PAGE 1 OF 11 The FA National Youth Futsal Festival Competition Regulations 2014 ORGANISERS 1. Event Technical Committee Chairman: Simon Walker (The FA) Members: Stephen Brown (Festival Director) and Dave Henson (FA Small Sided Football Committee) 2. Local Organising Association: The Football Association Chairman: Greg Dyke Address: The FA, Wembley Stadium, PO Box 1966, London, SW1P 9EQ Telephone: 0044 844 980 8200 Fax: 0044 844 980 0682 Internet: www.thefa.com
PAGE 2 OF 11 CONTENTS Regulations FA National Youth Futsal Festival 2014 Item Page Preamble 4 1 Title The FA National Youth Futsal Festival 4 2. Entries for the competition 4 3. Organisation of the festival 5 4. Withdrawal, penalty for failing to play and replacement 5 5. Event Technical Committee 6 6. Disciplinary matters 6-7 7. Matches played in accordance with the FIFA Laws of the 8 Game 8. Responsibilities of the Organising Association and the participants 8-9 9. Eligibility of players 9-10 10. Regulations governing sports equipment at the competition 10 11. Referees and match officials 10-11 12. Technical rules for the festival 11 13. Financial provisions 12 14. Compliance with decisions taken by governing bodies 12 15. Miscellaneous 12
PAGE 3 OF 11 PREAMBLE 1. The festival consists of: o Local festivals / Leagues o Regional festivals o The national festival 2. The Football Association of England (hereinafter referred to as the Local Organising Association ) are the host of the FA National Youth Futsal Festival 2014. 3. Any rights that are not ceded by these regulations to the Organising Association or any participating club shall belong to The Football Association. 1. TITLE THE FA NATIONAL YOUTH FUTSAL FESTIVAL 2014 Article 1 1. The winning male and female teams at each of the U10, U12, U14 and U16 age groups will be presented with a trophy which may be kept by the winning team. 2. 12 medals will be presented to the winners of each of the U10, U12, U14 and U16 age groups 3. Each participant shall receive a participation medal. 2. ENTRIES FOR THE COMPETITION Article 2 1 Teams must qualify for the national festival via regional festivals. 2. All categories are open to bona fide FA affiliated clubs and ESFA affiliated school teams only. 3. Academy, centre of excellence or representative sides of any nature will not be permitted to play. 4. All competing teams must be affiliated to their local County Football Association or in the case of school teams their local English Schools Football Association and must supply a CFA/ESFA affiliation number upon request. 5. The National Festival consists of separate male and female competitions in the U10, U12, U14 and U16 age categories each consisting of a maximum of 10 teams 6. Entry into the National Festival is free of charge. Article 3 (The National Festival) 1. Teams who qualify to take part in the national festival shall confirm their participation by sending the official team pro forma A, duly completed, to the LOC by the deadline set by the LOC. 2. Pro forma s sent by fax shall be confirmed by sending the official pro forma A by post or e mail to the LOC. 3. On entering the festival, the participating teams shall automatically undertake: a. To observe these regulations and to ensure that the members of its delegation and its players also observe these regulations and the principles of fair play; b. To accept the decisions passed by the bodies and officials of The FA under the terms of these regulations; c. To accept all the arrangements made by The FA.
