of play, the goalkeeper throwing the ball with his hand into the opponent's goal will not be recognized. The first kick-off of the match, the player can kick the ball directly into the opponent's goal if the ball goes in will be recognized.

7.9 Goal regulations:

A goal is considered valid when the whole ball has crossed the goal line, within the goal area and there has been no previous infringement. Handballs will not be awarded.

7.10 Foul rules:

The following actions are penalized by the whistle: Hugging, pushing, pulling, kicking, tripping, high-kicking, spitting at the opponent, tackling... are also considered fouls if they touch the opponent before touching the ball, touch the ball with their hands (except for the goalkeeper in the penalty area), play the ball in a dangerous manner, obstruct the opponent's movement, prevent the goalkeeper from releasing the ball... The above fouls are penalized if they occur in the penalty area. If the goalkeeper catches the ball passed back by a teammate, the opposing team will be awarded an indirect free kick at the place of the foul. In case of serious fouls, the referee may decide to issue a card. A yellow card is used as a warning, a red card is sent off the field, 2 yellow cards are equal to 1 red card. When a player receives a red card, he will be asked to leave the field until the end of the match and will be banned from playing in the next match. The player is not allowed to touch the ball a second time before it touches another player, otherwise the penalty will be reversed.

7.11 Penalty kick rules:

A player who passes the ball back and the goalkeeper controls it with his hands will be awarded an indirect free kick.

If the ball touches the goal less than 6 meters, it will be pulled back straight to a position 6 meters away from the goal. An indirect free kick must be given at the whistle and the ball must have 2 touches (in case one touch on your side and 1 touch on the opposing team is still counted, or 2 touches on your side) before going into the net to be recognized as a goal.

The player taking the free kick may not touch the ball again.

7.12 Penalty regulations:

– Penalty spot is 6 meters from the goal.

– All players must stand outside the penalty area and at least 3m away from the ball, except the player taking the penalty and the opposing goalkeeper. The goalkeeper must not cross the goal line, and must not stand below the goal line before the ball is kicked. The goalkeeper is only allowed to move on the goal line during the penalty kick and must not move both feet off the goal line before the ball is kicked. If one foot leaves the goal line but the other foot remains on the goal line, it is considered valid (the goalkeeper advancing on the goal line may be penalized and the referee will retake the penalty if it is not a goal (including the situation where the player kicks out).

– Players can only take a free kick after the referee blows the whistle. Players are allowed to take a penalty kick after the penalty kick in the match has been taken (except for the penalty kick to decide the match score after the 2 regular halves have ended, in which case the penalty kick is not allowed).

– When the referee blows the whistle, the player is allowed to run up and kick the ball. When the ball is kicked, other players are allowed to run into the penalty area. If a player runs into the penalty area before the ball is kicked, the penalty kick will be retaken. When the player kicks the ball, the player is not allowed to continue touching the ball. This player is only allowed to continue touching the ball when the ball touches another player or the ball is dead (the ball cannot be kicked again when it hits the goalpost or crossbar and bounces back, the ball can only be kicked again when the goalkeeper blocks it).

7.13 Corner kick rules:

A corner kick is awarded when the entire ball has crossed the goal line, with the last touch of the ball by a player on the opposing side. The opposing players must be at least 6 metres away from the ball. The player taking the free kick may not touch the ball a second time before it has touched another player, otherwise a direct free kick will be awarded. If the ball goes straight into the goal, the goal is still awarded.

7.14 Regulations on penalty kicks to decide the match result from the quarter-finals onwards:

– Each team will take 3 penalty kicks. If after 3 kicks the result is still a draw, each team will take 1 more kick, the team that wins the next kick will determine the result of that match.

7.15 Rules for throw-in: When the player kicks the ball into the opponent's net without touching anyone, the goal will not be recognized and the opposing team will be awarded a goal kick. When the player kicks the ball into the home team's net without touching anyone, the goal will not be recognized and the opposing team will be awarded a corner kick.

