Question:
When the ball is shot or pass back to the keeper who plays it with his feet what is the rule for keepers (if he keep the ball at his feet), When does the time start for the keeper to release the ball I notice in games , that the keepers team doesn’t pick up the ball and lets the clock run, How much time does the keeper have to release the ball after he get possession of it?
USSF answer (April 3, 2008):
There is no time limit. As long as the ball is at the goalkeeper’s feet, the goalkeeper may play it there for as long as he or she wishes. This is a traditional and normal way of using time and should not be considered as time wasting. “Possession” in the case of the goalkeeper means simply that the goalkeeper has control of the ball with the hands, not with any other part of the body.
