5 a side league rules

1. Organisation

The League is organised and delivered by Warwick Sport. The League will be managed the Warwick Sport Sports Engagement Officer. The Sport Engagement Officer and the League Activator will have the final say on all matters of the league.

All captains (or nominated team member) must attend a compulsory captain meeting ahead of the season starting. Details of when this will take place will be sent to all captains prior to the start of their league.

2. Squads

1. The Captain must register the team to the Warwick Active leagues .
2. Teams must have a squad of between 7 and 12 players. Matches will be 5-a-side.
3. Players are allowed to play for more than one team, and it is up to the player’s discretion who they play for should the two teams play together.
4. The league is a mixed gender league, but there is no set requirements on minimum number of male/female players.
5. All players must be registered to their team on BUCS Play and captains must email the name to warwickactive@warwick.ac.uk.

3. General Rules

1. All players must book on to the session each week as a participant to gain access through the Sports Hub barriers.
2. Teams are allowed up to 4 x named substitutes at each match, with an unlimited number of substitutes made on a rolling basis.
3. Teams are responsible for providing a match ball.
4. Matches are self-refereed; it’s each captain’s responsibility to ensure their players are aware of all rules of the league.
5. All communication and updates will be made via the Active League Teams channel, which all captains must register on.
6. No player is allowed within the goal area or on the goal line with the exception of the goalkeeper.
   • In the case of a defensive offence, a penalty kick will be given.
   • For an attacker offence, an indirect free kick will be taken from 2 metres outside the goal area from where the attacker entered the goal area.

6. No sliding tackles will be permitted on any pitch, due to the risk of injury and damage to the surface. For ANY slide tackle an indirect free kick will be awarded from where the slide occurred, unless this occurred across the goal area with the slide tackle being played by the defender and a penalty kick will be awarded.
7. Goal kicks are to be made by an underarm throw or may be kicked but the ball must always remain on the ground (unless performing an indirect free kick).
8. Goalkeepers must remain in the goalkeeper’s area at all times. Should a goalkeeper leave the goalkeeper’s area, an indirect free kick is awarded to the attacking team, 2 metres from the edge of the goalkeeper’s area from where the goalkeeper left the area.

9. If a penalty kick is awarded, the player taking the penalty may take ONE step only before striking the ball. The ball should be placed on the penalty spot/ two metres from the top of the goal area in line with the centre of the goal.

4. Fixtures

1. Fixtures for the term will be uploaded to BUCS Play.
2. A team that misses more than two games will be penalized by docking 3 points per game (after the second game).
3. 1 Match will consist of 2 x 20-minute halves on the Sports Hub 5-a-side Football pitches (unless stated otherwise) with a 5-minute half-time break.
4. Matches to start at quarter past the hour, or earlier if both captains agree – first 15 minutes of the pitch booking can be used as warm up (e.g for the Friday 4pm league, matches will start at 4.15pm).
5. If a team turns up 15 minutes late, they automatically lose the game 3-0 but can continue to play the game as a friendly.

5. Results

1. Match results should be entered on the relevant BUCS Play league by each captain, within 24 hours of the match being players.
2. Result disputes can be raised via BUCS Play, via the League Activator or emailed to warwickactive@warwick.ac.uk
3. 3 points will be awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss.
4. The format of the league will depend on entries and is at the discretion of the League Activator. A typical format will include a group stage and knockout stage.
5. League position will be decided on the following basis:
   • Points
   • Goal difference
   • Goals scored
   • Match result
   • Number of matches won

6. Disputes

1. In the case of a dispute teams should first contact the League Activator.
2. If there is disagreement with the decision of the League Activator or Sport Engagement Officer, the matter shall be referred to the Active Wellbeing Manager, who’s decision is final.

7. Conduct

Team captains are encouraged to report any misconduct to the relevant Sport Engagement Officer overseeing the league.

Should a team, or players from a team, indulge in any actions that are deemed by the organisers to be detrimental to the good spirit of the league, then the organisers are entitled to take appropriate action. This may include, but is not limited to, suspension of players, loss of points, exclusion from the competition with no refund given and referral to the University’s student conduct team. Please refer to our Active Leagues code of conduct.

8. League refunds

1. Refunds will not be issued for teams failing to attend fixtures at any point during the time allocated for the league.

2. Refunds will only be issued if Warwick Sport has to cancel a fixture resulting in a team not meeting the minimum of 6 games played. This refund will be issued at the price per fixture per minimum squad number.

9. Contact

Initial contact should be made to the relevant League Activator.

If you have any questions on the league, contact warwickactive at warwick dot ac dot uk.

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I’ve signed up, what happens next?

Please email your team’s name to warwickactive@warwick.ac.uk

Your League Activator will be in contact via email once the sign-up deadline has passed to provide information around the captain’s meeting, first fixture dates, format etc.

The provisional league start date is included in the details of your booking.