Gaelic football pitch dimensions and markings

Facts checked on 29 September 2026 against the GAA Official Guide Part 2 (April 2026 edition).

The GAA pitch, to scale

These are the maximum GAA pitch dimensions, 145 by 90 metres, drawn one unit to one metre, so the gaps between lines are true to scale.

Rules are from the Official Guide Part 2, Rules of Specification. Line width, penalty spot and substitution zone come from the GAA Field of Play specification.

How long is a GAA pitch?

The length of a GAA pitch can be anything from 130 to 145 metres, and the width from 80 to 90. In yards, that is roughly 142 to 159 by 87 to 98. Gaelic football pitch size varies within that range from ground to ground; Croke Park uses 145 by 88 metres (Croke Park).

Area shows the range better: a full-size pitch covers 13,050 square metres, the smallest full-size one 10,400. The gap between them, more than 2,600 square metres, is roughly a third to two-fifths of an international soccer pitch, so the same team can look stretched on one ground and cramped on another.

Juvenile games do not need a full-size Gaelic pitch: Rule 1.1 lets local bye-laws shrink the dimensions for Under 15 and younger. For a youth game, check your county's bye-laws.

GAA pitch lines: 13, 20 and 45 metres

Three lines cross the field at each end, 13, 20 and 45 metres from the endline, with the halfway line between. Flags mark where they meet the sidelines (Rule 1.2). The 20 metre line matters for kick-outs and the advanced mark; the 45 metre line for the 45 and the kick-out mark.

There is no 65 metre line in football. Rule 1.2 lists it for hurling only, and some descriptions of a general "GAA pitch" put it on a football field by mistake.

The 40-metre scoring arc

Its radius is 40 metres, measured from the middle of the goal line, and it is painted only where it runs outside the 20 metre line. Rule 1.4 says so in a single sentence:

"A semi-circular arc of 40m centred on the mid-point of the goal line, shall be marked outside of each 20m line for Football."Official Guide Part 2 (April 2026), Rules of Specification, Rule 1.4

The arc is 40 metres from the goal at every point, so straight in front of the posts its top sits 20 metres beyond the 20 metre line. It also stops at the 20 metre line instead of curving down to the endline, which is easy to get wrong in a drawing.

Because it stops there, it never reaches the sidelines. Its ends meet the 20 metre line about 10.4 metres in from each sideline on a 90 metre wide field, or about 5.4 metres in on an 80 metre one.

You will also see the arc given as 45 metres, or as 40 metres from the 20 metre line. Neither matches Rule 1.4. What a kick from beyond it is worth is on the scoring page.

The 13-metre arc

The small arc has a 13 metre radius centred on the middle of the 20 metre line, also marked only outside it (Rule 1.4). It bulges out in front of goal, inside the larger arc.

The 13 metre radius matches the kick-out rule: the ball sits at the centre of this arc, and everyone else must stay 13 metres from it.

The small and large rectangles

In front of each goal: a small rectangle 14 metres wide and 4.5 deep, inside a large one 19 metres wide and 13 deep (Rule 1.4). The endline counts as part of both.

The rule measures their width from the posts. The small rectangle's sides are 3.75 metres from the inside of each post, the large one's 6.25 metres. Add the 6.5 metres between the posts and you get exactly 14 and 19.

The small rectangle is the "square" in the square ball rule. It is also where the goalkeeper may play the ball on the ground with the hands.

Goalposts

The posts are 6.5 metres apart, the crossbar 2.5 metres high, and each post at least 7 metres tall (Rule 1.3). A net is fixed to the back of the crossbar and posts, with a mesh no wider than 150 millimetres on the diagonal.

That H shape gives the game its two targets: into the net for a goal, over the bar for a point.

Other GAA pitch markings

The penalty spot is 11 metres from the centre of the goal line. Every line is 90 millimetres wide, give or take 13, and the substitution zone runs 5 metres either side of halfway.

All three come from the GAA Field of Play specification, which also sets the halfway line's centre marking at 10 metres. Our diagram draws the lines thicker than 90 millimetres so you can see them on a phone.

GAA pitch vs soccer and rugby pitches

Of the five codes, only an Australian rules oval can be bigger than a full-size Gaelic pitch, and an international soccer pitch is smaller than even the minimum. Area is the fairest measure when the shapes differ:

Sources: GAA Rule 1.1, IFAB Law 1, World Rugby Law 1, NFL Rule 1, Laws of Australian Football, Law 3.2. Areas are calculated from those dimensions; the oval is treated as an ellipse.

The table bears out the claim at the top of the page, in-goal areas included. For how the games themselves differ, see Gaelic football vs rugby and soccer.

How many laps of a GAA pitch is 5k?

About 10.6 laps on a full-size 145 by 90 metre pitch, which measures 470 metres around the outside lines. On the smallest full-size pitch, 420 metres around, it takes nearly 12. Croke Park, at 466 metres, works out at about 10.7.

If your club's pitch is marked to a size in between, add the length and width, double it, and divide 5,000 by the answer.

Printable GAA pitch diagram

The same drawing comes as a standalone file for coaching sessions, club noticeboards or planning a GAA pitch layout before the lines go down. It prints cleanly in black and white on A4 or A3.

• Pitch diagram, SVG (scales to any size)
• Pitch diagram, PDF (A4 landscape)

Use it freely with a link back to us. The terms have the details.

Frequently asked questions

How big is a GAA pitch?

130 to 145 metres long and 80 to 90 metres wide, which is 10,400 to 13,050 square metres.

Is a GAA pitch bigger than a rugby pitch?

Yes, even at the minimum: 10,400 square metres against a rugby union maximum of 10,080.

What size is Croke Park pitch?

145 metres long and 88 metres wide: the longest the rules allow, and 2 metres short of the widest.

Is there a 65 metre line on a Gaelic football pitch?

No, that line is for hurling. Football uses lines at 13, 20 and 45 metres, plus halfway and the 40 metre arc.

What is the 40 metre arc?

A curved line 40 metres from the middle of the goal line, painted beyond each 20 metre line. A kick over the bar from on or outside it scores two points, as long as no team-mate touches the ball after the kick; a 45 still scores one.