Tournament Regulations -UK

GOVERNANCE RULES

1. COMPETITION NAME AND CONSTITUTION

1. The Competition will be known as Kickoff February Cup and shall be organised by Kickoff Events.
2. The administration of the Competition under these Rules will be carried out by the Competition acting in accordance with the rules, regulations and policies set out here.
3. All Clubs shall adhere to the Rules. Every Club upon entry shall be deemed to have accepted the Rules and to have agreed to abide by the decisions of the Management Committee.

Inclusivity and Non-discrimination

1. The Competition and each Club must be committed to promoting inclusivity and to eliminating all forms of discrimination and should abide and adhere to The FA Equality Policy and any legislative requirements (to include those contained in the Equality Act 2010).
2. (ii)This Competition and each Club must make every effort to promote equality by treating people fairly and with respect, by recognising that inequalities may exist, by taking steps to address them and by providing access and opportunities for all members of the community, irrespective of age, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marital status, race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, religion or belief, ability or disability or otherwise.
3. (iii)Any alleged breach of the Equality Act 2010 legislation must be referred to the appropriate Sanctioning Authority for investigation.
4. Clubs must comply with the provisions of any initiatives of The FA which are adopted by the Competition including, but not limited to, Charter Standard and RESPECT programmes. 
5. All Participants shall abide by The Football Association Regulations for Safeguarding Children as determined by The FA. At all times the competition must make sure that the welfare of Children and Young people taking part in the tournament, in any capacity, is paramount.
6. All competing teams must have a minimum of two adults accompanying their team; these adults should have an in date DBS check obtained through the FA CRC Unit. This would represent the MINIMUM number of adults and the ratio of adults to children should be assessed and appropriate for the age of the children (as a rule of thumb the younger the age of the children would result in a higher ratio of adults), however the ratio of adults to children should generally never exceed 1:16 

2. APPLICATION AND ENTRY FEE, 

1. Clubs shall enter the tournament by submitting an application form to the tournament organiser by the date determined by Kickoff events. Any applications submitted after the entry date shall be allowed at the discretion of the management committee. The application form must include details of the club secretary and team officials who will be accompanying the team on the day complete with emergency contact .
2. The entry fee shall be payable with the application form and shall be set annually by the competition management committee. 
3. The entry fee is listed on the registration form and dependant on the tournament and age bracket of the team.
4. Cancellations made after booking will be non-refundable.
    

3. TOURNAMENT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

(A)  Kickoff Events shall comprise the Officers of the Competition as determined by the company

1. The Competition Welfare Officer who shall act in that capacity for the tournament; this person must be suitably qualified, hold an in date DBS obtained through the FA CRC unit, attendance at the Safeguarding Children Workshop . 
2. The competition shall circulate the details of the competition welfare officer to all competing clubs in advance of the tournament and shall provide details on the day listing these contact details. 
3. The tournament management committee shall produce a safeguarding policy for the event; this will list the designated persons responsible and policies to be followed; this will be distributed to all competing clubs in advance of the tournament. The tournament shall also complete a Risk assessment of the event prior to the competition, assessing both Safeguarding and Health and Safety, and shall make all sure all mitigating factors identified in the assessment are actioned appropriately. 

4. PROTESTS, CLAIMS, COMPLAINTS, APPEALS

(A)    Any protests or claims shall be submitted by a team official (who has been listed on the application form) to tournament organisers within 5 minutes of the completion of the match in question. Upon receipt the Tournament management committee shall consider the protest and arrive at a decision 

5. AGREEMENT TO BE SIGNED

Where a perpetual trophy is awarded the following agreement shall be signed by an official of the winning team when team is awarded the trophy; a copy shall be retained by the management committee and a copy retained by the winning team

(A)   The following agreement shall be signed on behalf of the winners of the cup or trophy:-

“I, [name], the Chairman/Secretary/Team Manager of [ ] FC, and representing the Club, having been declared winners of 

[ ] cup or trophy, and it having been delivered to us by the Competition, do hereby on behalf of the Club jointly and severally agree to return the cup or trophy to the Competition Secretary on or before [ ]. If the cup or trophy is lost or damaged whilst under our care we agree to refund to the Competition the amount of its current value or the cost of its thorough repair.”

6. INSURANCE

1. All Clubs must have valid public liability insurance cover of at least ten million pounds (£10,000,000) at all times.
2. All Clubs must have valid personal accident cover for all Players registered with them from time to time. The Players’ personal accident insurance cover must be in place prior to the Club taking part in any Competition Match and shall be at least equal to the minimum recommended cover determined from time to time by the Sanctioning Authority. 

7. MISCONDUCT

As FA small sided regulations 

8. MATCH RELATED RULES

QUALIFICATION OF PLAYERS

1. Player should be registered with the club they are representing. A list of players to be used by the team shall be submitted to the tournament organisers prior to the start of the tournament
2. Two Guest Players will be allowed in each team , as long as they still meet the correct Age bracket.
3. A Player shall not be permitted to register for more than one Club. A PLAYER HAVING PLAYED FOR one team in the tournament shall not be permitted to play for another in the same tournament.
4. A child who has not attained the age of 6 shall not play, and shall not be permitted or encouraged to play, in a match of any kind.

The relevant age  for  each  Player  is  determined  by  his  or  her  age  as  at  midnight  on 31 August of the relevant Playing Season i.e. children who are aged 6 as at midnight on   31 August in a Playing Season (together with those who attain the age of 6 during the Playing Season) will be classed as Under 7 Players for that Playing Season. Children who are aged 7 as at midnight on 31 August in a Playing Season will be classed as Under 8 Players for that Playing Season, and so on.

