Tournament Rulebook

Copa America Taiwan 2020

Taipei, Taiwan

Table of Contents
I. General Dispositions 1
1. Copa America Taiwan 1
2. Organizing Committee 1
3. Participating Members 1
4. Withdrawal, Undisputed Matches and Definitive Suspension 2
5. No Replacement 2
6. Disciplinary Issues 2
7. Controversies and Protests 3
8. Medical Treatment 3
9. Expenses Coverage 4
II. Technical Regulations 4
10. Number of Teams 4
11. Call for Participation Criteria 4
12. Draft 4
13. Competition Format 4
14. Group Phase 5
15. Quarter Finals 5
16. Semi Finals 5
17. Final and Third Place Games 5
18. Dates and Schedule of Matches 5
19. Pre-Game Warming 6
20. Player List and Accreditation 6
21. Alignment and Bench 6
22. Equipment 7
23. Referees 7
24. Rules of the Game 7
25. Trophies 7
III. Final Dispositions 7
25. Exceptional Circumstances 7
27. Unforeseen Events 7
28. Languages 8
29. Copyright 8
General Provisions
1. Copa America Taiwan

Copa America Taiwan aims to bring together different teams made up of citizens from
different countries who are residing in Taiwan in a soccer competition. The first
edition of this event was held in 2014 and since then it has been played year after
year.
Taiwan diplomatic allies have priority of participation. The organizing committee
may, in any of its editions, invite different non-American countries to participate as
guests. This year's tournament will be held at Fu Jen University Stadium.

This is the official competition rulebook. All participants are reminded that this is a
social event between friendly countries and that these rules and the fair play must be
respected at all times.

The matches of this competition will be led by qualified referees.

2. Organizing Committee
Fernando Ramos
Carlos Quiroz
Gracia Chacón
Lee Yi-Ching
Cristina Gonzales
Chiayo Kuo
Joy Hu
Helen Ramos

3. Participating Members
The members of the participating teams will have the responsibility of taking care of
the behavior of the people who attend the event, whether they are soccer players,
coaches, managers, representatives or guests, and especially their fans.

Participating teams must guarantee the accommodation, food and drinks of their
players, as well as sports equipment, personal expenses, uniforms, and transportation.
Participating teams must provide the required information of their participants in the
regulated time. This includes a complete list of their players, a copy of their ID
documentation, and a signed informed consent form for insurance purposes prior to
their participation in the competition.

All participating teams and their players must be present during the opening
ceremony of the event.

All participating members agree to comply with these rules.

4. Withdrawal, Undisputed Matches, and Final Suspension of the Match.

Participating teams must complete all their matches until they are eliminated. The
regulated waiting time to complete at least eight players for male teams and five
players for female teams and start the game before declaring forfeit, will be of 2
minutes after the time indicated for the start of the match.
Inappropriate behavior or failure to comply with the rules contained in this rulebook
may be penalized with the suspension of the match, which will be declared as a loss
for the team violating the norms contained in this rulebook. These games will be
written down as 2-0 in favor of the winning team.

If the match is suspended due to force majeure, it will resume as soon as possible in
the minute it was interrupted, with the same players. The expelled players will
continue to be expelled.

5. No Replacement
If a participating team withdraws from the competition before being eliminated, it will
result in all of its pending matches being declared as a loss, declaring the teams with
which it should have played the said games against as the winner or winners. These
games will be written down as 2-0 in favor of the winning team.

6. Disciplinary Issues
These regulations will be applied in conjunction with the rules of the game granted by
FIFA, with some exceptions given that the matches are not official FIFA games.

The infractions will be handled as follows:

In the event that a player is cautioned with a direct red card, he will be expelled
immediately from the game, and he will not be eligible to play the first half of the next
game.

If a player accumulates 3 yellow cards, he will be suspended for the first half of the
next game.

The accumulation of cards returns to zero in the semifinals.

