A penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches which would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions, however the usual form is similar to penalty shots, in that a single player takes one shot on goal from a specified spot, with the only defender being the goalkeeper. Team's take turns, with five shots each, the winner being the one with the most number of successful goals. If the result is still tied, it reverts to "goal-for-goal", that is each team takes a shot, and the winner being the one to score a goal that is unmatched by the other team. This may continue until every player has taken a shot. If there is still no result the match may be declared a draw, or the winner may be declared by a random method such as flipping a coin.

A common compaint of penalty shootouts is that they are not fair, in that they do not determine the best team in that sport, only the best team at penalty shots. It is usually only used when a winner is needed (for example, a round where one team must be eliminated) and other methods such as extra time and sudden death have failed to determine a winner.

Sports in which a penalty shootout may be used include:

• Association football (soccer) (see Kicks from the penalty mark)
• Field hockey
• Ice hockey

It has been proposed that a "penalty kickoff" could be used for other football codes such as rugby union or rugby league, with players taking kicks on goal as they would for penalties. The difference in comparison to other sports is the lack of goalkeeper from the opposing side to defend the goal.