The sport of soccer around the world is organized into a multi-tiered hierarchy, ranging from vast international organizations all the way down to small neighborhood leagues. While there may be some minor differences between games played in different locations, the game of soccer is played in much the same way in Akron, Ohio as in Nampula, Mozambique.

FIFA, the world regulating body of soccer worldwide, maintains a document listing the fundamental rules of the sport known collectively as the Laws of the Game. When most people talk about "FIFA rules" or "FIFA regulations," they are referring to the Laws of the Game.

However, the Laws of the Game are only half of the story. In order to accomodate cultural, economic, social, and competitive differences at all levels of the sport around the globe, the Laws are designed as a loose framework open to amendment and interpretation by each competitive body.

Each competition -- whether it be a Division I professional league like MLS, an AYSO youth league in the suburbs of Chicago, or an annual tournament of international amateur teams -- provides a set of its own guidelines and regulations that can add to, revise, or otherwise amend FIFA's Laws. The purpose of this flexibility arises from need to acknowledge the differing cultural and economic factors surrounding each competition, as well to address variations in skill level, participant age, and environmental as well as financial resources available.

The Laws form the skeleton of a league's rules, while the competition guidelines provide the flesh. Major League Soccer's competition guidelines have moved closer to a literal translation of the Laws of the Game over the years with the abolition of the shootout tiebreaker and the restoration of the on-field clock at the start of the 2000 season.

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