10(a) The Annual General Meeting shall determine the commencing and the 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.

Any club failing to be represented at a fixtures meeting or otherwise infringing this rule shall be liable for a fine of £50.

10(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 to be 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 Committe shall have the 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 agreed by the 2 captains in consultation with the referee prior to the commencement of the match, and shall be of equal halves.

The times of kick-off shall be fixed by the Annual General Meeting or the Management Committee. Any Club failing to commence at the appointed time will be liable to a fine of £20 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 Management Committee by filling in the relevant information on the match report forms.

The Home team must provide at least two footballs fit for play and the referee shall report to the Competition Management Committee by filling in the relevant information on the match report forms if the footballs are unsuitable.

Goals Nets and Corner Flags must be used. The Home team is held fully responsible for ensuring that these items are available.

10(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 other relevant "County Association Cup Competitions". All other matches must be considered secondary. Clubs may mutually agree to bring forward a match but must gain the consent of the Fixtures Secretary.

10(d) The Secretary of the Home Club must give notice of full particulars of the location of, and access to, the ground and the time of kick-off to the match officials and the secretary of the opposing Club four clear days prior to the playing of the match. Any Club failing to comply with this rule shall be liable to a fine of £20.

10(e) Every Club shall play its best available qualified team in all matches in the Competition. In the event of a club playing in any match with less than 11 players they may be fined £20 for each missing player. A minimum of 7 players will constitute a team for a Competition match.

10(f) Home and Away fixtures 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 points to the opponents, order the defaulting club to pay any expenses incurred by the opponents and otherwise deal with them except the award of goals. Not withstanding the foregoing home and away provision, the Management Committee shall have the power to order any match to be played on a neutral ground or on the opponents ground if they are satisfied that such action is warranted by the circumstances.

Any club unable to fulfil a fixture must, without delay, give notice to the Fixtures Secretary, the Competition Referees Appointments 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 with 7 days the Management Committee shall have the 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 matches abandoned in cases where it is consequent upon the conduct of either or both teams. Where it is an advantage to the competition and does no injustice to either club, the management committee shall be empowered to order the score at teh time of abandonment to stand. In all cases where the Management Committee are satisfied that the match was abandoned owing to the conduct of one team or it's Club members they shall be empowered to award the points for the match the opponents and 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.

10(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 5 players to be named on the match form.

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

Any 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.

10(h) The half time interval shall be of FIVE minutes duration, but it shall not exceed 15 minutes. The half time interval may only be altered with the consent of the referee.

 

 

This Handbook is a copy of the "Standard Code of Rules" as issued, to this competition, by the BCFA For all of the current committee rulings, individuals should consult the "League Directives Manual" as is issued to all the member teams at the commencement of every season (also avaliable on site)