FIFE FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE CONSTITUTION & RULES

Transcription

1 FIFE FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE CONSTITUTION & RULES 1. NAME The Association shall be called the Fife Football Development League. The Association shall be affiliated to the Scottish Youth Football Association. 2. AIMS, OBJECTIVES & RESPONSIBILITIES To promote development football, through the playing of a modified game as detailed within these rules, in an environment that fosters fair play and participation for all, irrespective of race, colour or religion and shall encourage co-operation, respect for others, loyalty, acceptance of rules and decisions, personal responsibility, self-discipline and the need for teamwork. The League shall endeavor to promote these values and will work closely with any other allied professions or agencies that have similar aims. It is the responsibility of all members of the Fife Football Development League to promote the objectives of the League within their own clubs. Any observed breaches of the Spirit of the game should, in the first instance, be brought to the attention of the appropriate member of the League. Subsequent breaches should then be reported to the Football Development Department, the SYFA, and where necessary the SFA. 3. MEMBERSHIP Subject to the approval of the League Committee, Membership shall be open to all interested parties who wish to participate in the promotion of the game of association football and uphold the objectives of the Fife Football Development League. All members must be a full member of the SYFA. The main criteria for membership is a willingness to uphold the spirit of the game and develop the potential of every young player involved. This requires every member team to complete and comply with the SFA Code of Conduct form and procedures. These forms only require to be completed once when gaining entry to the FFDL. The League seeks to attract coaches who have players best interests at heart and who are committed to the objectives of the Fife Football Development League It is a requirement that all coaches complete up to level 3 of the youth structure within the first three years of being involved in the Development League Structure. Any new Club or Coach will be required to commence these courses as soon as membership is accepted and must complete such courses within the same time period. The League Committee has the power to review and amend the requirements of coaches, officials and member clubs at any time. In an effort to ensure to ensure the safety and well-being of children, the League reserves the right to vet all prospective coaches and officials. The vetting procedure, instigated to establish that leaders are of sound moral character, will probably involve with social services and/or the police. It will usually take the form of a Disclosure Scotland check, All Teams in membership must fully comply with SYFA Disclosure requirements for all their Registered Officials and Parent Helpers. All Teams in membership must fully comply with SYFA requirements for coaching and first aid certification. All Teams in membership must fully comply with SYFA requirements for Insurance cover. All Teams in membership must fully comply with SYFA requirements with respect to Player and Official Registrations 4. RULES & GUIDELINES SCOTTISH FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION The essence of the Scottish Football Development Association is the promotion of development football. However, except as otherwise provided within these rules, the Laws of the Game as stated by FIFA and the International FA Board shall apply. Subject to the modifications detailed in the League s Rules and Guidelines. 5. LEAGUE MANAGEMENT

