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Warwick Sport

Football league rules

1. Organisation

The League is organised and delivered by Warwick Sport in partnership with the University of Warwick Men’s Football Club. The League will be managed the Warwick Sport Sports Engagement Officer. The 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 captains meeting ahead of the season starting. Details of when this will take place will be sent to all captains at the end of week 2 of term.

2. Squads

  1. The Captain must register the team to the Warwick Sport leagues.
  2. Teams must have a squad of between 12 and 30 players. Matches will be 11-a-side but if teams are struggling to submit a full squad then the team sizes can be reduced as long as both Captains agree (e.g. Playing 10 on each side). The original squad may be added to throughout the season, up to this limit, with the following provisos.
  3. At least 7 players must be present to start the game.
  4. 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.
  5. A points system will operate to restrict the number of University of Warwick Men’s Football Club players that are on the pitch at any time. Up to 18 points in team players may be fielded at any time, with a maximum of 5 team players in total. First team players are classified as 6 points, second as 4, third as 3, and fourth as 2 point.

3. General Rules

  1. 1Matches will consist of 2 x 30 minute halves on the Westwood 3G Tarkett (unless stated otherwise) with a 5 minute half-time break.
  2. The rules of the International Football Association Board will apply at all times (currently according to the 2021/22 Laws of the Game).
  3. Teams will play each other once during the league phase.
  4. 3 points will be awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss.
  5. 72+ hours’ notice is required for cancellation or rearrangement of fixtures. If it is not possible for matches to be rearranged this will result in a draw. Cancellations after this deadline will automatically result in a 3-0 win to the opponents and will receive a 1 point deduction.
  6. Any team who does not show up for a match on the day, with no notice or communication to the league organiser and the team they are scheduled to play will receive a 2 point deduction.
  7. A team forfeits a game if they fail to turn up to play without adequate notice (see rule 3.5). A team that misses more than two games will be penalized by docking 3 points per game (after the second game).
  8. The game shall also be forfeited if the team breaks any of the rules in section 2 above.
  9. A goal should be rewarded to the opponent for each 5 minutes a team is late (up to the referee’s discretion to enforce this) 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.
  10. Teams are allowed unlimited substitutes on a rolling basis.
  11. Teams are responsible for providing a match ball.
  12. All captains will be required to either referee or provide a player to referee for certain matches throughout the season. Referee allocations will be specified by the League Activator as early as is possible.
  13. Failure to referee a match will result in the following disciplinary actions:
    • 1st instance: 1 point deduction from the league table
    • 2nd instance: 3 point deduction from the league table
    • 3rd instance: 5 point deduction from the league table
    • 4th instance: Team removed from the league, with no refund given for any remaining fixtures.
  14. Each referee must submit behavior rating for each team following each fixture.
  15. Shin pads must be worn.

4. Fixtures

  1. Fixtures for the term will be uploaded to Playwaze.
  2. Results will be entered by the league activator not team captains.
  3. Teams unable to fulfil a fixture must give at least 3 days’ notice to both the league organiser and the opposing team’s captain. Where possible, the league activator will attempt to meet all match reschedule requests. However, in the case of excessive requests, or where a request has already been made at some point earlier during the same season, a new request that cannot be met may result in a match forfeit.
  4. Teams failing to fulfil a fixture without obeying the above procedures will forfeit the match 3-0 and will receive a 1 point deduction. For postponements after the notice period, or other rule breaches, penalty appeals will be considered at the discretion of the league organiser.
  5. Teams failing to fulfil a fixture without obeying the above procedures will forfeit the match 3-0. For postponements after the notice period, or other rule breaches, penalty appeals will be considered at the discretion of the league organiser.
  6. The date, time and location of a fixture can be changed in agreement between the two Captains. The game must be played within 5 days of the original fixture unless agreed otherwise with the League organiser.
  7. The top 4 teams go through to the finals – qualifying teams will be contacted (last week of term 2).

5. Results

  1. Match results should be entered on the relevant Playwaze league by each captain.
  2. All captains will be invited to the 11-a-side Facebook Football League page once they enter the league. The Facebook group will be used to keep teams, captains and players up to date with any issues relating to the league.
  3. Team captains can invite other players registered in their team to join the group.

6. League Position

League position will be decided on the following basis:

  • Points
  • Goal difference
  • Goals scored
  • Match result
  • Number of matches won

7. Disputes

  1. 1. In the case of a dispute teams should first contact the league organiser.
  2. If there is disagreement with the decision of the organisers, the matter shall be referred to the Warwick Sport Committee, whose ruling is final.

8. Conduct

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 whatever action is deemed appropriate. This may include, but is not limited to, suspension of players, loss of points, exclusion from the competition and referral to the University’s student conduct team.

9. League refunds

  1. League refunds will only be issued if Warwick Sport are required to cancel the league for any reason such as another Lockdown occurring whereby it will be impossible to complete the league.
  2. Should Warwick Sport be required to cancel the league for any reason, a refund will be issued on a pro rata basis (amount allocated to each scheduled game) and NOT the initial fee paid upon entry into the league.
  3. Refunds will not be issued for teams failing to attend fixtures at any point during the time allocated for the league.

Contact

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

Good luck and enjoy everyone.