West Wales Youth League - Club Information

Registrations
All registrations must be done via the new COMET system of course. However, the League Rules still reflect the pre-COMET position due to the lateness of the implementation of the COMET system. Therefore to ensure consistency confirm:

A Player must have his registration confirmed on the COMET system not less than 48 hours before the scheduled match fixture in which you wish the player to play. Accordingly, if there is a fixture at 2pm on 8th September, the player will need to have his registration confirmed before 2pm on 6th September.

Do not play a player unless you are certain they have been registered.

It may be obvious to most that this is a league for players who have reached the age of 16 as at 1st September 2018. Of course, players who turn 16 during the playing season are also, from their 16th birthday onwards, able to register and play. When it comes to players approaching their 16th birthday, then my current understanding is that the COMET system will not allow you to process the registration in advance of the player's 16th birthday. The registration must be completed on the player's 16th birthday at the earliest and, again, the 48 hour rule applies.

Our rules will be amended in March regarding registrations.

Notification of match fixtures
The Home Club must notify the Away Team and the Referee in writing (text message is usually OK to do this) or by telephone of all match details at least six days before the match. Directions to reach the ground, colours and time of kick off must be provided.

Therefore, if the match is on a Sunday, notification must be provided by the preceding Monday.

If any clubs are not adhering to this, please let me know.

Furthermore, do not simply assume that the referee will be attending if you have not had any reply to a text or answerphone message. You need to obtain definite confirmation from the referee that he is attending.

Kick off Times
The Kick off time is set as Sunday 14:00. However, this can be varied by agreement between the clubs. Don’t forget to consult the referee as well; they need to approve the alteration as well. Any variation to the kick off time needs to be agreed and notified in writing (email and not text message) to Gary Thomas at least 7 days before the original scheduled fixture date/time – both clubs need to confirm the agreement reached and provide confirmation that the referee has also agreed to the change. Accordingly, any variation to the 2pm kick off on Sunday 8th September, for example, will need to be notified by Saturday 1st September.

Some teams when playing home (due to pitch availability at their designated home ground) may need an earlier/later kick off time than Sunday at 14:00. Given the notice required to vary a kick off time, I don’t believe a one-off change of kick off time will cause a problem for most opponents.

However, please be aware that if agreement cannot be reached on varying the kick off date/time (for whatever reason), the match fixture will default to the standard time of Sunday at 14:00 (or if midweek as stated on the website). If the home team’s usual or designated home pitch is then not available, it remains the home team’s responsibility to arrange an alternative pitch together with appropriate changing room facilities where the kick off time will be Sunday at 14:00.

Further, if it is proposed that the match is to be played on an artificial surface, both clubs must agree and both are to notify Gary Thomas of the agreement prior to the match date, i.e. at least the day before. Again written notification needs to be by email, not text message.

Team Sheets
These are available on the League website.

The Home Team is to supply the team sheet. They must be handwritten, completed by each club and handed to the referee at least 20 minutes before kick off. Team Sheets must detail the names of the starting players and the nominated substitutes. Details of all the squad must be in BLOCK CAPITALS and the numbers must correspond to the numbers the players wear on the reverse of their shirts. No one may be added to the team sheet after the match has kicked off.

After the match, often the referee will retain the team sheet to send on to the WWFA/WWYAFL, otherwise it shall be the responsibility of the home team to send the team sheet to the League – Gary Thomas as Fixture Secretary.

Also, don’t forget to notify Gary of the result by text message within 90 minutes of the final whistle - only one text from each team, please!

If there are any issues regarding a player's identity, this must be raised with the referee at the time. It is no good writing to me after the event. There is very little that we can then do about it. The rules set out the procedure to be followed and, of course, the rules are readily available on the website.

Calling off matches due to the weather and/or unplayability of the pitch

It is appreciated that the weather will worsen as winter sets in and there will be fixture postponements. This is unavoidable.
It is important that as much notice as possible is given by the home team to the away team and the referee to avoid them starting to travel if the match is called off due to the weather and/or the unplayability of the pitch, for example, for a waterlogged or frozen pitch.

In the event of a match being called off at the last-minute and/or without good reason, the League will consider whether the team calling off the match should face disciplinary sanction.
Whenever a match is called off, Gary Thomas must be notified by text immediately and by email within 24 hours, confirming the reason why the match was called off. A failure to provide the required notification will lead to fines being issued without further warning.

Referees
The match fee for a referee is £20 plus travel expenses of 30p per mile. The match fee is to be equally split between the teams.
In the event of an appointed referee being unavailable, the two clubs must agree before the game begins on one suitable person to act as substitute referee. They will have the same powers as a league appointed referee. The same person must referee the entire match, i.e. there must be no swapping over at half time and refereeing one half each.

If the substitute referee is a qualified and registered (as per the WWFA website) referee then they are entitled to the usual match fee and expenses.

Player suspensions
Player suspensions are immediate – there is no longer any wait before the suspension takes effect.

The WWFA standard periods of suspension are as follows:

1. A Player who is sent off for receiving TWO CAUTIONS will be suspended automatically for a period of ONE MATCH
2. A Player who is sent off for DENYING AN OBVIOUS GOAL SCORING OPPORTUNITY will be suspended automatically for a period of ONE MATCH
3. A Player who is sent off for USING OFFENSIVE, INSULTING OR ABUSIVE LANGUAGE will be suspended automatically for a period of TWO MATCHES
4. A Player who is sent off for VIOLENT CONDUCT, SERIOUS FOUL PLAY or SPITTING AT AN OPPONENT OR ANY OTHER PERSON will be suspended automatically for a period of THREE MATCHES

Accordingly, and by way of example, any player sent off for receiving two cautions will automatically miss one match which will be his team’s immediate next scheduled fixture that takes place. It is up to the clubs to make sure that a suspended player does not play whether or not formal notification of the suspension has yet been received by the club from WWFA.

If a suspended player is found to have played in a match, I have been informed by the WWFA that, the period of suspension is likely to be increased and disciplinary action will also be taken against the club concerned. Further the League will take its own action against the club concerned for fielding an ineligible player.