2 5.1 The appointed Committee of the Fife Football Development League shall have the power to deal with all matters affecting the administration, development and general well being of the League. 5.2 Local Committee meetings shall be held for the League, or specific age groups, shall be held once a month or as necessary. The League Secretary or Chairman shall have the authority to convene meetings as required. Failure by a Club to attend a League Meeting will result in an automatic fine of Failure by a Club to attend three League Meetings in a season may result in suspension from the League 5.3 An Annual General Meeting shall be held to update members and to monitor progress. At this meeting, alterations and amendments to the Constitution and Rules can be considered. Proposals for such amendments must be made, in writing, to the Secretary of the Development League, no later than 4 weeks in advance of the date of the Annual General Meeting. 5.4 The Office Bearers of the League shall consist of the Committee of Chairperson, Vice- Chairperson, League Secretary, Fixtures Secretary and Treasurer. If necessary, the League may appoint a Fixtures Secretary for each age group. It is not necessary for any Office Bearers to be Neutral. Any or all of the Office Bearers can be connected to a member team or club. 5.5 The local SFA Youth Football Development Officer and his/her nominated deputy, shall operate in an advisory capacity to the League and shall be permitted to attend any meetings. 5.5 If any Office Bearer should relinquish their post during the season, the remaining Office Bearers have the power to co-opt an individual onto that position. 5.6 The Committee shall have full power to suspend, fine, expel or deal with as they see fit, any Player, Club, or Club Official, guilty of breach of rules. 5.7 Registration matters will not be dealt with at League level, but will be passed to the National Association with a copy retained by the League for future reference. 5.8 In the absence of any rule not providing for any contingency that might arise, the Committee shall have the power to determine and give judgement 6. FINANCE 6.1 The annual subscription to the League shall be decided by the Committee at the start of each season and must be paid in full by the 1 st November in the current season. 6.2 All accounts shall be passed to the Committee prior to payment and all cheques shall bear 2 signatures. Any of the Office Bearers may be nominated as an authorized signatory. 6.3 The Treasurer shall effect all money transactions and shall make a financial statement at each League Meeting 6.4 The Treasurer shall make the League Bankbook and all Accounts available for inspection at each League Meeting. 6.5 The Treasurer shall produce a written statement of the audited accounts for the Annual General Meeting and from time to time as required by the League Committee. 6.6 In the event of a new Treasurer being appointed before the date of the Annual General Meeting, the books must be audited and approved before being handed over to the Auditors. 6.7 An independent auditor shall be appointed at the Annual General Meeting. 7. FIXUTRES 7.1 The Fixtures Secretary shall have the full jurisdiction on all matters concerning fixtures. 7.2 The Fixtures Secretary shall have the power to arrange all fixtures, midweek included, and all clubs must adhere to the same. 7.3 The only persons who have the power to postpone a fixture on match days due to the condition of the pitch are the Referee, the Local Authority or a Private Landowner. The Referee has the power to postpone the match due to inclement weather. 7.4 The League Committee shall decide on the format of all Matches, Leagues and Cup Competitions. The League format cannot be altered after the commencement of the season. 7.5 Both clubs shall hand to the Referee, prior to the start of each game, 2 Teamsheets one showing the detailed information below for the referee and a summary one for the opposing team coach that excludes the players address and post code. Team age group year shown in the format 1997 Fixture Date and Venue of Fixture List of Players Full Names and Addresses, Post Codes, Date & SYFA Player ID number Name and Address of League Secretary and/or Disciplinary Secretary Address for Teamsheet submission (Disciplinary Secretary) Numbers, corresponding to the numbers worn by each player S next to Substitute T next to Trialists SSP next to players serving a match suspension. (There is no need to list players serving a dated suspension)

3 Name and signature of the team Secretary. Name of all Team Officials 7.6 Failure to comply with the teamsheet requirements as detailed in Rule 7.5 will result in an automatic fine of for each instance of non-compliance. 7.7 Referee Appointments shall be made by the SFA Fife Referees Association appointed Official. 7.8 All clubs must receive advance permission from the Fixtures Secretary to play in any friendly fixture not listed on an official league fixture list. All clubs must apply for and obtain a permit for any friendly match. SYFA permit rules must be complied with in full. 7.9 All clubs must receive advance permission from the League Committee to participate in any tournament. Permission must be obtained through the League Chairman, who in conjunction with the League Committee shall determine if such participation falls within the objectives of the League s ethos. In addition, all clubs who receive permission from the League clubs must apply for and obtain a permit from the SYFA for this participation All scheduled fixtures allocated and communicated by the fixture secretary during the season must be played unless called off for a reason under section 7.3. Any team failing to fulfill a fixture will automatically lose the points, or the cup tie, if it is a cup competition. No team will be forced to play during the recognized Fife school holidays in October, December and March. 8. DISCIPLINE The basis of all discipline within the League shall be founded upon the principles of selfregulation. Inherent to the success of the league is the philosophy that the game is played for the intrinsic pleasure it can bring to young players Monitoring Forms In an effort to protect this philosophy and to maintain the highest possible standards a form of monitoring process shall be carried out on a weekly basis. The focus of the monitoring process will be centered largely on the spirit in which the standards are reported. Both teams in any given fixture plus the match Referee shall complete monitoring forms. Any team failing to comply with the monitoring form procedure will incur an automatic penalty of Ineligible Player Any team listing an ineligible player on their team sheet in a league or cup competition will automatically lose any points gained, or be removed from the cup competition. An ineligible player is deemed to be as follows: Playing a trialist in a cup tie Playing more than 4 trialists in the same match Playing an unregistered player for a fifth time Playing a player under an assumed name Playing an over age player Playing a player whilst under suspension Playing a player currently registered for any other SYFA member club Playing a player currently registered on a non-recreational contract with the SFA Playing a player currently registered on a non-recreational registration youth with the SFA Disputes Members in dispute over any incident on or off the field of play shall endeavor to reach a mutually agreeable outcome embracing the spirit of fair play where possible. Only if this cannot be achieved or the incident is repeated, shall the matter be reported to the League Secretary who has the power to take such action as is necessary to resolve the Dispute. League Responsibility The League Secretary is empowered to question further and, if necessary, cite any Player, Official or Club to a League Meeting for individual or repeated instances of misconduct or reported incidents under the Monitoring Form Scheme. The League shall have full power to suspend, fine, expel or deal with as they see fit, any Player, Club, or Club Official, guilty of either misconduct or breach of rules Disciplinary Committee The Disciplinary Committee shall consist of the League Committee, i.e. Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, League Secretary, Fixtures Secretary, Treasurer and one member per age group nominated by the League Committee. The League Committee shall have the authority to co-opt any registered official from the League to take the place of any member, not available to attend a Disciplinary Meeting, on a temporary basis. Field Offences and Misconduct Reports - All Field Offence Reports and Misconduct Reports must be submitted by the Referee to the League Secretary Where the Referee has submitted to the League, Misconduct Reports in the form of either Cautions (Yellow Cards) Sending-Off (Red Cards) and Reports for a Club, Official or Player

