SUB Football was conceived and first played in Auckland, New Zealand in 1998.

The aim when formulating the Laws of the Game and Competition Rules was to encourage more people to kick a soccer ball rather than throw a rugby ball.

The fundamental principle of SUB Football is that players are not permitted to use force when taking or attempting to take, or keep, the ball from an opponent.

SUB Football is a summer sport, with 7 players on the field and an unlimited number of substitutes. It is played on a pitch which measures 60 x 40 metres and games are 40 minutes duration.

In New Zealand, the SUB Football season starts last October and runs until early March with a mid-season break between mid December and mid January.

In a full-season SUB Football Competition, each team plays one game per week for 7 weeks before and 7 weeks after the mid season break. The first 3 games are for grading purposes followed by 11 Competition Games played in Divisions 1, 2, 3 or 4 based on the team's level of ability.

Division winners then go on to participate in end-of-season, Inter Competition Play Offs.

The kick-off times for full-season Competitions are 6.00 p.m., 6.40 p.m. and 7.20 p.m. and they are run on either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday nights.

Persons 15+ years of age are allowed to participate in a SUB Football Competition

In a SUB Football team, there must be a goalkeeper and 6 outfield players. A game may start provided a team has no less than 5 players including a goalkeeper.

Competitions are run for Mixed, Men's and Women's teams. In a Mixed team, the goalkeeper may be male or female but not more than 3 male outfield players are permitted.

Teams must wear Uniform shirts, short or long pants and footwear. Football boots with metal or rigid plastic sprigs, studs or cleats are not permitted.

Players who indulge in Referee Abuse, Violent Conduct, Serious Foul Play, Spitting at another player or official or Racism are banned from participation.

During the 2010-11 SUB Football Season there will be capacity for 408 teams in full-season Competitions. See Competitions Auckland in the website Index for further information.