2014 Youth Player Regulations

              COMPETITION REGULATIONS 2014

 BOYS FEDERATION UNDER 13’S, 15’S AND 17’S LEAGUE

GIRLS FEDERATION UNDER 14’S LEAGUE

 1. Leagues

These regulations are specific competition regulations governing aspects of play and procedure in Federation Under 13’s, 14’s, 15’s and 17’s League being football competitions administered by the Waikato Bay of Plenty Football Federation involving boy’s and girl’s youth teams.

Teams, both stand alone juniors clubs or schools, or composite area teams who are not registered to a specific Senior Club, must have the written support to enter from all the Senior Clubs within their region.

2. FIFA Regulations

All Leagues shall be conducted under the current FIFA regulations except as otherwise specified in these specific competition regulations.

 3. Number of players per side 

Teams shall have a maximum of 11 players on the field at any time and a minimum of 7 players.  Should any team fail to field 7 eligible players, whether through shortage or sending-off, they shall forfeit the match.

 4. Duration of matches: 

2 x 40 min halves plus 10 min half time

5. Substitutions

Up to 4 substitutes named on the team card, with unlimited interchange of players at any time in the match and provided that:
i) the player leaves the field completely before the substitute goes on
ii) substitutions are made during a break in play
iii) players always enter and leave from the half-way line.

 6. Match Balls

The home team shall provide a size 5 FIFA-approved match ball for Under 14’s, 15’s and 17’s Leagues.
The home team shall provide a size 4 FIFA-approved match ball for Under 13’s Leagues

 7. Shin guards

Shin guards must be worn at all times, and must not be exposed.

 8. Referees

Where possible the Federation will appoint a qualified Referee. Each Club will be invoiced $15 + GST per match per official

If there is no appointed official, the home team may provide a Club Based Referee (CBR) with current accreditation to control the whole fixture.  If a CBR is provided he or she shall provide his/her name and membership number to the visiting coach/manager, and is required to wear their CBR shirt.  If the home team does not have a CBR, and the visiting team does, then the visiting CBR shall control the fixture.  If none of the above is available, the home team shall provide a referee for the first half and the visiting team shall provide one for the second.  Alternatively, teams may agree at the start of the game that one referee shall officiate the whole game, or at the start of the second half that the referee from the first half may continue to referee to the end of the game.  Once agreed the referee should not be changed during a half other than for injury or on the mutual agreement of both team coaches.  In any event, the referee controlling any part of the fixture has the same rights and obligations as an appointed official.

The prime purpose of anyone refereeing in these grades is to add to the enjoyment of the players through the application of the Laws of the Game, these regulations, and common sense.

 9. Goals, Markings and Set Up

Matches in all grades covered by these specific competition regulations are to be played on full-size pitches.  The approved goals, and marked grounds with corner flags must be supplied by the home team and must be in place before the scheduled kick-off time.  Nets are compulsory for all League matches.

The playing field must have the sidelines roped off and a technical area marked.

10. Uniform Clashes

Where there is a clash of colours, the away team (ie second-named team) in the fixture must provide a change of shirts that does not clash with the home team’s registered colours.

 11. Defaults

The Club Secretary must notify defaults in writing to the Federation, their opposition and the Referees group no later than 12.00 noon on the Friday preceding the fixture so any referee allocation can be changed.  Clubs may be fined $50 for defaults not notified before this deadline and may be further charged for referee fees.  Any team defaulting two games consecutively, or three in a season, may be expelled from the competition. 

 12. Team Player Lists

Clubs must complete their online database of players prior to the commencement of competition.  The Player List shall include for each player the full name and date of birth.

A maximum of twenty (20) players may be recorded on the Team Player List at any one time.

Clubs wishing to add a player to a team after the season has started must update it on the online database prior to the start time of the first competition match the player is to play in for the Club. No player movements between age groups after June 30 will be allowed.

Seventy five per cent (75%) of the team players must reside within 25 kilometres of the Clubs home ground

In the event of any protest or enquiry into player eligibility the Team Player List and Team Card will be checked against the database.  Teams found to have played an ineligible player will lose all points gained in all fixtures in which the ineligible player appeared, and will incur a fine to the Club of $100.

13. Player Eligibility

Anyone playing in a League fixture must be registered with the participating Club and their respective Federation.  It is the Clubs responsibility to ensure the player is properly registered with the Federation prior to taking the field in any match.