4 all such cases will be dealt with in accordance with SYFA procedures and cases heard under the process of Natural Justice These procedures will apply not just to reports by match officials relating to incidents and/or acts of misconduct occurring at a match but also to investigations of such incidents and acts which may be considered liable to bring the League and/or the Scottish Youth FA into disrepute The following principles will be applied in relation to the penalties imposed for misconduct at matches: - (A) Standard Offences: - Suspensions for a number of matches (Match Suspensions) will be imposed based on the Association s Fixed Penalty Guidelines detailed in Appendix 1. These suspensions will apply until such times as a player s team has completed the requisite number of matches played in competitions or otherwise which are scheduled by the relevant National, Regional, Association or League Secretary. For all offences misconduct report forms will be forwarded by the relevant match official(s) in the first instance to the league or association, which shall be determined by the competition, in order that the appropriate suspension may be determined. Match Suspensions cover all competitive games played by the club but do not include trial matches, friendly matches, tournaments, regional or national trial matches or schools football. Matches included under this suspension must be fixtures issued by either league, regional or national match secretaries. A match which is abandoned does not count as a completed match in terms of a player serving a suspension. All Leagues and associations must keep records of match suspensions for accumulation purposes only. Refer to Appendix 1. (B) Serious Offences: - Suspensions for a period of time (Dated Suspensions) will be imposed based on the Association s Guidelines for Serious Offences detailed in Appendix 2. These suspensions will be forwarded to the Scottish Football Association for confirmation to all football. For all offences misconduct report forms will be forwarded by the relevant match official(s) in the first instance to the appropriate league or association, which shall be determined by the competition, in order that the appropriate suspension may be determined. A report of all suspensions for a period of time (Dated Suspensions) will be made to the National Secretary of the Scottish Youth Football Association. The National Secretary will then refer all dated suspensions to the S. F.A. for confirmation and effect to all football. Dated Suspensions imposed are from all football including trial matches, friendly matches, tournaments, regional or national trial matches or schools football Serving of Suspensions: - The Disciplinary Committee that imposes a match suspension will also confirm to the player and the player s registered club the details of any suspension which it has imposed on the player. Any match suspension, or part thereof, which remains outstanding at the end of a season, or any extension of the season must be served at the commencement of the following season. All match suspensions will commence on the earlier of: (a) the Friday, which is at least 7 days after the date of the postmark on the written notification of the suspension to the player or official and their club or (b) at the completion of any current suspension. For disciplinary meetings that are held in either May or June any match or dated suspension imposed will commence on the last Friday in August of the following season. The exception being matches played in a summer league or association, where for disciplinary meetings that are held in September, any match or dated suspension imposed will commence on the last Friday in March of the following season. The Disciplinary Committee that imposes a dated suspension will also confirm to the player or official and their registered club the details of any suspension which it has imposed on the player or official. All dated suspensions will commence on the Friday, which is at least 7 days after the date of the postmark on the written notification of the suspension to the player or official and their club. All dated suspensions will have a start and a finish date. A player or official given a dated suspension shall be eligible to participate on the last date quoted in their period of suspension