PAGE 4 OF 11 3. ORGANISATION OF THE NATIONAL FESTIVAL Article 4 1. The Football Association is responsible for organising, hosting and staging the National Festival. It will set up a Local Organising Committee (hereinafter referred to as the LOC ) as an internal division. 2. All teams must register with the Festival Director at the time specified by the LOC, at the venue on the day of competition. 3. Teams are to make their own way to and from the venue. 4. It is the responsibility of the team and the team s management to ensure that the team is at pitch side 5 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of each of their games. 5. Any team that is not at the pitch 5 minutes prior to their scheduled game s start time will forfeit that game and the opponents awarded the points in accordance with article 6. 6. A maximum of 12 players may be registered for the festival all of whom will be eligible to participate in each fixture. 7. The LOC and its technical committee will not be held responsible for any travel issues. Article 5 (Venues, dates and kick-off times) 1. All U10 and U12 games will take place at the Birmingham @ Futsal Arena, on Saturday 28 June whilst all U14 and U16 games will take place on Sunday 29 th June 2. Kick-off times and pitch allocation of all matches shall be agreed by the LOC. 3. All festival pitches will comply with the Laws of the Game for Futsal; the pitches shall be 30 metres long and 20 metres wide. 4. All matches will be played on a high technology cushioned sport flooring surface. 5. The Futsal balls used shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Laws of the Game for Futsal and shall be approved by FIFA. 6. All matches shall kick off on the allocated pitch at the scheduled time, other than in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Event Technical Committee. 4. WITHDRAWAL, PENALTY FOR FAILING TO PLAY AND REPLACEMENT Article 6 1. The participating teams undertake to play all of their matches until eliminated and or all of their scheduled matches are concluded. 2. If a team refuses to play, it may be disqualified, unless Article 26 of these regulations applies. 3. Depending on circumstances and the decision of the Event Technical Committee, any team that withdraws once the national festival has commenced or if through the fault of any participating team a match cannot take place or be played in its entirety the Event Technical Committee shall declare that the match be forfeited (awarded victory and resultant three points to the opposing team as well as a score of 3 0, or greater, depending on the score in the match at the time of the abandonment) and may also exclude the team concerned from the festival. The team concerned may also be ordered to reimburse the LOC for any expenses already incurred as a result of its involvement in the festival, and may also be obliged to pay compensation for any damages or losses incurred.
PAGE 5 OF 11 4. The Event Technical Committee shall take whatever action is deemed necessary in the case of force majeure. 5. EVENT TECHNICAL COMMITTEE Article 7 1. The Event Technical Committee appointed by the LOC is responsible for organising the Festival in accordance with The FA statutes. 2. The Event Technical Committee may, if necessary, appoint a bureau and/or a subcommittee to deal with emergencies. Any decision taken by the bureau or subcommittee shall come into effect immediately, but shall be subject to confirmation by the plenary committee at its next meeting. 3. The Event Technical Committee shall draw up the regulations for the Festival 4. The responsibilities of the Event Technical Committee include: a. Supervising general preparations, deciding on the match system, the draw and forming groups; b. Fixing the dates and venues and choosing pitch allocations; c. Determining kick-off times; d. Choosing the official football and the stipulated technical material; e. Stipulating wearing of bibs when required; f. Match officials appointments; g. Settling cases of force majeure; h. Disciplinary actions, in accordance with the regulations; i. Judging protests and taking appropriate steps to verify their admissibility (Article 9); j. Dealing with every other aspect of the Festival that is not the responsibility of any other body under the terms of these regulations. 5. The decisions taken by the Event Technical Committee are final and binding. 6. DISCIPLINARY MATTERS Article 8 1. The participating teams undertake to comply with The FA Disciplinary Code in force and the relevant circular(s) issued and in addition the teams agree notably to: a. Respect the spirit of fair play and non-violence b. Behave accordingly Article 9 (Protests) 1. Unless otherwise stipulated in this article, protests shall be submitted in writing to the LOC festival director within 30 minutes of the end of the match and be followed up immediately by sending a written report, including a copy of the original protest, to the Technical Committee Chair. 2. Protests regarding the eligibility of players for any match in the festival shall be submitted in writing to the Technical Committee Chair no later than 15 minutes prior to the commencement of the respective team s first game in the festival. 3. Protests regarding the state of the pitch and its surroundings, markings, goals or footballs shall be made in writing to the Festival Director before the commencement of the festival by the manager of the team lodging the protest. 4. No protests may be made against the referee s decisions regarding facts connected with play, such decisions being final.