The cost per warning will be as follows:

Yellow Card: 50 NTD

Red Card: 100 NTD

Payment for any yellow or red card must be made at the end of each match. The
players who fail to make the respective payments will not be allowed to continue to
participate in the competition until the said payment is made.

Participants must respect sportsmanship, non-violent play and behave according to

the following provisions:

Avoid any kind of discriminatory behavior.

Breaking the rules contained in this rulebook may lead to the immediate
disqualification of a team and prevent it from participating in the next year’s event.

Members of the participating teams must refrain from the use of alcoholic beverages
or narcotic substances, or they will be suspended from the competition.

7. Controversies and Protests

Any dispute will be resolved by the board of organizers (3 members). The decision
reached by the board will be final and must be accepted by all parties involved; it is
completely forbidden to take the problem to external organizations out of the event,
the party that does so may be suspended from the event and will be automatically
excluded from future editions of the Copa America Taiwan.

If a party is not satisfied with the result, they can send their protests in writing to the
email of the organizing committee: copaamericataiwan2020@gmail.com, an answer to
the protest will be given within 5 business days.

No protests may be filed against the referees' decisions about events that occur during
a match. Those decisions are final and unappealable.

8. Medical treatment
There will be first aid personnel in the field, who will be in charge of administering
medical treatment to anyone who needs immediate attention.

Each participant must be in optimal conditions to play in this competition and is

responsible for their health. An informed consent form must be completed and signed
by each player prior to the competition in order for them to use the insurance policy
purchased for the event.

If a player suffers a concussion, the player must be examined by first aid staff outside
the field. The player may continue playing if the medical staff allows it.

The use of alcoholic beverages or narcotic substances is absolutely prohibited during

the competition.

The player who is proven to be under the influence of either of the said substances
during a match will be suspended from the competition immediately.

Copa America Taiwan 2020 will hire a medical insurance policy for accidents for the
duration of the tournament, the insurance policy will be delivered to each captain and
vendor prior to the tournament, neither Copa America Taiwan 2020 nor its organizers
will be responsible for injuries or accidents that occur as a result of the event
celebration beyond what is covered by the medical insurance contracted for this
purpose.
Through the signature of the informed consent form each player ensures that he/she
is fit to play and that he/she understands that neither Copa America Taiwan 2020 nor
its organizers are responsible for any injuries or accidents beyond what is covered by
the medical insurance contracted for this purpose.

The emergency insurance policy will only cover incidents happening inside the venue
during the 2 days of the duration of the event, any previous conditions or treatment
that is sought after the event dates will not be covered by the insurance policy.

9. Expense Coverage
The Copa America Taiwan management will be responsible for the payments and
logistics to carry out this event. The funds for the payment of said expenses will come
from the payment of the male and female team registration, payment of tents for food
sales and contributions from sponsors.

The organizing committee reserves the right to refuse the participation of teams,
sponsors, the presence of people attending the event and/or other service providers
when deemed necessary.

The registration payment made by the teams is non-refundable. If a team withdraws

before or during the tournament, is expelled from it for disciplinary reasons, is unable
to play their games due to a lack of players on the dates of the competition or is not
able to fulfill its participation for any other reason besides the ones mentioned above,
the payment of the Registration will not be refunded.

II. Technical Standards

10. Number of teams
Copa America Taiwan 2020 will include the participation of 12 male teams, 6 female
teams and 4 children teams.

11. Call for Participation Criteria

For the call of teams of the male competition, Taiwan allies and Taiwan will be given
advance notice to proceed to make their registration payment. After that period, the
remaining teams and the ones who did not make the payment during the said time
will be given equal opportunity to make the registration payment and participate in
the event. For the female competition, all teams will be given equal opportunity to
make the registration payment and participate in the event

The payments will only be received by electronic deposit to the provided account and
the teams will be registered based on the time their deposit was made as shown on
the organizers’ bank account registry. Once the participation has reached 12 male
teams, 6 female teams and 4 children teams, no other teams will be accepted. If a
team, based on the recorded time of its registration payment, has made a payment
after the above number of teams was completed, its registration payment will be
refunded.

