Overtime (sports)

Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is a tie-breaking method used in various sports. If the scores are equal after the regular period of play has ended, an additional period of play - the 'overtime' or 'extra time' period - is contested to determine the winner. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination tournaments where only one team or players can advance to the next round or win the tournament and replays are not allowed.

The rules of overtime or extra time vary between sports and even different competitions. Some may employ "sudden death", where the first player or team who scores immediately wins the game. This rule is sometimes known as golden goal. In others, play continues until a specified time has elapsed, and only then is the winner declared. If the contest remains tied after the extra session, depending on the rules, the match may immediately end as a draw, additional periods may be played, or a different tie-breaking procedure such as a penalty shootout may be used instead.

In association football knockout competitions or competition stages, teams play an extra 30 minutes, called extra time, when the deciding leg (or replay of a tie) has not produced a winner by the end of normal or full-time. It follows a short break (traditionally five minutes) where players remain on or around the field of play and comprises two 15-minute periods, with teams changing ends in between. Although the Laws of the Game state that extra time is one of the approved methods to decide a winner, competitions are not bound to adopt extra time, and each competition is free to choose any method designated in the Laws of the Game to decide a winner.

In a one-off tie or deciding replay, level scores nearly always go to extra time but this only applies to the FIFA competitions and the first-tier continental national team competitions. In games played over two legs at the continental levels (such as the three–tier men's continental club competitions and the women's continental club competitions), domestic levels (such as Copa del Rey, DFB-Pokal and the Coppa Italia semi-finals or Bundesliga relegation and promotion play-offs) or even at lower levels (such as the English Football League play-offs), teams only play extra time in the second leg where the aggregate score – then normally followed by an away goals rule – has not produced a winner first. However starting the 2021–22 season, UEFA decided to abolish it for all club competitions and changed with the penalty shootout if the aggregate is still tied after the extra time. Ties in the FA Cup used to be decided by as many replays as necessary until one produces a winner within normal time rather than have any extra time or shootouts though, nowadays, replays are limited to just one with the game going to extra time if teams are still level. Equally, CONMEBOL has historically never used extra time in any of the competitions it directly organizes except only in the final match of a competition, such as the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. The score in games or ties resorting to extra time are often recorded with the abbreviation a.e.t. (after extra time) usually accompanying the earlier score after regulation time. The two-legged format for the club competition finals with this rule is still used in CONCACAF club competitions where an away goals rule still takes place.

Ties that are still without a winner after extra time are usually broken by kicks from the penalty spot, commonly called a penalty shoot-out. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many international matches tried to reduce this by employing the golden goal (also called "sudden death") or silver goal rules (the game ending if a team has the lead after the first 15-minute period of extra time), but competitions have not retained these. The abbreviation "a.s.d.e.t." refers to a result "after sudden death extra time".

Up until 2021, under NCAA college soccer rules, all games that remained tied after 90 minutes had an overtime period. A sudden-death golden goal rule was applied, with the game ending as soon as an overtime goal was scored. If neither team scored in the two 10-minute halves, the game ended in a draw unless it was a conference or national championship tournament game. A playoff game tied after two overtime periods then moved to a penalty kick shoot-out with the winner determined by the teams alternating kicks from the penalty mark.

Since the 2022 men's and women's season, the golden goal has been abolished during the regular season. Since 2024, games that ended in a draw during a conference or national tournament game involve two 10-minute periods, with golden goal. A playoff game tied after two overtime periods still moves to a penalty kick shoot-out with the winner determined by the teams alternating kicks from the penalty mark.

High school rules vary depending on the state and conference, but most will have a sudden-death overtime procedure wherein the game ends upon scoring a golden goal, although in some instances the overtime will go until completion with the team in the lead after time expires (i.e., silver goal rules) declared the winner. The overtime period length may vary, but it is commonly 10 minutes long. Depending on the state, if the game is still tied at the end of the first overtime: