Rules & Regulations

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10. Playing Season & Conditions of Play

(A) The Annual General Meeting shall determine the commencing and concluding dates for the ensuing season which shall be in accordance with Football Association Rules. No Club shall be compelled to play after the concluding date. Original fixtures arranged by the (Fixtures) Secretary must not be arranged for a date later than seven days preceding the concluding date determined by the Annual General Meeting.

(B) All matches shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game as determined by the International Football Association Board.

Clubs must take all reasonable precautions to keep their grounds in a playable condition. All matches shall be played on pitches deemed suitable by the Management Committee. If through any fault of the home team a match has to be replayed, the Management Committee shall have the power to order the venue to be changed.

The Management Committee shall have power to decide whether a pitch and/or facilities are suitable for matches in the Competition and to order the Club concerned to play its fixtures on another ground.

All matches shall have a duration of 90 minutes unless a shorter time (not less than 70 minutes) is mutually arranged by the two captains in consultation with the referee prior to the commencement of the match, and in any event shall be of equal halves.

The times of kick-off shall be fixed by the A.G.M. or the Management Committee. Any Club failing to commence at the appointed time shall be fined a sum not exceeding £20.00 or be otherwise dealt with as the Management Committee may determine.

Referees must order matches to commence at the appointed time and must report all late starts to the Competition.

The home team must provide at least two footballs fit for play and the referee shall make a report to the Competition if the footballs are unsuitable. Goal nets must be used . Clubs must also provide flags for the Referee's Assistants and must have a first aid kit.

(C) Except by permission of the Management Committee all matches must be played on the dates originally fixed but priority shall be given to The Football Association and all relevant County Association Cup Competitions. All other matches must be considered secondary. Clubs may mutually agree to bring forward a match with the consent of the (Fixtures) Secretary.

(D) The Secretary of the home Club must give notice of full particulars of the location of, and access to, the ground and time of kick-off to the match officials at lease 3 clear days prior to the playing of the match.

Any Club failing to comply with this Rule shall be liable to a fine of £10.00.

(E) Every Club shall play its best available qualified team or teams in all matches in the Competition.

(Note: The intention of this Rule is not to interfere with normal team selection by Clubs, but to prevent Clubs deliberately fielding a weakened team in order to unreasonably reserve players for another game or to boost the strength of another or lower team. It is NOT intended that Clubs MUST field higher team players in lower teams when the higher team has no engagement. If, in the opinion of the Management Committee, the substance or spirit of the Rule is obviously being disregarded, the Club or Clubs concerned may be called to account it its/their actions and shall be subject to such decisions as the Management Committee may determine, despite the fact that Rule 8 has not been infringed).

In the event of a Club playing in any match with less than 8 players they may be fined £5.00 for each missing player. A minimum of 7 players will constitute a team for a Competition match.

(F) Home and away matches shall be played. In the event of a Club failing to keep its engagement the Management Committee shall have the power to inflict a fine, deduct points from the defaulting Club, award the points to the opponents, order the defaulting Club to pay any expense incurred by the opponents or otherwise deal with them except the award of goals.

Any Club with more than one team in the Competition shall always fulfil its fixture, within the Competition, in the following order of precedence:- First Team, Reserve Team, A Team. Clubs in breach of this requirement shall be fined a sum not exceeding £20.00 or otherwise dealt with by the Management Committee.

Notice of postponement of any match must be given without delay by the postponing Club, by the Club to the Fixtures Secretary, the Competition Referees Appointment s Secretary, the Secretary of the opposing Club and the match officials. Any Club failing to comply shall be dealt with by the Management Committee who may inflict any penalty it may deem suitable.

In the event of a match not being played or abandoned owing to causes over which neither Club has control, it shall be played in its entirety on a date to be mutually agreed by the two Clubs and approved by the Management Committee. Failing such agreement and notification to the (Fixtures) Secretary within 1 day the Management Committee shall have power to order the match to be played on a named date or on or before a given date.

The Management Committee shall review all abandoned matches and in a case where it is to the advantage of the Competition and does no injustice to either Club, shall be empowered to order the score at the time of the abandonment to stand. In all cases where the Management Committee are satisfied that a match was abandoned owing to the conduct of one team or its Club member(s) they shall be empowered to award the points for the match to the opponents and/or take what other action they may deem necessary. In cases where a match is abandoned owing to the conduct of both teams or their Club members, the Management Committee shall take such action as they consider appropriate. Such action is subject to any disciplinary action taken by the appropriate County Association.

(G) A Club may at its discretion and in accordance with the Laws of the Game use 3 substitute players in any match in this Competition who may be selected from 3 players.

The referee shall be informed of the names of the substitutes not later than 10 minutes before the start of the match.

A player who has been selected, appointed or named as a substitute before the start of the match but does not actually play in the game shall not be considered to have been a player in that game within the meaning of Rule 8 of this Competition.

(H) The half time interval shall be of 10 minutes duration, but it shall not exceed fifteen minutes. The half time interval may only be altered with the consent of the referee.