3v3 Youth Drone Soccer, the essentials.
The condensed F9A-B 200mm standard used across national youth competitions: how teams are set up, what the drones must meet, and how a match is scored, officiated, and won.
Team composition
Three players take the field per side: one forward and two defenders, with up to two substitutes and one coach on the sideline.
- On field: 1 Forward (LED drone), 2 Defenders
- Up to 2 substitutes and 1 coach or team leader
- Only the forward's drone carries LED lights for identification
- Only LED-equipped drones are allowed on court; drones modified to increase attack power or interfere with opponents are disqualified
- Teams are grouped by age: Primary (Lower/Upper), Junior High, Senior High/Vocational
Field and goal standards
Matches are played in one of two standard cage sizes, both fully enclosed, with a controlled area for pilots and coaches outside the perimeter.
- Education Youth League: 6m × 3m × 3m
- Physical Education Bureau League: 14m × 7m × 5m
- Goal inner diameter: 400mm, boundary line width 1m
- Center kick-off circle diameter: 2m
- Operation area is outside the field perimeter; only pilots and coaches may enter it
Drone and hardware specifications
Every drone is built around the same 200mm protective cage, with strict limits on power and weight to keep the sport safe at close range.
- 200mm spherical cage, non-metallic plastic, metal frames or wires prohibited
- Wireless control, battery ≤17V, weight ≤300g, max 4 motors
- GPS, altitude hold and auxiliary stabilization are required
- LED colors are uniform per team: red vs blue, mounted on the front for identification
Match duration
A full match runs 8 minutes across two halves, with a short prep window before kickoff and a defined tie-break procedure if scores are level.
- 1 minute pre-match preparation to test and warm up drones
- First half 3 minutes, half-time break 1 minute, second half 3 minutes
- Tied after full time: 2-minute golden-goal extra time
- Still tied: sudden-death shootout, one shooter per team per round
Scoring and goal validation
A goal only counts once the drone has fully cleared the far side of the ring, and there is a specific restart procedure after every score.
- Valid goal: the entire drone passes completely through the opponent's goal — 1 point
- Own goal: drone enters its own goal — 1 point awarded to the opponent
- After a goal, the scoring team's drone returns to its own half before the restart
- Play restarts from the center circle
Fouls, warnings and penalties
Discipline escalates in three tiers, from a warning through a yellow-card suspension to outright disqualification for serious offenses.
- Warning: unsafe takeoff or collision, coaching/family/subs entering the field, repeatedly entering the operating area, disrespecting officials — two warnings equal a yellow card
- Yellow card: 1-minute suspension for repeating a warned violation, switching or interfering with an opponent's controller, intentional destruction, or unsportsmanlike conduct — a second yellow is a red card
- Red card / disqualification: deliberately attacking people or equipment, damaging the field, or verbal abuse and serious misconduct
Competition format
Tournaments run a round-robin group stage before moving into single-elimination knockouts, with a clear tiebreaker order for seeding.
- Group stage: round robin within each group — win 3pts, draw 1pt, loss 0pts
- Knockout stage: single elimination, first loss eliminates a team
- Ranking ties broken in order: points, then goal difference, then total goals
Win determination
The team with more goals at full time wins outright; unresolved matches move through extra time and then a shootout.
- Most goals at the end of regulation wins the match
- Level at full time: 2-minute golden-goal extra time
- Still level: sudden-death shootout decides the winner
- Two yellow cards or one red card on a team results in a forfeit to the opponent