5 Appeal against a caution: - A player cautioned has the right of appeal to the relevant committee of their league or association, which shall be determined by the competition. Any appeal against a caution must be lodged with the relevant secretary not later than 5pm on the third day after the day of the match (i.e. excluding the match day itself) and also excluding Sundays from the reckoning. An appeal to the SYFA must be accompanied by a deposit of 20 inclusive of Value Added Tax. Any cheque being made payable to the relevant league or association. The grounds of the appeal must be specifically set out in detail in the letter of appeal. If an appeal is not lodged by 5pm on the relevant date, the player will be considered to have accepted the report and shall not be entitled to appeal against a suspension imposed in respect of accumulated cautions on the grounds that any of the cautions was incorrectly issued. Any appeal will be heard in accordance with the guidelines for appeal procedures and the deposit may be forfeited by the player if the Committee hearing the appeal so decides in their absolute discretion. APPENDIX 1 FIXED PENALTY GUIDELINES FOR STANDARD OFFENCES Code Offence Suspension A1 Serious Foul Play 3 Games A2 Violent Conduct Adopting a threatening or aggressive attitude Punching an opponent / attempting to punch Kicking an opponent / attempting to kick Pushing an opponent Striking an opponent / attempting to strike 3 Games 4 Games 4 Games 3 Games 4 Games A4 Denies a goal or goal scoring opportunity 1 Game by deliberately handling the ball A5 Denies a goal or goal scoring opportunity 1 Game to an opponent moving towards the player s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or penalty kick A6 Offensive, insulting or abusive language 2 Games A7 Receiving a second caution in the same match 1 Game Note: Any player who has accumulated suspensions of 10 or more games in the current season will not be offered the option of the Fixed Penalty Suspensions but will be called before the relevant committee for any subsequent referee reports. Please Note: In addition to the above guidelines the secretaries of local leagues/associations will record single cautions incurred by players during matches. A player will be subject to the application of the following suspensions for every set of four cautions accumulated during the course of the playing season. The record will be maintained on a seasonal basis only. Cautions for one playing season will not be carried forward to the next season. Accumulation of cautions: First 4 cautions 2 Games second 4 cautions 4 Games third 4 cautions 6 Games APPENDIX 2 GUIDELINES FOR SERIOUS OFFENCES

6 Introduction Although these guidelines should be applied where applicable it should be appreciated that they are guidelines and cases of indiscipline should be dealt with through the discretion of the committee considering a particular case. In cases of a serious nature where Associations or Leagues choose not to implement the guidelines they must include a letter of explanation containing the reasons why they have reached their decision, with their suspension sheets. Please note that when submitting dated suspensions it is necessary to include a copy of the referee s report relevant to the suspension and that the nature of the offence violent conduct must be detailed to indicate punching or kicking opponent etc. Should you require any further advice or information on the Guidelines for Serious Offences or the submission of suspension sheets please contact the National Secretary, Hampden Park, Glasgow, G42 9BF Tel Fax Code SO1 SO2 SO3 SO4 SO5 SO6 SO7 Offence Players Referee assault Must be a date suspension with a maximum suspension of 2 years Must be a date suspension with a maximum suspension of 5 years Physically threatening the referee attempting to lay hands on the referee Maximum suspension 1 year Verbally threatening the referee Maximum suspension 2 months Maximum suspension 4 months Physical assault on club officials Maximum suspension 1 Year Serious violent conduct e.g. when a player is seriously injured, can take no further part in the game and requires specialist / medical treatment Maximum suspension 1 year Headbutting Committees should use their discretion after considering all evidence in such cases as Attempted Headbutting or Head to Head confrontation or Eyeball to Eyeball stance Maximum suspension 12 months Spitting Spitting on or at a referee to be considered as referee assault, refer to S01 In all other cases involving a player Maximum suspension 12 months

