League Rules

WEARSIDE FOOTBALL LEAGUE.

GENERAL RULES SEASON 2007-2008.

1.NOMENCLATURE AND CONSTITUTION.

This Competition shall be designated as the Wearside League and shall consist of not more than twenty Clubs who shall be Full Member Clubs.

All such member Clubs must be affiliated to an affiliated County Football Association and their names and particulars shall be returned annually by the appointed date on the Form “D” to the English and Durham County Football Associations. The area covered by the Competition Membership shall be the Counties of Durham, Cumberland, Northumberland and North Riding.

This Competition shall apply annually for sanction to the English and Durham County Football Associations and the constituent member Clubs shall be grouped in one division.

Member Clubs shall not enter any of their teams playing in the Competition in any other Competitions ( with the exception of F.A. and County F.A. Competitions) except with the written consent of the Management Committee of the Competition.

At the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting called for the purpose, a majority of the delegates present shall have the power to decide or adjust the compilation of the division at their discretion. When necessary this Rule shall take precedence over Rule 12.

2.ENTRY FEE, SUBSCRIPTION, DEPOSIT.

(A) Applications by Clubs for admission to this Competition must be made in writing to the Secretary.

At the discretion of a majority of the accredited voting members present, applications, of which due notice has been given, may be received at the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting.

(B) The Annual Subscription shall be £ 125.00 per Club payable on or before the First day of August in each year or be fined £ 25.00 per month, or part month, until the full debt is recovered. New Clubs shall be admitted as Associate Members for One Year.

3. OFFICERS.

The Officers of the Competition shall be President, Vice Presidents, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary/Treasurer, Registration Secretary and Referees Secretary to be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. The Auditors who are not Officers to be appointed by the Management Committee.

4. MANAGEMENT, NOMINATION, ELECTION.

(A) The Competition shall be governed in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Football Association by a Management Committee comprised of the Officers and Seven members to be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting by the Member Clubs and Life Members.

(B) Retiring Officers shall be eligible to become candidates for re-election without nomination. All other candidates for election as Officers or Members of the Management Committee shall be nominated to the Secretary in writing, signed by the Secretaries of Clubs two Member Clubs, not later than 14th May in each year. Names of the candidates for election shall be circulated with the notice of the Annual General Meeting. In the event of there being no nomination in accordance with the foregoing for any office, nominations may be received at the Annual General Meeting.

On receiving a requisition signed by two thirds of the members of the Management Committee the Secretary shall convene a special meeting of the Committee.

(D) Except where otherwise mentioned all communications shall be addressed to the Secretary who shall conduct the correspondence of the Competition and keep a record of its proceedings.

(E) All communications received from Clubs must be conducted through their nominated Officers.

5. POWERS OF MANAGEMENT.

(A) The Management Committee may appoint such other sub- committees as they may consider necessary and may delegate such of their powers as they deem necessary to such committees. The decision of such committees shall be reported to the Management Committee for ratification.

(B) Subject to the permission of the Durham County Football Association having been obtained the Management Committee may order a match or matches to be played each season, the proceeds to be devoted to the funds of the Competition and, if necessary, may call upon each Club ( including any Club which may have withdrawn during the season) to contribute equally such sums as may be necessary to meet any deficiency at the end of the season.

(C) Each Member of the Management Committee shall have the right to attend and vote at all Management Committee Meetings and have one vote thereat, but no Member shall be allowed to vote on any matters directly appertaining to such Member or to the Club so represented. (This shall apply to the procedure of any sub-committee.)

In the event of the voting being equal on any matter, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

(D) The Management Committee shall have the powers to apply, act upon and enforce the Rules of the Competition and shall also have jurisdiction over all matters affecting the Competition, including any not provided for in the Rules. Except where

these Rules provide for the imposition of a set penalty any Club, Official or Player alleged to be in breach of a Competition Rule must be formally charged in writing and given the opportunity to present their case before the Management Committee. All breaches of the Laws of the Game, Rules and Regulations of the Football Association shall be dealt with in accordance with F. A. Rules.

(E) All decisions of the Management Committee shall be binding subject to the right of appeal to the Board of Appeal in accordance with Rule 16.

Decisions of the Management Committee must be notified in writing to those concerned within SEVEN days.

(F) Five Members of the Management Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business of the Management Committee and Three Members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business by any sub-committee of the Management Committee.

(G) The Management Committee, as it may deem necessary, shall have the power to fill in an acting capacity, any vacancies that may occur amongst their number.

(H) A Club having failed to comply with an order or instruction of the Management Committee, or failing to satisfactorily attend to the business and/or the correspondence of the Competition, shall be liable to be fined or otherwise penalised at the discretion of the Management Committee.

(I) All fines and charges shall be paid within 14 days of the date of posting of the written notification.

Clubs, Officials or Individuals committing a breach of this Rule will incur such penalties as the Management Committee may impose.

(J) The Management Committee shall have the power to fill any vacancy that may occur in the membership of the Competition between the Annual General or Special General Meeting called to decide the constitution and the commencement of the Competition season.