PAGE 6 OF 11 5. If a frivolous or irresponsible protest or appeal is lodged, the Event Technical Committee may impose a fine or take other action deemed necessary. 6. Protests shall be sent to the Festival Director by the specified deadline, otherwise they will be disregarded. 7. Teams may not take disputes to a civil court. If decisions are subject to appeal, the teams shall undertake to submit any such disputes to the jurisdiction of The FA, and, should the need arise, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. 8. Once the Festival has finished, any protests regarding the sporting procedure during the competition shall be disregarded. Article 10 (Appeals) 1. A participating team can appeal a decision of the Event Technical Committee including the interpretation and implementation of the discipline sanctions below by lodging an appeal to the festival director no more than 30 minutes after the original decision. The appeal must be written in English and give reasons why the appealing team believes the decision to be unfair; it should also be accompanied by a non returnable fee of 50.00 sterling. The appeals panel will be made up of 3 people, 1 person from The FA or County FA who will act as Chairperson, and 2 other independent people appointed by the FA. For the avoidance of doubt an appeal cannot be made against a referee's decision on the field of play. Article 10 a (Discipline Sanctions) 1. As a rule, a player who is sent from the field of play is suspended for the next match in the competition. The Technical Committee is entitled to augment this sanction in accordance with the standard match suspension tariff outlined below: Receiving a second yellow card in the same match 1 match suspension Denying a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity 1 match suspension Use of offensive, insulting or abusive gestures 2 match suspension Attempting to kick or strike another player 3 match suspension 2. Any action deemed to be Serious Foul Play (as highlighted below) will incur a tariff equivalent to permanent exclusion from the festival: Kicking or striking another player; Use of offensive or insulting or abusive language or gestures directed at match officials; Spitting; Head butting; Assault; Refusing to leave the field of play when ordered; Causing a match to be abandoned; Any offences where the offender has also acted in a discriminatory manner for reasons of ethnic origin, colour, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability. 3. A player who received two (2) cautions (yellow cards) during the festival shall automatically be suspended for the following match. (I.e. after the match in which, he received the second caution). This would include the semi-finals. However once teams progress into the semi-final phase all previous cautions are discounted from
PAGE 7 OF 11 this point onwards. 4. If the player receives further cautions after his suspension this will be considered by the Technical Committee and could result in a further suspension. 7. MATCHES PLAYED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FIFA LAWS OF THE GAME Article 11 1. All matches shall be played in accordance with the FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game laid down and published by FIFA with the following adaptations: Accumulated Fouls Each team will be allowed to give away 3 direct free kicks (instead of the standard 5) in each game, then on the fourth foul a direct kick will be awarded to the opposing team and the defending team is not allowed to position any players (other than the goal keeper) between the ball and the goal. The kick may be taken from the 10m mark or, if the foul was committed closer to the goal than the 10m mark, then the kick may be taken from the position where the foul took place. Duration All matches as part of this festival (excluding those listed below) will last 11 minutes 1 way and be played with a running clock whereby the clock will not be stopped whenever the ball goes out of play (this is different to a normal Futsal game). All finals in the Under 14 and Under 16 age categories will last 15 minutes 1 way and will be played with a running clock whereby the clock will not be stopped whenever the ball goes out of play (this is different to a normal Futsal game). Timeouts No timeouts shall be permitted 2. In the case of any discrepancy in the interpretation of the FIFA Futsal Laws of the Game, the English version is authoritative. 8. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ORGANISING ASSOCIATION AND THE PARTICIPATING TEAMS Article 12 1. All participants in the competition, regardless of their function, are required to conclude adequate insurance cover. Article 13 (Organising Association) 1. The responsibilities of the Organising Association shall include but not be limited to: a. Ensuring that order and safety is maintained, particularly in and around the match venues and their immediate surroundings. It shall take adequate measures, if necessary by working closely with the relevant authorities, to prevent and restrain outbreaks of violence. The Organising Association shall ensure efficient entry checks and guarantee the safety and security of spectators; b. Concluding insurance policies in consultation with the FA to cover all risks relating to the festival s organisation, in particular, adequate liability insurance in respect of the venues, local organisation, members of the Organising Association and the LOC, employees, volunteers and any other persons involved in the organisation of the festival;