Notwithstanding the above, a child is permitted to play up in the age group above his or her chronological age group, irrespective of any changes of format or competition structure, save that a child who attains the age of 6 after 31 August is permitted to play only in the Under 7 age group, and may not play in the Under 8 age group, for that Playing Season.

The age groups that children are eligible to play in are set out in the table below, along with the permitted football formats for each of those age groups. Children shall not play, and shall not be permitted or encouraged to play, in a match between sides of more than the stated number of players, according to their age group:

1. 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. 
2. Any Club found to have played an ineligible Player in a Match or Matches, where points are awarded shall have the points gained from that Competition Match deducted from its record and the match, and at the discretion of the management committee the match awarded to the opposition along with the points or Order that such Competition Match or Matches be replayed points. If this occurs in a knock out match the result shall be declared null and void and, at the discretion of the management committee the match awarded to the opposition who shall progress into the next round or Order that such Competition Match or Matches be replayed

CLUB COLOURS   

1. Every Club must register the colour of its shirts and shorts with the competition on the player registration form.
2. Goalkeepers must wear colours which distinguish them from all other Players and the Match Officials.
3. If, in the opinion of the referee, two Teams have the same or similar colours, the team listed as second on the fixture shall be deemed the “away
4. Shirts must be numbered

9. TIMES OF KICK-OFF, POSTPONEMENTS, SUBSTITUTES

1. All Competition Matches shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game as determined by the International Football Association Board or, for Mini-Soccer, the Rules as set down by The FA.
2. All Matches shall be played on pitches provided by the competition, competing clubs will be advised of their respective pitch and kick off time by the management committee.
3. The times of kick-off shall be fixed by the tournament organisers and the two competing Clubs must be in attendance at their respective pitch for that time; failure to do so will be dealt with by the management committee 
4. Referees must order Competition Matches to commence at the appointed time and must report all late starts to the Competition.
5. Football Turf Pitches (3G) are allowed in this Competition 

The competition is responsible for advising Participants of footwear requirements if a 3g surface is used

5-a-side competition

U7-U10 Ball size - 3

Pitch Size

Minimum -Yards 30 x 20. Meters 27.45 x 18.3

Maximum -Yards 40 x 30 Meters 36.3 x 27.45

For round robin/trophy events, the maximum duration of play per half cannot be exceeded, but the minimum duration of play per half may be adjusted.

The minimum number of Players that will constitute a Team for a Competition Match is as follows:

FORMAT

5v5

 Minimum of 4 players on the pitch

1. Age Group U7 - U10
2. Minimum duration of play per Game (minutes) 10
3. Minimum playing time in one day in all tournaments and trophy events/festivals (minutes) 60 (U7-U8) 90 (U9-U10)
4. A Club may at its discretion and in accordance with the Laws of the Game use substitute Players in any Competition Match.

For Mini-Soccer – any number of substitutions may be used at any time with the permission of the referee. Entry onto the field of play will only be allowed during a stoppage in play. A Player who has been replaced may return to play as a substitute for another Player. A Team must not have a match day squad greater than double the size of its team in an age group.

1. The half time interval if used,  shall be of 2 minutes’ duration, but it shall not exceed 15 minutes. The half time interval may only be altered with the consent of the referee.

10. REPORTING RESULTS

1. Each team shall  report its result to a predetermined results coordinator
2. Match referees shall report the results to the results coordinator, any discrepancies shall be determined by the management committee
3. Results shall be displayed along with tables by the competition.

11. DETERMINING CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Teams shall be divided into groups of 6 and shall play each other once
2. Each match will last 10 minutes
3. The  group  will be decided by points with three points to be awarded for a win and one point for Draw. After all teams in the group have played each other the end of the group stage shall be judged the group winners, with remaining teams ranked accordingly.  In the event of two or more Teams being equal on points at the end of the group the rankings shall be determined by:

• The team with the better goal difference
• The team having scored the most goals
• The head to head results between the teams who are level

If the above cannot determine a winner then the two teams tied shall play a one off playoff match of the same duration as the group game. If the teams are still level at full time then extra time -  one period of 5 minutes.  If the scores remain level after extra time then the match shall be determined by the taking of kicks from the penalty mark, with 5 kicks for each time. If the scores are level after 5 kicks then it shall go to sudden death

1. Once the group positions have been determined the top 3 teams shall go forward to the knock out stage, where the matches shall be determined with the winner of one group playing the runner up of the other and vice versa. 
2. The knock out stages will consist of quarter finals/semi-finals/finals. Knock out games will take place - shall be one period of 10 minutes, with the winner moving into the next round. If the teams are still level at full time then extra time of one period of 5 minutes.  If the scores remain level after extra time then the match shall be determined by the taking of kicks from the penalty mark, with 5 kicks for each time. If the scores are level after5 kicks then it shall go to sudden death

12. MATCH OFFICIALS

(A)  Registered referees (and assistant referees where approved by The FA or County FA) shall be appointed for each game by the Management Committee. The management committee shall only appoint referees affiliated to a county Football Association and then only those who have affiliated to officiate in youth football (they will have a current DBS check obtained through the FA CRC Unit) 

1. Where an appointed referee is under the age of 18 the competition shall have in place the appropriate safeguarding actions in place as for any other Child. The competition shall make a risk assessment prior to the competition for the safeguarding of the match officials and take such mitigation as necessary to ensure their safety as outlined in Rule 3 (D). Competitions should endeavor to have a designated match official officer present who will look after the welfare of the match referees. Where referees are under the age of 18 this official must have the appropriate safeguarding checks in place

Match officials should not change with players where changing facilities are provided

1. Match Officials will be paid a fee of £70 for the tournament inclusive of travel expenses