8. Discipline

8.1. Any player or coaching staff or team management who engages in scuffles, fights on the field, curses or has rude behavior or insults towards referees or members of the Organizing Committee will be subject to strict disciplinary action depending on the severity.

– Non-refundable prize fee of 30.000 JPY and prize deposit of 10.000 JPY.

– Penalty of not being allowed to participate in any tournament organized by T-connect within 1 year.

8.2 In case of fighting, the organizing committee will base on the report from the referee and the field manager to handle: any team with more than 1 member, from the 2nd member onwards (including the coaching staff or fans of the team) the organizing committee will punish as follows:

– Eliminate that team from the tournament.

– The match is awarded a 0-3 loss. At the same time, the team that is awarded the win will be awarded 3 points and a goal difference of +3. In case the winning team at that time has a result in the match greater than 3 goals difference, the result will remain the same. (For example, if the team is winning 4-0, it will be awarded +3 points and a goal difference of +4)

– Non-refundable prize fee of 30.000 JPY and prize deposit of 10.000 JPY.

– Penalty of not being allowed to participate in any tournament organized by T-connect within 1 year.

   In case 2 teams get into a fight with each side having more than 1 member, those 2 teams will be immediately disqualified from the tournament and all results of those 2 teams will be canceled with the remaining teams.

8.3 Abandonment of match: 

    A team that fails to arrive on time for the first match due to force majeure and abandons the match will be awarded 0 points, a 0-3 loss and a minus 3 goal difference. A team that wins 3-0 will be awarded 3 points and a plus 3 goal difference. They will be allowed to play the next matches. A team that abandons the tournament or violates one of the tournament rules after playing 1 match will be disqualified from the tournament, all results related to the matches played by that team will be canceled and not counted in the ranking. The 4-team group will exclude the team that abandons the tournament and only count the relevant results of the remaining 3 teams. The 3-team group will count the relevant results of the remaining 2 teams. A team that abandons the tournament in the middle of the match or violates one of the tournament rules in the second match of the group stage will be disqualified from the tournament, and based on the 2-0 loss, the team that wins will be counted 3 points and a plus 3 goal difference. In the event that the team that is awarded the win is winning by a margin of more than 3 goals, the result will stand. The team that withdraws from the final group stage match or violates one of the tournament regulations of that match will be disqualified from the tournament and based on the 3-0 loss of that match, the team that is awarded the win will be awarded 3 points and a goal difference of +3, the previous matches will stand. In the event that the team that is awarded the win is winning by a margin of more than 3 goals, the result will stand. 

    In some specific and special cases, only the Organizing Committee has the right to adjust and decide to handle issues outside the tournament regulations to ensure fairness for the tournament.

– Non-refundable penalty of 30.000 JPY fee and 10.000 JPY prize deposit.

– Permanently banned from participating in all subsequent tournaments organized by T-connect.

– The list of players of the team that abandons the match will be saved in the blacklist of the Organizing Committee. Other teams participating in other T-connect tournaments with a list of players registered in the blacklist will not be allowed to participate in the competition.

8.4 Hygiene and safety regulations

– Do not use fire for cooking in the yard.

– Do not litter and absolutely do not smoke in the yard and parking lot.

– Smoking in the field area (outside the designated smoking area) (including the Board of Directors, coaches and fans of that team) will be punished as follows:

– Non-refundable deposit of 10.000 JPY

– Not allowed to participate in the next tournament organized by T-connect.

* Before leaving the field, teams are responsible for cleaning up the gathering area, setting up tents or resting.

The trash bags will be taken out of the field by the teams and taken home. Before leaving, the team representative must go to the Organizing Committee desk located at the field to confirm that the cleanup is complete before leaving. If you leave without reporting to the Organizing Committee, you will not receive a refund of your deposit.