PAGE 8 OF 11 c. Concluding liability insurance against possible spectator accidents or deaths; d. Ensuring the presence of a sufficient number of ground staff and security stewards to guarantee safety. The Organising Association is responsible for the behaviour of the staff while on duty. Article 14 (Participating teams) 1. Each participating team shall be responsible for: a. The conduct of the members of its delegation (officials and players), and of any person carrying out duties on its behalf throughout the festival; b. Providing the long list of players and staff to the LOC by the date stipulated; c. Fulfilling the accreditation requirements for players and staff as outlined by the LOC; d. Attending the General Meeting for team managers at 10am on the day of competition; e. The medical and hospital requirements for their own players; f. Concluding compulsory health, accident and travel insurance cover for all the members of its delegation; g. Ensuring teams are pitch side 5 minutes prior to the start of their matches. 9. ELIGIBILITY OF PLAYERS Article 15 1. Each club or school shall ensure the following when selecting its team: a. Players registered with FA Centres of Excellence shall not play in local youth leagues / festival as it is expected that all boys and girls will be participating in a full fixture programme. Therefore no boys or girls centre of excellence / academy players are eligible to play in the youth festival; b. A player shall not play for more than one competing team in the festival; c. Players must attend the school they are representing d. Teams should enter the festival in the age group they play in during season 2013/14. Player age qualification is as follows: Category Qualification School Years Under 10 01/09/03 to 31/08/05 4 & 5 Under 12 01/09/01 to 31/08/03 6 & 7 Under 14 01/09/99 to 31/08/01 8 & 9 Under 16 01/09/97 to 31/08/99 10 & 11 e. Teams are able to have both boys and girls to play in the same teams if they wish to do so up to the under-14 age limit. f. If the LOC has any doubts as to the qualification of a player taking part in the Festival it shall have the power to call upon such player or the club with which he/she is registered or for which he/she has played to prove that he/she is eligible according to these rules. Failing satisfactory proof the LOC may disqualify such player from the Festival.
PAGE 9 OF 11 2. Any team that is found guilty of fielding an ineligible player shall forfeit the match. Victory and the resultant three points will be awarded to the opposing team in accordance with article 6. Article 16 (Players lists) 1. Each participating team shall nominate 12 players on an initial list that the teams shall submit to the Festival Director in accordance with the relevant circular. 2. This list must be confirmed upon registration in Birmingham. 3. It is permissible to add new players to the final list of 12 that were not on the original 'long list' however all players need to have fulfilled the eligibility requirement outlined in Article 15. 4. The numbers on the back of the shirts shall correspond with the numbers indicated on the official team list; this list of 12 players shall show the full surname(s), first name(s), date of birth and shirt number. The number 1 shall be allocated to one of the goalkeepers. Only these 12 players (except in cases recognised by the Event Technical Committee) will be permitted to take part in the competition. 5. The maximum number of substitutes permitted is seven. The number of substitutions that may be made during a match is unlimited. A player who has been replaced may return to the pitch as a substitute for another player. 6. Not more than ten people (three officials and seven players) shall be allowed to sit on the substitutes bench. A suspended player will not be allowed to sit on the substitutes bench. 7. Only registered players may play in the festival. 10. REGULATIONS GOVERNING EQUIPMENT & KIT AT FA COMPETITIONS Article 17 1. The participating teams shall undertake to comply with the FA Equipment Regulations in force. Players and officials are not allowed to display political, religious, commercial or personal messages in any language or form on their playing or team kit, equipment (including kit bags, beverage containers, medical bags, etc.) or body for the duration of their time in the stadia or any other areas where accreditation is required to enable access. 2. Each team should wear the official team colours, as stipulated on its official application form to participate. 3. Whenever, in the opinion of the Organising Committee, the colours of the uniforms of the two opposing teams or match officials are considered likely to cause confusion the away team (named second on the draw) will wear bibs provided by the LOC. 4. The uniforms of the two goalkeepers should be of colours which contrast clearly with the uniforms of the two teams and the match officials. 5. Throughout the Festival each player must wear a number which has been allocated to that player on the official team list. The numbering must be in a contrasting colour to the shirt. 6. Teams participating in the Festival must submit to the LOC the colour of the uniforms their teams are scheduled to wear during the Festival, on a day stipulated by the Organising Committee, and its approval obtained. 11. REFEREES & MATCH OFFICIALS