12. Draw
The draw will be held with the presence of the captains or representatives of each
team on the date designated by the organizing committee. If a captain or
representative of any given team is not present during the draw, no complaints about
the draft or rulebook made by the said team will be taken into consideration.

13. Competition Format

For male teams, they will be divided into 3 groups of 4 teams each.

For female teams, they will be divided into 2 groups of 3 teams each.

For the children teams, they will be divided into 2 groups of 2 teams each.

The matches will be 20 minutes each half with 4 minutes of resting time for male
teams, 10 minutes each half with 4 minutes of rest time for women teams, and 10
straight minutes per game for children teams.

14. Groups Phase

After each male team plays 1 match against each of their group rivals selected by
lottery, the best 2 in each group will advance to the next phase.

After each female team plays 1 match against each of their group rivals selected by
lottery, the best 2 in each group will advance to the next phase.

In case of a triple tie in the group stage, the positions will be decided by:

a) Difference of goals.

b) Better result face to face.

c) One penalty per team until one of them fails.

15. Quarter Finals

After the 6 male teams have faced in direct elimination selected by lottery, the
winners of the 3 games will advance to the semifinals plus the best third in the quarter
finals phase (be understood that the best third is the team with the best result out of
the 3 teams that lost their quarterfinals matches).

If there is a tie in their performance in this phase, their performance in the group
phase will be taken into account to decide which team will advance. If the teams had
an equal performance in the group stage, a penalty will be issued to each team until
one of them fails.

The 4 women's teams that advanced in the group stage will advance to the semifinals.
16. Semifinals
After the 4 men's teams have faced in direct elimination selected by lottery, the 2
winning teams from those matches will go to the final, the 2 teams that are not
victorious in the semi-finals will compete for the third place.

After the 4 women's teams have faced in direct elimination selected by lottery, the 2
winning teams from those matches will go to the final, the 2 teams that are not
victorious in the semi-finals will compete for the third place.

After the 4 children’s teams have faced in direct elimination selected by lottery, the 2
winning teams from those matches will go to the final, the 2 teams that are not
victorious in their match will compete for the third place.

17. Final and Match For Third Place

The final and third place matches will be played according to the results of the
semifinal matches at the time and date indicated by the organizing committee.

18. Dates and Schedule of Matches

The dates and times indicated for the celebration of the matches will not be modified
except in cases of duly verified force majeure, as long as there are favorable conditions
for such modification without affecting the development of the tournament.

19. Pre-Match Warming Up

The captains of each team must ensure that their players perform a warm-up prior to
their respective matches at least 15 minutes before the start of each game.

20. List of Players and Accreditation

Each male team must register a minimum of 14 players up to a maximum of 25
players of the nationality of the country they represent, plus 1 foreign reinforcement
from any nationality as a goalkeeper, if and only if the team does not have a
goalkeeper. The maximum number of registered players cannot exceed 26 including
the possible foreign reinforcement. If a team reports an illegal foreign reinforcement
on the field, it is that team’s responsibility to present enough proof of their claim to
the organizing committee which will make a decision based on the evidence.

If the claim is proven, the team that used an illegal foreign reinforcement will be fined
with 1,000 NTD, the team will also be forced to forfeit the match and the other team
will be declared as the winner following the forfeit regulations. The illegal foreign
reinforcement will be suspended from the competition.
Each female team must register a minimum of 4 up to a maximum of 11 players of the
nationality of the team they represent, plus 2 foreign reinforcements. The maximum
number of registered players cannot exceed 13 including the possible foreign
reinforcements. The foreign reinforcements can play in any position during the
competition.

No professional female football players are allowed in the competition. This will apply
to both reinforcements and regular players alike. A female player will be considered
as “professional” if she has been enrolled in a professional or university team in the
previous 3 months to the celebration of the tournament. If a team reports that a
female player falls under the condition of “professional”, it is that team’s responsibility
to present enough proof of their claim to the organizing committee which will make a
decision based on the evidence.

