In recent weeks, it has become clear that there is a problem with ‘ineligible players’. There are numerous reasons why a player may be deemed ineligible but this post will address Clubs mixing players between squads.
If a Club has more than one team in an age group, then players in that age group can only be registered to one team only. This is detailed in the following FA SCORY rule:
8 (J) A Club shall keep a list of the Players it registers and a record of the games in which they have played, and shall produce such records upon demand by the Management Committee.
In the event a Club has more than one Team in an age group, each Team must be clearly identifiable but not designated ‘A’ or ‘B’ or 1st or 2nd. In such cases, Players will be registered for one Team only. A Player so registered will be allowed to play for his Club in a younger or older age group within the provisions of Rule 8(C).
In addition, the NWYFL gives the following additional guidance:
A registered youth playing member of a Club will have:
- Completed a Club registration form in ink, countersigned by his /her parent or guardian and by an Officer of the Club. The registration document must incorporate any known serious medical conditions of the Player and emergency contact details of the Player’s parents or guardians.
- Been registered on FULL-TIME as a player
- Been entered on the NWYFL player / team registration form and submitted to the appropriate Registration Secretary at least 3 days before a fixture
A player is not eligible to play in a fixture until they appear as a player on the team sheet of FULL-TIME. If the player is not showing, then they are deemed ineligible to play despite a registration form being completed and sent into the Registration Secretary.
So, to summarise:
- a player can only be registered to a single team in an age group
- to register a player the Club needs to have a completed Club registration form from the player
- the Club needs to ensure that the player has been registered in FULL-TIME
- the Club needs to submit the completed team registration form & appropriate documentation to verify the DoB if required (1st time league registration)
Once all of this has been completed, a player still cannot play for a team until their name appears in the FULL-TIME player list for that team, Registration Secretaries will complete this as quickly as possible once all the criteria has been met.
If the player is not listed and they play, the team will be charged with playing an ineligible player.
Please complete your admin and keep this simple rule of one player registered to one team in mind so as to avoid any future disciplinary action.
