{
  "id": "law-08-start-and-restart",
  "type": "entity",
  "name": "Law 8 - The Start and Restart of Play",
  "summary": "Law 8 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) covers the kick-off (coin toss, positions, ball in play, scoring directly) and the dropped ball (who receives it, where, and its restrictions).",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "laws-of-the-game",
    "ifab",
    "kick-off",
    "dropped-ball"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "cross_references",
      "target": "law-10-outcome-of-a-match"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "Can you score directly from kick-off?",
    "Who gets the ball at a dropped ball?",
    "Do both teams have to be in their own half at kick-off?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "Before the kick-off the referee tosses a coin; the team that wins the toss decides which goal to attack in the first half or to take the kick-off.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-08-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "At a kick-off all players except the kicker must be in their own half, opponents must be at least 9.15 m (10 yds) from the ball, the ball must be stationary on the centre mark, and the ball is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-08-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.96
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "A goal may be scored directly against the opponents from the kick-off; if the ball directly enters the kicker's own goal, a corner kick is awarded to the opponents.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-08-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.96
    },
    {
      "id": "c4",
      "text": "A dropped ball is dropped for the defending goalkeeper in their penalty area if play was stopped there; otherwise it is dropped for one player of the team that has or would have retained or gained possession (including from the restart, if the ball would have gone out of play), clarified in the 2026/27 edition. All other players of both teams must remain at least 4 m (4.5 yds) away until the ball is in play; the ball is in play when it touches the ground.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-08-2026-27",
        "ifab-law-changes-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.92
    },
    {
      "id": "c5",
      "text": "A goal may not be scored from a dropped ball until it has touched at least two players; if the ball enters a goal without two touches, the restart is a goal kick or corner kick.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-law-08-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.92
    },
    {
      "id": "c6",
      "text": "This object reflects the 2026/27 edition of the Laws of the Game, the current edition published by The IFAB at the verification date.",
      "sources": [
        "ifab-laws-2026-27",
        "ifab-law-08-2026-27"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.98
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "industry_observation",
    "source_types": [
      "industry_observation"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": true,
  "winning_edge": "The dropped-ball procedure changed fundamentally in 2019 (no more contested drops) and older descriptions still circulate widely; claims bind the 2026/27 IFAB text of Law 8.",
  "confidence": 0.94,
  "last_verified": "2026-08-08",
  "canonical_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-08-start-and-restart",
  "api_url": "https://futbolatlas.app/api/k/law-08-start-and-restart.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "Law 8 - The Start and Restart of Play",
    "description": "Law 8 of the IFAB Laws of the Game (2026/27 edition) covers the kick-off (coin toss, positions, ball in play, scoring directly) and the dropped ball (who receives it, where, and its restrictions).",
    "url": "https://futbolatlas.app/k/law-08-start-and-restart",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-08",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "IFAB Laws of the Game — editions index (current edition 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws-of-the-game-documents/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law 8 — The Start and Restart of Play (Laws of the Game 2026/27)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/laws/latest/the-start-and-restart-of-play/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Law changes 2026/27 — changes and clarifications (IFAB)",
        "url": "https://www.theifab.com/law-changes/latest/"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "Law 8 - The Start and Restart of Play"
  }
}