VT Alliance Cup
June 20, 21 & 22, 2025
USSF certified referees, interested in attending our event as a referee - please register here
Registration Details
REGISTRATION IS FREE ↓
- No money will be collected until brackets are created.
TEAM COST ↓
U-10 Boys and Girls – Guaranteed 3 games - $425
U-12 Boys and Girls – Guaranteed 3 games - $475
U-14 Boys and Girls – Guaranteed 3 games - $650
U-16 Boys and Girls – Guaranteed 3 games - $650
U-19 Boys and Girls – Guaranteed 3 games - $650
LOCATION ↓
- The tournament will be held at Veteran's Memorial Park, South Burlington High School, St Michael's College and one additional location.
HOTELS ↓
The 2025 Alliance Cup is a Stay and Play tournament.
The Booking Link will be active by November 1, 2024.
ATHLETIC TRAINERS ↓
There will be certified athletic trainers available at all major sites in case of injuries.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE ↓**
Coming by June 15, 2025
TOURNAMENT AWARDS ↓**
All teams finishing in first place will receive championship medals provided by the tournament directors at Cup Headquarters, VT Alliance Cup staff will take a team photo of your team.
MEDICAL WAIVER ↓**
ONLINE TEAM CHECK-IN ↓**
Vermont Alliance Cup will have an online check in process only (no in person). While we will be flexible with inter-club movement of players between rosters, all players need to be registered with your state association. All coordinators and/or coaches need to email rosters to shane@queencityfootballclub.com before Monday, June 10, 2024. You are not fully checked in until you have received an email from a tournament representative saying you are all-set and checked in.
The following materials are required by June 5, 2025.
- Official Roster (if you are combining two teams together, please email the pdf of both teams rosters and put a check mark next to the players who are participating)
- A copy of Player Passes for all participating players (If your roster has player photos, we do NOT need copies of the player passes).
- Guest Players: Please supply a copy of an Official Roster that lists the guest player, or a current copy of a player pass for that player. (note guest player rules: no more than 3 guest players for 7v7 or 9v9 and 4 guest players for 11v11). For the purposes of the Vermont Alliance Cup, we are defining guest players as a player from outside your club. If you are combining teams with players from within your own club, these DO NOT count as guest players.
- Max roster size: U-10=14, U-12=16, U14/HS=22
- Alliance Cup Medical Release Form (or VSA Medical Release will be accepted) - For each player attending
Tournament Director Contacts ↓
Shane Bufano: 802-310-4098
Shelley Forrest: 802-872-8860
Application to Host the Tournament ↓
Tournament Rules
FAN CONDUCT AND REFEREE ABUSE
There will be zero tolerance for referee abuse and poor fan conduct. The northeast is experiencing a referee shortage and hundreds of new and young referees have been infused into our game. Please remind your families that there is no tolerance for referee abuse and that field marshals or officials may remove parents/fans from games if they are berating officials and/or at their discretion may abandon a game due to poor fan conduct. Additionally, all of our referees at the tournament are USSF certified and have passed appropriate referee certifications.
GAME LENGTHS
- All 7v7 and 9v9 games will be 2 x 25 minute halves
- All 11v11 games will be 2 x 30 minute halves
GUEST PLAYER LIMIT
Guest player rules: no more than 3 guest players for 7v7 or 9v9 and 4 guest players for 11v11. For the purposes of the Vermont Alliance Cup, we are defining guest players as a player from outside your club. If you are combining teams with players from within your own club, these DO NOT count as guest players.
TOURNAMENT SCORING:
Our tournament standings will be determined by classic tournament scoring. Here are the rules/protocols for tournament scoring:
Win - 3 points
Tie - 1 point
Loss - 0 points
Max Goal Differential: 5
TIEBREAKER HIERARCHY:
Tie-Breakers in order:
1) Head to Head
2) Record against common opponent ranked in highest order
3) Goal Differential
4) Most shutouts
5) Least goals allowed
6) Most goals scored
7) Coin Flip
NOTE, in a three way tie, the tie-breaker will find out who the number one seed is. Once the number one seed is determined, the tie-breaker will go back to the top and reset with the two remaining teams.
Example Situation (3 Way Tie-Break)
STANDINGS
Team A: 2-1 w/ +5 GD (Beat Team C+D and lost to team B)
Team B: 2-1 w/ +3 GD (Beat Team A+D and lost to team C)
Team C: 2-1 w/ -1 GD (Beat Team B+D and lost to team A)
Team D: 0-3 w -10 GD (Lost to team A+B+C)
In the following scenario, Head to Head and Record Against Common Opponent, can not be used because there is a 3 way tie and each team that is tied at 2-1 beat each other. The GD tie-breaker would determine that Team A is the #1 seed because they have the highest GD. Now that the #1 seed is determined, the two teams left in the tie-breaker are Team B and C. Despite Team C having a lower GD, they would advance as the #2 seed, because with the two teams remaining, Team C beat Team B.
TEAM ADVANCEMENTS/CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES:
GROUPS OF 4:
- Each team plays 3 games against the other teams in their bracket
- The top 2 teams will play in a Championship match on Sunday based on pts and the tie-breakers below
GROUPS OF 5:
- Each team plays 3 games against the other teams in their bracket
- The top 2 teams will play in a Championship match on Sunday based on pts and the tie-breakers below
GROUPS OF 6:
- GROUPS of 6 are split into two brackets of 3 (Bracket A and Bracket B)
- Each team plays the 3 teams in the other bracket
- The top 2 teams regardless of bracket according points and the tie breakers below advance to the championship match
TEAMS IN GROUPS OF 5 PLAYING 4 ROUND ROBIN GAMES:
Reminder that in brackets of 5, there is one team that plays a 4th game so that everyone can have 3 games. The team playing their 4th game, that game does not count in the standings for the team playing their 4th game. It does count for the team playing their 3rd game however.
PLAYOFFS OVERTIME PROCEDURE
If any championship game is tied, teams will play 5 minute golden goal overtime. If there is still no winner, teams will then go into FIFA penalty kicks. Any shooter on the team may shoot. PKs will be a group of 5 shots. If still tied, it will be golden goal pks with the remaining players who have not taken a penalty kick