(K) Any Club not represented at a Management Committee Meeting when instructed in writing to do so, by either their Secretary and/or Chairman, or any person instructed to attend a meeting of the Management Committee, and failing to do so without reasonable excuse shall be fined the sum of £50.00 in addition to any fines imposed. In the event of any Club or Person failing to attend a meeting of the Management Committee, the Committee shall have the power to deal with the matter in his/her absence.

6. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

(A) The Annual General Meeting shall be held not later than the 30th June in each year. At this meeting the following business shall be transacted provided that at least Ten members are present and entitled to vote.

(i) To receive and confirm the Minutes of the proceeding Annual General Meeting.

(ii) To consider any business arising there from.

(iii) To receive and adopt the Annual Report, Balance Sheet and Statement of Accounts.

(iv) Election of Clubs to fill vacancies.(as recommended by the Management Committee.)

(v) Constitution of the Competition for the ensuing season.

(vi) Election of Officers and Management Committee.

(vii) Alteration of Rules, if any (of which notice has been given).

(viii) Fix the date for the commencement and conclusion of the playing season.

(ix) Carry out the draw for internal cup competition/s.

(x) Other business of which due notice shall have been given and accepted as being relevant to an Annual General Meeting.

(B) A copy of the duly audited Balance Sheet, Statement of Accounts and Agenda shall be forwarded to each Club at least fourteen days prior to the meeting, and to the Durham County Football Association.

(C) A signed copy of the duly audited Balance Sheet and Statement of Accounts shall be sent to the Durham County Football Association within fourteen days of its adoption by the Annual General Meeting.

(D) Each Full Member Club shall be empowered to send two delegates to an Annual General Meeting. Each Club shall be entitled to one vote only. Not less than seven days notice shall be given of any meeting.

(E) Clubs who have withdrawn their membership of the Competition during the season being concluded or who are not continuing Membership shall be entitled to attend but shall vote only on matters relating to the season being concluded.

(F) All voting shall be conducted by a show of voting cards unless a ballot be demanded by at least two thirds of the delegates qualified to vote or the Chairman so decides.

(G) No individual shall be entitled to vote on behalf of more than one Full Member Club.

(H) Any continuing Member Club failing to be represented at the Annual General Meeting without satisfactory reason being given shall be fined £50.00.

(I) Officers shall be entitled to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting.

7. AGREEMENT TO BE SIGNED.

The Chairman and Secretary of each Club shall complete and sign the following agreement which shall be deposited with the Competition together with the Application for Membership for the coming season, or upon indicating that the Club intends to compete.

“ We .......................................of...................................Chairman and

................................................of....................................Secretary of the

...........................................................Football Club have been provided with a copy of the Rules and Regulations of the Wearside Football League and its Associated Cup Competitions and do hereby agree for and on behalf of the said Club to, if accepted into Membership, to conform to these Rules and Regulations and to accept, abide by and implement the decisions of the Management Committee of the Competition/s, subject to the right of appeal in accordance with Rule 16.

Any alteration of the Chairman and/or Secretary on the above Agreement must be notified to the County Football Association to which the Club is affiliated and to the Secretary of the Competition.

8. QUALIFICATION OF PLAYERS.

(A) Contract players, as defined in Football Association Rules are permitted in this Competition.

(B) A registered playing member of a Club is one who, being in all other respects eligible has:-(1) 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 and whose completed registration has been received by the Club prior to playing.

(2) Signed a fully and correctly completed Competition registration form in ink on a match day prior to playing, countersigned by an Officer of the Club and shall be witnessed by an Officer of the Opposing Club, This registration form shall be submitted to the Registration Secretary within

THREE days ( Sundays excluded) subsequent to the match.

(C) Premiership, Football League and Conference Clubs with Reserve and/or “A” Sides shall be allowed to enter the Competition and then only with the approval of the Management Committee.

Any Club so accepted for membership shall submit the names of their best TWELVE players for the first team on the first day of each month for approval by the Management Committee. None of these named players shall be eligible to play for the reserve and/or “A” side in any fixture associated with the Competition during that month.

(D) A player having taken part in matches for any Club affiliated to any County Football Association shall not be allowed to join, be transferred to, or sign for a Club in the Competition without first proving to the officials of the intended Club that the player has discharged all reasonable financial liabilities to the previous Club or Clubs, and a Club official may not accept such player’s signature without first ascertaining whether such claims have been discharged to the satisfaction of the Club, or Clubs, for which the player last played.

(E) A fee of £ 1.00 shall be paid for each player registered.

Registration forms shall be obtained from the Registration Secretary.

(F) 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 Registration Secretary shall notify the Club last applying to register the player of the fact of the previous registration.

(G) It shall be deemed misconduct 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 in the Competition, sign for another Club in the Competition in that season except for the purpose of a transfer.