If the claim is proven, the team that used a professional female player will be fined
with 1,000 NTD, the team will also be forced to forfeit the match and the other team
will be declared as the winner following the forfeit regulations. The professional
player will be suspended from the competition.

The citizens of the participating countries cannot be reinforcements from other teams
except when the team has too many players and their captain has allowed it.

Teams must submit their player list before the draw. Teams that have not paid the
registration or have not sent their list of players in time will not participate in the
draw.

The list of players can be updated until Wednesday 14th of October. The list must
include: name, surname as well as the identification to be carried, the nickname and
number on the shirt for verification purposes.

A player can be substituted in case of a confirmed injury 24 hours before the

competition.

Each captain must present a signed informed consent form and a copy of the
identification document of each of his/her players previous to their participation in
the event, the players whose information is missing will not be allowed to play.

If a team uses players that have not been previously registered, the team will be fined
with 1,000 NTD. The team will also be forced to forfeit the match and the other team
will be declared as the winner following the forfeit regulations. The fine must be paid
before the next match or the team will not be able to play any games they have left.

21. Alignment and Bench

Players must show up for the event 60 min before their games. The captain/coach
must present the signed informed consent form and copy of each player’s
identification documents before the game.
There is no limit of substitutions, it is even allowed to re-enter the playing field after a
previous substitution.

22. Equipment
According to FIFA rules, it is prohibited to display political, religious or personal
messages or slogans in any language. For any offence to this rule, the player and/or
the team will be sanctioned by the competition organizer with 500 NTD as fine and
the player who violates this rule will be expelled from the competition.

There will be vests in case two different teams have similar uniforms.

The use of shoes with metal studs or nails is prohibited.

It is mandatory that each player has shin guards and long socks before entering the
field.

No player will be allowed to wear earrings, chains, bracelets or other jewelry when
entering the field.

Each team must have a No. 5 soccer ball at each of their games.

23. Referees
3 CTFA qualified referees will be hired for each disputed male game on the day of the
events.

1 CTFA qualified referee will be hired for each disputed female game on the day of the
events.

The referees' decisions are firm and unappealable.

The Copa America Taiwan Management will provide a meal for each participating
referee.

24. Game Rules

All matches will be played in accordance with the Rules of the Game promulgated by
the International Football Association Board and the provisions contained in this
rulebook.

25. Trophies
Trophies will be awarded as a prize to the first, second and third place team, as well as
medals to each of the registered players of the teams that reach the said positions. A
medal for the best player of the tournament and the least beaten goalkeeper of each
competition will also be provided for the male and female competitions.
To decide on the less beaten goalkeeper prize, only the group phase matches will be
taken into consideration. The best player of the tournament will be selected among
the players of the team that reaches the first place in each competition.

III. Final Provisions

26. Exceptional Circumstances
The Organizing Committee will issue any notice or report with instructions on
exceptional circumstances that may arise.

27. Unforeseen events

Any matter not provided for in this rulebook, such as cases of force majeure, will be
resolved by the organizing committee (3 members) or, if it is not possible to gather
enough (3) members of the organizing committee due to time constraints, by the Main
Organizer of the Copa America Taiwan or its designated representative in his/her
absence. Such decisions will be binding and cannot be appealed.

Each team must provide 3 volunteers to contribute to the assembly of the tents if
required, help clean the stadium at the end of the matches, collect balls during the
matches of other teams, and to serve as referees of the children team among others.
The rotation of volunteers will be defined on the same date of the draw.

28. Languages
The official language of this tournament will be English, but translation might be
provided to Chinese if the circumstances require it.

29. Copyright
The Copa America Taiwan management has the copyright for this competition’s
trademark and rulebook.
 Taipei, October 2020
Copa America Taiwan Regulations