* For teams that win the championship, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD prizes of the tournament, the players who win individual prizes must be fully present at the award ceremony.

* Vehicles must be parked neatly in the designated place.

* The Organizing Committee will not refund the deposit and will revoke the privilege of participating in the following tournaments of the winning teams if they do not comply with the above requirements.

8.5 Unfairplay or intentional match fixing:

   Any team that plays in a way that allows the other team to win, or that knows it will lose and makes dangerous moves to the other team's players, the Organizing Committee will make its own comments and put it on the blacklist. It will consider not accepting that team's registration to participate in the next tournaments.

9. Regulations on card penalties:

– The Organizing Committee will take disciplinary action against any violations committed by all participants during the tournament.

Applicable document: Disciplinary regulations of Vietnam Football Federation (latest revised version).

– A player who receives a direct red card will have to sit out the next two matches.

– Yellow card: Fine 1.000 JPY/card

– Red card: Fine 3.000 JPY/card

– The team whose player receives 2 yellow cards and 1 red card during the match will have to play with one less player for the rest of the match and that player will not be allowed to play in the next match.

– Coaches and members of the team's coaching staff can also be penalized with cards if they violate the rules.

10. Complaint regulations:

During the match, any player who wants to complain about the opposing team, the Organizing Committee or the referee's decisions can communicate with the captain of that team and only the captain of that team can resolve the matter with the referee and the Organizing Committee. Players in the team or the leader, coach of that team are not allowed to directly participate in the resolution without the consent of the Organizing Committee. The final decision of the match after the end of the match is based on the decision of the referee. The Organizing Committee does not use images or videos recorded by anyone as a basis for resolving complaints during the match.

11. Participation Fee:

– Participating teams pay 30,000 yen participation fee.

– All participating teams must pay a 10,000 yen deposit upon registration to confirm participation. The deposit will be refunded after the end of the tournament minus any penalties or insurance (if any).

– When confirming registration, teams must transfer 10,000 yen deposit in advance to be officially included in the list of participating teams.

– After confirming the registration and transferring the 10,000 yen deposit, any team that cancels will not be refunded the transferred amount!

– This deposit is to ensure that the team has registered to participate and must be responsible, avoid leaving halfway, and also for the Organizing Committee to deduct from the penalty card money (if any) or to violate the regulations of the regulations, or deduct from the money that the team thanks.

– BTC helps buy sports insurance. At the end of the tournament, BTC will deduct any additional expenses (if any) of that team and refund the deposit.

12. Sports insurance:

– Players are responsible for their own health and the teams are responsible for purchasing sports insurance for their players on the day of the match. Purchasing sports insurance is voluntary and not

required. Teams can ask the Organizing Committee to buy insurance for them and the insurance fee will be announced by the Organizing Committee 1 week before the match day. (Note: The Organizing Committee is not responsible for any team whose players are staying illegally)

– In case a player has purchased sports insurance on the day of the match, and unfortunately encounters an injury or accident, he/she must immediately notify the Organizing Committee 24 hours before the day of the match. Cases that are reported after the day of the incident will not be covered by the sports insurance for the registered day.

* Note some points related to player insurance:

– Sports insurance is only applicable to those who have legal residence status in Japan. Players who are soldiers or have short-term visas are not eligible. Players from Vietnam who come to play for teams should purchase travel insurance in advance.

13. Prize structure:

+ 1 Championship: CUP + Certificate of Merit + Medal + Cash

+ 1 Runner-up prize: Certificate of Merit + Medal + Cash

+ 2 Third Prize Bronze Prizes: Certificate of Merit + Medal + Cash

+ 1 best player award: Certificate of Merit + CUP + Cash

+ 1 top scorer award: Certificate of Merit + CUP + Cash

+ 1 best goalkeeper award: Certificate of Merit + CUP + Cash

(The cash prize value will be announced by the Organizing Committee before the closing date of registration for the tournament)