(H) (i) The Management Committee shall have the power to accept the registration of any player. The Management shall have the 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 the 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 )

(I) 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 Registration Secretary accompanied by a fee of £2.00. ( Where a Club requests that a Second Transfer be considered as a matter of urgency, i.e. other than at the normal scheduled monthly meeting of the Committee, on written application accompanied by a fee of £ 10.00 the League Secretary shall arrange for the matter to be dealt with by special consideration of the Management Committee).

Transfers shall be referred by the Registration Secretary to the Club for which the player is registered 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 Registration 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. In the event of an objection to a transfer the matter shall be referred to the Management Committee for a decision.

(J) A player may not be registered for a Club nor transferred to another Club in the Competition after 31st March in any season.

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

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

(M) (i) Any team playing an unregistered or otherwise ineligible player or players shall have the points gained in the match deducted from its total.

(ii) In addition the team shall have three points deducted from its total and shall be fined an amount to be decided by the Management Committee.

(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.

(N) Any player who has played for a Wearside League Club in a League game or League Cup tie in the current season and is registered with that club after the 31^st March, will be automatically registered with that club for the forthcoming season. Each Club Secretary will be supplied with a list of players with his Club as at the 31^st March. This form shall be returned to the Registration Secretary on or before 21^st May, indicating the players who are remaining with the Club for the forthcoming season and indicating any changes in circumstances.

A player registered under this Rule may during the MONTH OF JUNE each season write to the League Secretary requesting that his registration with his Club be cancelled. The Secretary on receipt of said application shall confirm to the player and the Club concerned of the cancellation of the registration.

9. CLUB COLOURS, CLUB NAME.

(A) Every Club must register its first and second choice of colours with the League Secretary before the 15th June in each season. Clubs failing to comply with this Rule to be fined the sum of £ 20.00.

Goalkeepers must wear colours which distinguish them from other players and the referee.

No Player, including the goalkeeper, shall be permitted to wear black or very dark shirts.

Any team not being able to play in its normal colours as registered with the Competition shall notify the colours in which they will play to its opponents at least Seven days before the match.

If, in the opinion of the referee , two Clubs have the same or similar colours, the away team shall make the change. Any team not having a change of colours or delaying the kick-off by not having a change shall be fined the sum of £ 25.00. Shirts shall be numbered 2 - 11 with the substitutes numbered 12 - 17 except when the substitute is a goalkeeper.

(B) Any Club wishing to change its name and/or colours must seek permission from its affiliated County Association and from the Management Committee.

10. PLAYING SEASON.

TIMES OF KICK OFF, POSTPONEMENTS, SUBSTITUTES.

(A) The Annual General Meeting shall determine the commencing and concluding dates for the ensuring 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 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 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 two captains in consultation with the referee prior to the commencement of the match, and in any event shall be of two equal halves.

The times of kick-off shall be fixed by the Management Committee. Any Club failing to commence at the appointed time shall be fined a sum not exceeding £ 50.00 or be otherwise dealt with as the Management Committee may decide.

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 and the playing area must have a fixed touchline barrier.

(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 League Secretary.

(D) The Secretary of the home club must give notice in writing of full particulars of the location of, and access to, the ground and time of kick-off to the Secretary of the opposing Club and the Match Officials at least FIVE clear days prior to the playing of the match.

Any Club failing to comply with this Rule shall be liable to a fine of £20.00.

(E) Every Club shall play its best available qualified team in all matches in the Competition. Clubs failing to comply with this Rule shall be charged with bringing the League into disrepute.

In the event of a team playing in a match with less than ELEVEN players they shall be fined £ 10.00 for each missing player. A minimum of SEVEN 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 inflict a minimum fine of £ 150.00, and deduct 3 points from the defaulting Club, and shall have the power to award the points to the opponents, order the defaulting Club to pay any expenses incurred by the opponents or otherwise deal with them except the award of goals.

Notice of postponement of any match must be given without delay ( by the given 48 hours prior to the match by the Club) to the League Secretary, Referees Appointment 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 agreed by the Management Committee.

The Management Committee shall review all abandoned matches and in cases 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 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 :

Three substitutes in any match in this Competition who may be selected from Five players.

The referee shall be informed, in his dressing room, of the names of the substitutes, not later than FIFTEEN 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 the Competition.

(H) The half time interval shall be of FIFTEEN minutes duration, excepting for bad light when the half time interval may be altered with the consent of the referee.

11. REPORTING RESULTS.

(A) The Registration Secretary must receive within 72 hours (Sundays not included) of the date played, the result of each Competition match in the prescribed manner. This must include the forename(s) and surname of the team players (in block letters), the details of substitutes whether used or not, and also the Referee markings required by Rule13, and any other information required by the Competition. Failure to do so will incur a fine of £ 20.00 plus a further £ 5.00 for each additional day of late receipt and/or the Club being dealt with as the Management Committee decide.

(B) The Home Club shall telephone the result of each match, along with details of all goalscorers to the League Secretary within 30 minutes of the conclusion of the match or be fined a sum of £ 20.00.