a. A Player is one who, being in all other respects eligible, has:
i. Registered through the Player Registration System and received approval from the Competition.
ii. signed a fully and correctly completed Competition registration form in ink on a match day prior to playing which is countersigned by an Officer of the Club and witnessed by an Officer of the opposing Club, and submitted to the Competition within two days (Sundays excluded) subsequent to the Competition Match. The Player shall not play again in a subsequent match in the competition until the Club has registered the player through the F.A. Player Registration System and is in possession of the approval of the Competition. A maximum of Zero Players may be registered in this manner.
When registering players on the Player Registration System they must be registered Two days prior to the player playing and where registration has been confirmed by the Competition prior to that player playing in a Competition match. Failure to comply with this Rule shall result in a fine in accordance with the Fines Tariff.
Any registration that is not fully and correctly completed will be returned to the Club unprocessed and the player classed as unregistered. If a Club attempts to register a player via the Player Registration System but does not fully and correctly complete the necessary information via the Player Registration System the registration will not be processed.
For Clubs registering Players under Rule 18(A) (ii) registration forms will be provided in a format to be determined by the Competition. For Clubs registering Players by the Player Registration System Clubs must access the Player Registration System in order to complete the registration process.
Failure to comply with this Rule will result in a fine in accordance with the Fines Tariff.
b.
i. Contract players are not permitted in this Competition with the exception of those Players who are registered under Contract with the same Club who have a team operating at Steps 1 to 6 of the National League System, or Tiers 1-4 of the Women’s Pyramid System.
ii. It is the responsibility of each Club to ensure that any Player registered to the Club has, where necessary, the required International Transfer Certificate. Clearance is required for any Player aged 10 and over crossing borders including Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
iii. Each Team must have at least seven Players registered by 15th August latest before the start of each Playing Season. Failure to comply with this Rule will result in a fine in accordance with the Fines Tariff, they shall also forfeit their first scheduled fixture with the three points shall be awarded to their opponents.
iv. In the event of a non – contract player changing his status to a contract player with the same club or with a club in another competition, their registration as a non – contract player will automatically be cancelled and declared void unless the club conforms to the exception in Rule 18(b 1).
v. It shall be deemed gross misconduct for any player to register under an assumed name. The responsibility for ensuring that this Rule is adhered to rests entirely with the Club.
Such Cases reported to the League and proven, the player shall be liable to have his registration suspended and deemed an ineligible player. The Club for which the player is registered shall be liable to penalties as defined in Rule 18 (M).
It shall be deemed gross misconduct for a Club to register a player on behalf of the player. Any Club found guilty of this offence shall incur a fine as set out in the Fines Tariff.
A Club shall not play more than three players who have each represented the First Team of their club in five matches or more at any time in reserve or other team matches.
Any Club found to have used more than three such players at one time shall incur a fine as set out in the Fines Tariff, and any points won shall be deducted and awarded to their opponents.
c. A Player that owes a Football Debt (as defined under the Football Debt Recovery Regulations) shall be permitted to register for a club but will be suspended from all football activities if the player does not comply with the terms of the Football Debt Recovery Regulations in respect of that football debt.
d. A fee as set out in the Fees Tariff shall be paid by each Club/Team for each Player registered.
Each Team shall be issued with thirty registration credits for the forthcoming season at a cost of £1-00 per credit as set out in the Fees Tariff. An invoice shall be issued by the Treasurer. Further registration credits can be obtained from the Registration Secretary in multiples of five and a payment as set out in the Fees Tariff, which shall also be invoiced by the Treasurer.
e. 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.
f. It shall be a breach of Rule for a Player to:-
i. Play for more than one Club in the Competition in the same Playing Season without first being transferred.
ii. Having registered for one Club in the Competition, register for another Club in the Competition in that Playing Season except for the purpose of a transfer, or where the competition adopts Rule 18 (P).
iii. Submit a signed registration form as per Rule 18 A ii or submit a registration through the Player Registration System for registration that the Player had willfully neglected to accurately or fully complete.
g.
i. The Management Committee shall have the power to accept the registration of any Player subject to the provisions of Rules 18(G) (ii) and (iii) below.
ii. The Management Committee shall have power to refuse, cancel or suspend the registration of any Player or may fine any Player, at their discretion (in accordance with the Fines Tariff) who has been charged and found guilty of registration irregularities (subject to Rule 7).
iii. The Management Committee shall have power to make application to refuse or cancel the registration of any Player charged and found guilty of undesirable conduct (subject to Rule 7) subject to the right of appeal to the Sanctioning Authority. Application should be made to the parent County of the Club the Player is registered or intending to be registered with.
