Rising Stars Cup 4

IFCF Rising Stars Cup 4 is the fourth season of the IFCF Rising Stars Cup, a youth club football competition organised by IFCF. FC Felsenkirchen 1879 are the defending champions.

Teams
A total of 59 teams from 39 associations entered the tournament. They are split into two sections:
 * IFCF Champions League Path (32 teams): The youth teams of the 32 clubs which qualify for the IFCF Champions' League 4 group stage enter the IFCF Champions League Path. If there is a vacancy (youth teams not entering), it is filled by a team defined by IFCF.
 * Domestic Champions Path (27 teams): The youth domestic champions enter the Domestic Champions Path.


 * Notes

IFCF Champions' League Path
For the UEFA Champions League Path, the 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four. There was no separate draw held, with the group compositions identical to the draw for the IFCF Champions' League 4 group stage.

In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners advance to the round of 16, while the eight runners-up advance to the play-offs, where they are joined by the eight second round winners from the Domestic Champions Path. The matchdays the same as that of their senior teams in the IFCF Champions' League group stage.

Tiebreakers
In the group stage, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria:
 * 1) Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss);
 * 2) Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
 * 3) Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
 * 4) Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
 * 5) Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
 * 6) If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
 * 7) Goal difference in all group matches;
 * 8) Goals scored in all group matches;
 * 9) Away goals scored in all group matches;
 * 10) Wins in all group matches;
 * 11) Away wins in all group matches;
 * 12) Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
 * 13) Drawing of lots.

Domestic Champions Path
For the Domestic Champions Path, the 27 teams were drawn into two rounds of two-legged home-and-away ties. The draw for both the first round and second round was held directly after the IFCF Champions' League Group Stage draw, at the PFFA headquarters in Fiskadaha, Poafmersia. There were no seedings for the draw.

In both rounds, if the aggregate score is tied after full-time of the second leg, the away goals rule is used to decide the winner. If still tied, the match will proceed to extra time before being decided by a penalty shoot-out. The eight second round winners advance to the play-offs, where they are joined by the eight group runners-up from the IFCF Champions League Path (group stage).

First Round
As there were 27 teams, the defending titleholders, as well as the youth champions of the 4 best associations in the round, was given a bye to the Second Round. Teams drawn first played the first leg at home.

Second Round
The 5 teams given a bye into the Second Round, as well as the winners of the 11 matches in the First Round, was placed into a single pot for an unrestricted draw. As the draw was held together with the First Round draw, the identity of the opponents was not known at point of the draw, and instead, placeholders were used to represent the 11 match winners. Teams drawn first played the first leg at home.