7 SO8 SO9 SO10 Deliberately playing while under suspension, using an assumed name Maximum suspension 12 months Deliberately playing or participating while under suspension Maximum suspension 3 months Deliberately and knowingly playing as an overage player Maximum suspension 12 months Maximum suspension 18 months All players who are suspended may make application in writing to the National Secretary to have the remainder of their suspension reviewed. This will only be considered after serving two thirds of their suspension. All applications must clearly state their reasons for having the suspension reviewed and must be accompanied by a non-returnable administration fee of inclusive of VAT. Code SO20 SO21 SO22 SO23 SO24 SO25 SO26 SO27 SO28 S029 Offence Officials Referee assault Must be a dated suspension with a maximum suspension of 10 years Physically threatening the referee attempting to lay hands on the referee Verbally threatening the referee Physical assault on any official Maximum suspension 5 Years Spitting Spitting on or at a referee to be considered as referee assault, refer to S020 In all other cases involving an official Deliberately and knowingly playing a player under an assumed name Maximum sentence expulsion from membership of the Association Deliberately and knowingly playing a suspended player Deliberately participating while under suspension Deliberately and knowingly playing overage player/s Maximum sentence expulsion from membership of the Association Physical assault on a player by an adult Physical assault on a player up to and including 17 level For breach of the Player Protection Policy of the Association the Official will be expelled from membership and will be reported to the Disqualified from working with children list Physical assault on a player at 19 & 21 level Maximum sentence expulsion from membership of the Association All officials who are suspended may make application in writing to the National Secretary to have the remainder of their suspension reviewed. This will only be considered after serving two thirds of their

8 suspension. All applications must clearly state their reasons for having the suspension reviewed and must be accompanied by a non-returnable administration fee of inclusive of VAT. All officials who are expelled from membership may make application in writing to the National Secretary after a period of 5 years to have their expulsion reviewed. All applications must clearly state their reasons for having the suspension reviewed and must be accompanied by a non-returnable administration fee of inclusive of VAT. 9. APPEALS Clubs, Players or Officials wishing to appeal against a decision reached by the League on any matter, have the right of appeal to the Scottish Youth Football Association. Appeals must be lodged within 7 (Seven) days of receiving the decision in writing. All appeals must include the appropriate fee and must be sent recorded or registered post. A verbatim copy of the appeal must be sent to the League Secretary by recorded or registered post. SYFA procedures for appeal must be adhered to and it is the responsibility of the appellant to ensure all procedures are complied with 9.4 The following has been taken from the Constitution and Rules of the SYFA for your information: - Appeals (Rule 83) A club, player or club representative may appeal to the Appeals Committee against the decision of a league, association, club, Executive, General Purposes or Regional Executive Committee affecting such club, player or club representative. Such appeals shall be dispatched to the National Secretary by recorded or registered delivery and in duplicate within seven days of receipt of written notice of the decision of the league, association or club concerned. A deposit shall be lodged with each appeal. In the case of a player this shall be 30, and in the case of any other appellant it shall be This deposit may be forfeited if the Appeals Committee so decides. The grounds of appeal must be specifically stated and if the Appeals Committee considers the appeal frivolous or trivial, the appellant may be liable to a financial levy the scale of which shall be fixed annually by the Appeals Committee. The decision against which any appeal is made will only be set aside when the appeal is received by the National Secretary and found to be in order and confirmation of such from the National Secretary is received in writing by the parties concerned. Appeals, which relate to any matter affecting the result of a cup-tie or which would interrupt the playing of a competition shall not be entertained as per the Articles of Association of the Scottish Football Association 10. PROTESTS & CLAIMS All protests or claims arising out of fixtures arranged by the League or Fixtures Secretary should be lodged in writing by registered or recorded post, within 4 days (Four) excluding Sunday, of the fixture with the Secretary of the League. A verbatim copy of the appeal must be sent to the other party involved also by registered or recorded post. A protest fee of (Ten Pounds) must be included, which will be returned if the protest or claim is successful Protests and claims will be considered within the guidelines of the Scottish Youth Football Association 11. SOCIAL EDUCATION Intrinsic to the aim of the association is the education of young people in a generic sense, not simply in the realm of football. Club Leaders, Coaches and Officials should be acutely aware of the positive influence they can exert on young lives with regard to important issues such as drug abuse, personal hygiene, diet, relationships with others, and the importance of co-operation. The vital contribution is inherent to the rationale for establishing this League. 12. OBLIGATION BY CLUBS & PLAYERS TO ATTEND FORMAL TRAINING COURSES Coaches and Players are obliged to participate in any education and training programmes organized by the Scottish Football Association Football Development Department. It is the requirement of all coaches to have reached Level 3 (or otherwise amended) of the Youth Pathway as previously stated in Rule 3.5.