PAGE 10 OF 11 Article 18 1. The referees officiating at the matches in the competition shall be appointed by the LOC Referees Coordinator. A referee, second referee, and a third referee (as a scorer and timekeeper) shall be appointed for each match. 2. The decisions of the LOC Referees Coordinator are final and not subject to appeal. 3. After each match, the referee shall fill in an official match report sheet prior to handing it over to the Festival Director immediately after the match. 4. On the report form, the referee shall note all incidents before, during, and after the match in as much detail as possible, such as: a. Misconduct of players, leading to caution or expulsion; b. Unsporting behaviour of officials, supporters and of any person acting on behalf of an association at a match; c. Any other incidents. 12. TECHNICAL RULES FOR THE FESTIVAL Article 19 1. Separate male and female competitions will be held in the U10, U12, U14 and U16 age categories. 2. Each competition shall be contested in a league format which will progress into a knockout phase. 3. The matches shall be played in accordance with a schedule drawn up by the LOC. Article 20 (Group stage) 1. A draw will be made by the FA to place each of the 10 teams per category into groups of 5. 2. The system of play shall be a league system, each team playing one match against each other, with three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. 3. The two teams scoring the highest number of points in each group shall be declared the qualifiers for the semi-final stage. 4. In the event of two or more teams in the group being level on points, then the following will be taken into account to determine their positions in the group (in rank order):- a. Goal difference b. Greater number of goals scored c. Result of direct match d. Disciplinary record e. Drawing of lots 5. There will be no secondary plate competition for those teams that finish in 3 rd, 4 th and 5 th place in each group. Article 21 (Knockout Stage) 1. Should a Semi Final or Final match end in a draw after the normal full time the winner shall be determined by the taking of penalty kicks from the penalty mark. Each team will take 3 penalty kicks and if the score is still tied sudden death will proceed until a winner has been decided. Article 22 (Duration of Play) 1. The duration of all matches with the exception of those indicated in point 2 shall be one period of 11 minutes. The clock will be a running clock for the duration of the
PAGE 11 OF 11 game. 2. The duration of all finals in the Under 14 and Under 16 age categories shall be one period of 15 minutes. The clock will be a running clock for the duration of the game. 3. There shall be no time outs allowed. 4. Whenever there is an extension of time, no player shall be allowed to leave the pitch of play unless the referee has given consent 13. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS Article 23 1. With respect to travel, transport, board and lodging of the participating teams, the LOC shall, bear the costs of the following: a. Venue hire of the Birmingham @ Futsal Arena 2. The participating teams shall bear the costs of the following: a. Travel to the venue b. Board and lodging throughout the course of the festival 3. Any expenses other than those mentioned in these regulations shall be borne by the participating teams. 14. COMPLIANCE WITH DECISIONS TAKEN BY GOVERNING BODIES Article 24 1. Teams taking part in the Festival shall undertake to comply fully with the regulations and decisions taken by the Event Technical Committee, LOC, Festival Director and Match Officials Coordinator. 2. Any disputes arising from the application of these regulations shall be settled by the jurisdiction of The FA and, if subsequently necessary, by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. 15. MISCELLANEOUS Article 25 1. The Event Technical Committee shall, in conjunction with the LOC Association, issue any instructions necessitated by special circumstances that might arise in the host venue. These instructions shall form an integral part of these regulations. Article 26 1. Matters not provided for in these regulations and cases of force majeure shall be decided by the Event Technical Committee. All decisions shall be final. Article 27 1. The rules depicted are current at the time of printing. The LOC reserves the right to add, delete and/or vary the rules as any time it deems fit Article 28 1. These regulations have been ratified by The Football Association and come into force immediately.