Football Team Size: How Many Players Make Up the Squad?
With so many leagues and rules in place, Sportsboom has all the answers you need.
Ever wondered how many players are on a football team or how many players make up the squad?
In short, there are 11 players in a football team. They can be broadly divided into the goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, and forwards.
Football team size and the number of players that make up the squad have changed for a few reasons.
Since 1870, when football was codified, teams could not select more than eleven players on a football team. This stands to the present day.
Increased club and international football matches, player welfare, and COVID-19 have changed a football team and squad size.
The number of substitutions that can be made during a game has also increased since the pandemic.
Sportsboom.com is here for a refresher on football team size for the upcoming European Championship, the Champions League, and Premier League.
Euro 2024 Football Team Size
UEFA confirmed that the squad size for Euro 2024 will be 23 players for this year's event in Germany.
Image Credits: Logos-World
This is a reduction in the 26 players managers could select in their squads for Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup because of the pandemic.
Three goalkeepers must be included in the 23-man squad, which makes squad selection tricky for all managers.
Any number of positions per player can make up the squad, but still eleven players on the football team.
The 17th edition of the UEFA European Championship will take place from June 14 to July 14, 2024.
How many Players Make Up a Champions League Squad?
Each Champions League club submits two lists of players: List A and List B. List A allows 25 players, including at least two goalkeepers.
A minimum of eight places are reserved for locally trained players. Locally trained players fall into two categories: club-trained and association-trained.
Club-trained players are on the books for three years between ages 15 and 21. Association-trained players on another club's books in the same association for three years between ages 15 and 21.
Four association-trained players are allowed among the eight nominees on List A.
List B players born on or after January 1, 1995, are eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted 2-year period since their 15th birthday. Clubs may, however, register an unlimited number of players on List B during the season.
Changes During the Champions League Season
Clubs can register up to three new players ahead of the knockout stage. The overall limit of 25 players on List A remains the same.
Players may have participated in qualifying for the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League; however, only one player can have played in the UEFA Europa League group stage.
Image Credits: Sky Sports
Players cannot represent two clubs in the UEFA Champions League from the group stage onwards.
Five substitutes remain in place throughout the tournament.
How Many Players Make Up a Premier League Squad?
The English Premier League allows two more players to make up the squad than Euro 2024.
Twenty-five players make up the squad in a club's football team.
Premier League clubs may contain no more than 17 players who do not fulfil the “Home Grown Player” (HGP) criteria. The rest of the team's squad must be “Home Grown”. This refers to players registered with a club in England or Wales for at least three years before turning 21.
This balances out the need for local players and international stars.
Since the Coronavirus pandemic, the Premier League increased the number of substitutes by two, from three to five.
The matchday starting eleven will be named, with nine substitutes for the bench to make up the squad. This was increased from the 18-man squads before 2020.
A disproportionate amount of muscle injuries in the last few seasons has derailed many teams. Because of that, we can expect the substitutes' bench to increase in the coming years if this concerning trend continues.
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Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.