Rules & Regulations

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8. Qualification of Players

(A) Contract players, as defined in Football Association Rules, are not permitted in this Competition.

(B) A registered playing member of a Club is one who, being in all other respects eligible, has:

(i) Signed a fully and correctly completed Competition registration form in ink, countersigned by an Officer of the Club, and who has been registered with the (Registrations) Secretary 1 day prior to playing and whose completed registration counterfoil has been received by the Club prior to playing.
(ii) Registration forms may also be submitted to the (Registrations) Secretary by facsimile machine prior to the player playing.

(C) Registration forms shall be obtained from the Registration Secretary on payment of £2 per form, £1 of which shall go to the Benevolent Fund.

(D) The Management Committee shall decide all registration disputes.

In the event of a player signing a registration form or having a registration submitted for more than one Club, priority of registration shall decide for which Club the player shall be registered. The (Registrations) Secretary shall notify the Club last applying to register the player of the fact of the previous registration.

(E) It shall be a breach of Rule for a player to:

(i) Play for more than one Club in the Competition in the same season without first being transferred.
(ii) Having signed for one Club for the Competition, sign for another Club in the Competition in that season except for the purpose of a transfer.
(iii) Submit a signed registration form for registration that the player had wilfully neglected to accurately or fully complete.
(iv) In all cases the player concerned may be fined a sum not exceeding £50.00, have his registration withdrawn or dealt with at the discretion of the Management Committee.

(F) (i) The Management Committee shall have power to accept the registration of any player. The Management Committee shall have power to refuse, cancel, or suspend the registration of any player or may fine any player at their discretion proved guilty of registration irregularities. (Subject to Rule 16).

(ii) The Management Committee shall have power to refuse or cancel the registration of any player found guilty of undesirable conduct and to disqualify the player in question from participating in all games in the Competition. (Subject to Rule 16).

(Note: Action under Clause (2) shall not be taken against a player for misconduct on the field of play until the matter has been dealt with by the appropriate Association, and then only in cases of the player bringing the Competition into disrepute).

(G) Subject to The Football Association Rules dealing with players without a written contract when a player desires a transfer, the Club the player wishes to transfer to shall submit a transfer form to the (Registrations) Secretary accompanied by a fee of £10.00. Such transfer shall be referred by the (Registrations) Secretary to the Club for which the player is registered. Should this Club object to the transfer it should state its objections in writing to the (Registrations) Secretary and to the player concerned within seven days of receipt of the transfer form. Upon receipt of the Club's consent, or upon its failure to give written objection within seven days, the (Registrations) Secretary may, on behalf of the Management Committee, transfer the player who shall be deemed eligible to play for the new Club from such date or 1 day after receipt of such transfer.

In the event of an objection to a transfer the matter shall be referred to the Management Committee for a decision.

(H) A player may not be registered for a Club nor transferred to another Club in the Competition after 1 st March except by special permission of the Management Committee.

(I) A Club shall keep a list of the players it registers and a record of the games in which they have played, and shall produce such records upon demand by the Management Committee.

(J) A register containing the names of all players registered by each Club, with the date of registration, shall be kept by the (Registrations) Secretary and shall be open to the inspection of any duly appointed Member Club representative at all Management Committee meetings or at other times mutually arranged.

(K) A player shall not be eligible to play for a team in any special championship, promotion or relegation deciding match (as specified in Rule 12(A)) unless the player has played 3 games for that team in this Competition in the current season or has the permission of the Management Commitee.

(L) Not more than 3 players who shall have played in 5 First XI Witney & District FA/County Competition (of equal status) matches after 1 st October of the current season, shall be included in a Reserve Team at any one time except by permission of the Committee. No player having played in a First XI Witney & District FA/County Competition (of equal status) match during the current season shall be included in an A or B team except by permission of the Committee.

Not more than 3 players who shall have played in 5 Reserve Team matches after the 1 st October, of the current season, shall be included in an A Team at any one stage except by permission of the Committee. No player having played in a Reserve Team during the current season shall be included in a B Team except by permission of the Committee.

Not more than 3 players who shall have played in 5 A Team matches after the 1 st October, of the current season, shall be included in a B Team at any one time except by permission of the Committee.

Note: County Competitions of equal status are Oxon Junior Shield, Oxon Charity Cup, Glocs Minor and Primary Cups.

(M) With the exception of Member Clubs who have one or more teams in a Senior or Intermediate Competition, no Club shall include any Players who shall have taken part in any Senior Competition matches after the 1 st August in the current season, until they have applied for and been granted permission by the Management Committee. Only one application per player will be accepted in any one season and applications must be made in writing to the Hon Secretary of the Association, together with an administration fee of Ten Pounds and a completed registration form in respect of each Player allowing at least seven days for permission to be granted.

No applications will be entertained if the Player has played more than 10 Senior matches after 1st August in the current season.

No applications will be accepted after the 31st December.

Member Clubs with one or more teams in a Senior or Intermediate Competition shall not include any Player who has played in a Senior Competition match after the 1st August in the current season unless they have applied for and been granted permission by the Management Committee but may include not more than Three players who shall have played Five Intermediate Competition matches for their Club after the 1 st August in the current season, provided that, except by permission of the Management Committee, these players are included only in the team of the next highest standing.

(N) (i) Any team playing an unregistered or otherwise ineligible player or players shall have the points gained in the match deducted from its total and may be fined and/or otherwise dealt with at the discretion of the Management Committee.

(ii) In addition the team shall have 3 points deducted from its total at the discretion of the Management Committee and may be dealt with in any further manner which is thought to be fit.

(iii) The Management Committee in exceptional circumstances may, at its discretion, award any points deducted from a Club under this Rule to the opponents in the match in question, subject to the match not being ordered to be replayed.

(The following Clause applies to Competitions involving players in full-time secondary education):

(O) (i) Priority must be given at all times to school and school organisations activities.

(ii) The availability of children must be cleared with the Head Teachers (except for Sunday Leagues).

(iii) Children under 14 shall not play in a team involving players who are more than 2 years older.

(Note: For players under the age of 18 the provisions contained in Football Association Rules will apply).