Players are eligible to participate only under a Senior Clubs entry (subject to Point 1). Clubs may draft players from Clubs who do not participate in this League to give all eligible players an opportunity to play.

Players can only register for one team.  If there are 2 teams from the same club in the same league they can only play for the team that they have registered for. Only players from a lower division/age group can play up, players cannot play down unless a one time player to new team dispensation has been approved in writing by the Federation prior to the player playing in the game

Any player that plays more than three (3) games in a higher age group will be ineligible to play in their original registered team

 

  • U15 Player eligibility

A club, outside of the main centres of Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Taupo and Whakatane by a distance of 25 kilometres or more, may request a dispensation of up to 2 players turning sixteen years of age to play in the U15 competition

U15 Player eligibility

Female players will be eligible to play in the boys competition if all the following criteria is met

  • A club, outside of the main centres of Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Taupo and Whakatane by a distance of 25 kilometres or more, may request a dispensation
  • The player must be attending the FTC and NTC programmes
  • The Football Development Manager must approve any dispensation request

 

  • Western Bay of Plenty Player eligibility

All WBOP junior players must be registered and play for a Club/School team on a Saturday to be eligible to play for age group Federation leagues.

14. Coaching

A minimum Coaching qualification of Youth Level 2 – Technical/Tactical & Youth Level 2 – Coach Approach for Federation Youth Football will be mandatory from 2012 and Clubs are expected to help upskill their Coaches

Coaches may only coach from the technical area.  If a coach takes the field as a referee they are not allowed to coach from on the field of play.

15. Competition

Three points shall be awarded for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss.

Defaults shall be recorded as a 3-0 win to the non-offending team.  If both teams are deemed to have defaulted, a ‘no result’ shall be recorded unless the Competition Manager decides to reschedule the game.

The team with the highest points at the end of competition in the league shall be declared the league champion.  If teams are equal on match points, goal difference shall be used to determine the winner, and if still level the team with most goals scored will be declared the winner.  If still level, the result of games will be taken into account to determine the winner, and finally if still level teams shall be declared joint champions.

 16. Team Sheets

A completed Federation team sheet is to be filled out correctly by each team in a League fixture, listing the eleven starting players and up to four substitutes.

If there is an appointed referee, completed team sheets should be handed to the referee prior to the commencement of the game.  The referee will sign both sheets and hand them back to the respective teams after the game.  Each team will sign the sheets and return them to the Federations within 5 working days Teams failing send the team sheet may incur a fine to the Club of $10

If there is no appointed referee the team sheets are to be exchanged with the opposition at the end of the game, to be signed by both teams and the referee who completed the game, and forwarded to the team’s Federation office as above.

Each team is responsible for its own team sheet.

 17. Results

All results are to be submitted by individual Clubs/Schools via the Goalnet online results system by 10.00am on the Monday following the weekend of the match or if midweek by 10.00am on the day following the match

Teams failing to input results in time may incur a fine to the Club of $20

18. Playing Days and Time

Federation Under 13’s, 14’s, 15’s and 17’s will be played on Sunday. Kickoff will vary from 10am to 3pm depending on schedules.

19. Misconducts

Misconduct reports and Incident Reports shall be sent to and dealt with by offending teams’ Federation as per New Zealand Football Regulations, except reports of Violent Conduct (including spitting) and Exceptional Misconduct, which shall be dealt with by a Judicial Hearing.

 20. Protests and Disputes

Protests and Disputes shall be lodged in accordance with Federation Rules and Regulations to the clubs Federation.

Any protest shall be made by the Club Secretary or another authorised officer of the Club, within 96 hours of the alleged breach. The protest must be in writing to the Competitions Manager. All protests must be specific and in detail, setting out the full circumstances and including all relevant points. The Competitions Manager reserves the right to disregard any non specific or non detailed protest

21.  Postponements

Any team with 3 or more players away on Federation or NZF programmes will be entitled to request postponement of their game. Such request to be received by Waikato Bay of Plenty Football Federation at least 72 hours prior to the scheduled game.

 22.  Other Matters

These specific competition regulations should be read in conjunction with the appropriate NZ Football Rules and Regulations, Federation Rules and Youth playing regulations, Federation and NZ Football codes of conduct and FIFA Fair Play, which shall apply, to matters not provided for in these regulations.