Undesirable conduct shall mean an incident of repeated proven misconduct, which may deter a Participant from being involved in this Competition.
iv.
A Player who has previously had a registration removed in accordance with Rule 18(G) (iii) but has a registration accepted at the expiry of exclusion will be considered to be under a probationary period of 12 months. Whilst under a probationary period, should the Player commit a further act of proven misconduct under the jurisdiction of the Competition, (excluding standard dismissals), the Competition may consider a further charge of bringing the Competition into disrepute.
(Note: Action under Rule 18(G) (iii) shall not be taken against a Player for misconduct until the matter has been dealt with by the Sanctioning Authority, and then only in cases of the Player bringing the Competition into disrepute and will in any event be subject to an appeal to the Sanctioning Authority or The FA. All decisions must include the period of restriction. For the purpose of this Rule, bringing the Competition into disrepute can only be considered where the Player has received in excess of 112 days’ suspension, or 10 matches in match based discipline, in any competition (and is not restricted to the Competition) in a period of two years or less from the date of the first offence.)
h. Subject to compliance with FA Rule C when a Club wishes to register a player who is already registered with another club it shall submit a transfer notification to the Competition via the Player Registration System. A fee as set out in the Fees Tariff may be required. Such transfer shall be referred by the Competition 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 Competition and to the player concerned within 3 days of receipt of the notification. Upon receipt of the club’s consent, or upon its failure to give written objection within 3 days, the 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 three days 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.
i. A Player may not be registered for a Club nor transferred to another Club in the Competition, after 28th February for transfers or 31st March for registration except by special permission of the Management Committee.
j. Registrations are valid for one Playing Season only.
k. A Player shall not be eligible to play for a Team in any special championship, promotion or relegation deciding Competition Match (as specified in Rule 22(A)) unless the Player has played six Competition Matches for that Team in the current Playing Season.
l. A Team shall not include more than zero Players who has/have taken part in zero or more senior Competition Matches during the current Playing Season unless a period of 21 days has elapsed since they last played.
For the purpose of this Rule a senior competition(s) is/are NIL.
Failure to comply with this Rule will result in a fine in accordance with the Fines Tariff.
m.
i. Subject to Rule 18(M) any Club found to have played an ineligible Player in a Competition Match or Matches where points are awarded shall have the points gained from that Competition Match deducted from its record, up to a maximum of 12 points, and have levied upon it a fine (in accordance with the Fines Tariff).
ii. The Management Committee may vary the sanction as relates to the deduction of points set out at Rule 18(M) only in circumstances where the ineligibility is due to the failure to obtain an International Transfer Certificate or where the ineligibility is related to the Player’s status.
iii. Where a Club is found to have played an ineligible Player in accordance with Rule 18(M) above, the Management Committee may also, at its discretion:
1. Award the points available in the Competition Match in question to the opponents, subject to the Competition Match not being ordered to be replayed; or
2. Levy penalty points against the Club in default; or
3. Order that such Competition Match or Matches be replayed (on such terms as are decided by the Management Committee).
n. The following clause applies to Competitions involving Players in full-time secondary education:-
(i) Priority must be given at all times to activities of schools and school organisations. Failure to comply with this Rule will result in a fine in accordance with the Fines Tariff.
(ii) The availability of children and young people must be cleared with the Head Teachers or principles (except for Sunday leagues competitions).
(iii) To play open age football the player must have achieved the age of 16.
o. A player who has played for a team in a higher Division five or more times shall not be eligible to play in a lower Division except by permission of the Management committee.
p. If a Club wishes to cancel players registration within the competition it must make a request via the F.A.’s electronic Player Registration System giving the reasons for the request. The Competition may either approve or decline the request. If a player’s registration is cancelled he/she will not be eligible to re-register in the competition for a period of 14 days from the date of cancellation.
q. In the event of an Officer or a Member of the Management Committee being aware that one or both Teams in a match that they are watching is playing an ineligible player, that Officer or member of the Management Committee shall inform both Teams of the fact and shall advise the offending Clubs Secretary that the matter shall be reported. The Officer or Member of the Management Committee shall then report the occurrence to the League Secretary in writing within five days of the match, who shall arrange for an enquiry