SISTERS n SPORT Girls Football National Netball Cup for Schools – Rules, Regulations & FAQ’s

Rules and Regulations

Sanction by the ESFA
The SISTERS n SPORT Girls' Football National Cup for Schools is an ESFA sanctioned competition.

Registration and Payment of Entry
All registrations must be made online via the Sisters n Sport Website – payment can be online or via invoice.

Eligibility of Players
Any girl in full time education at a participating school, who falls into the correct age range:
U13 Competition – School Years 7/8
U14 Competition – School Years 8/9
U15 Competition – School Years 9/10

Should a pupil move school during the academic year she may still be eligible for her new school, even having previously represented her previous school – permission needs to be granted by SISTERS n SPORT – please email snsfootballcup@sistersnsport.com
During finals team managers should carry proof of age for all players and registration forms will be sent out to schools prior to finals day.

Competition Organisation

The competition shall be played on a knock-out basis with all matches to be decided on the day, with no replays.
The team highlighted BLUE will have the home advantage.

Date Schedule for National Cup Rounds:   
Round 1 - 15th December 2023
Round 2 - 31st January 2024
Round 3 - 8th March 2024
Round 4 - 12th April 2024
Quarter Finals - 3rd May 2024
Finals (SF and Finals) - w/c 20th May 2024 (TBC)
The National SF and Finals will be at a central venue

Date Schedule for National Plate Rounds:   
Round 1 - 31st January 2024
Round 2 - 8th March 2024
Round 3 - 12th April 2024
Quarter Finals - 3rd May 2024
Finals (SF and Finals) - w/c 20th May 2024 (TBC)
The National SF and Finals will be at a central venue

Arrangement of Matches & Safe Play
All matches must follow the guidance for returning to play from The FA and ESFA- https://schoolsfootball.org/covid-19-guidance/
Iy you have any questions please contact us.

When arranging matches – the Home team must provide three dates to the Away team, which should include one Saturday date and one mid-week. For following rounds, the match should be arranged within 7 days of the previous round being completed – see dates above.
We understand that school calendars can be full – especially around the holidays – and so extensions can be granted – please email snsfootballcup@sistersnsport.com for permission. Failure to do this may result in disqualification.
Teams unable to agree a date by the deadline must both inform SISTERS n SPORT during this 7 day period.
Sisters n Sport will then decide the date and start time of the match. Any decision SISTERS n SPORT make will be final and binding.
TEAMS NOT COMPLETING MATCHES BY THE STIPULATED DATE MAY BE LIABLE TO DISQUALIFICATION FROM

THE COMPETITION
The Field of Play
The following recommended pitch sizes for U13/U14/U15 youth football:

Age group    Type    Length(yds) Width (yds) Goal Height (ft) Goal Width (ft)
U13 / U14    11 v 11           90                55                      7                          21*
U15 / U16    11 v 11          100               60                      8                          24

*If a pitch is provided for U13 / U14 it is recommended that 7 x 21 goalposts are provided. However, it should be noted that 8 x 24 would also be acceptable as not all sites will be able to provide specifically for this age group.
Artificial Turf Pitches (3G Artificial Pitches) are allowed in this Competition providing they meet the required performance standards and are listed on the register and must be tested (by an accredited test institute) every
three years and the results passed to The FA. The home team is also responsible for advising participants of footwear requirements when confirming the match arrangements.

The Ball
The ball shall be Size 5 for the U15 Competition and Size 4 for U13 and U14

Substitutes
‘Repeated’ substitutions are allowed in all competitions up to and including the Under 18 age group.
In these age groups, a player who has been substituted during a match becomes a substitute and may, in turn, replace another player at any time subject to the substitution being carried out in accordance with Law 3 of
the Laws of the Game.
Teams are permitted to use 5 substitutes from five named players.

Timings & Structure
U13
Timings – 2 x 35 minutes
Squad – 18 players
11 a side
Ball Size – 4

U14
Timings – 2 x 35 minutes
Squad – 18 players
11 a side
Ball Size – 4

U15
Timings – 2 x 40 minutes
Squad – 18 players
11 a side
Ball Size – 5

Draws
In case of a draw at full time, there will be 7 mins each way added for Extra Time before moving to Penalty Kicks. There should be 5 penalty kicks taken per team and this be will followed by ‘sudden death’ should the teams remain tied after 5 penalty kicks each.

Referees
Matches must be conducted by a neutral qualified referee where possible. The appointment of Match Officials is the responsibility of the ‘home’ team.
If you need to use a qualified referee from school then this must be agreed by both competing schools, prior to the match day.
In the Regional final and semi-final stages, please note no staff members are to be used during these stages.
Your local Referees’ Association Secretary or County Schools’ FA / FA Referees’ Officer may be available to assist with the appointment of Match Officials.
In the event of a referee failing to appear, the teams involved must agree in writing upon one on the ground so that the game shall be conducted in accordance with the rules. The official so acting shall have the powers
of a duly appointed referee.

DISCIPLINE
All football now operates under the MATCH BASED disciplinary procedures of The Football Association.

Temporary Dismissals for Players (SIN BINS):
Sin Bins (Temporary Dismissals) are being introduced to improve the match experience for everyone involved
with the game.
To understand more about the process you can undertake a quick course by
visiting https://www.fareferees.co.uk/temporary-dismissals/ – this course looks at why the scheme was introduced, and how referees will apply it on the field of play for players and team officials.

Standard Dismissals
If a player is sent off whilst playing for her school football team, then the suspension will only apply to Inter-
School competition matches.
Automatic sanctions will commence 7 days after the date of the match.
Any claim for “wrongful dismissal /mistaken identity” must generally be made within two days of the date of the game. (The appeal fee will be £30.00)
These sanctions will apply for the following dismissals: –
– Serious Foul Play
– Violent Conduct
– Spitting at an Opponent
– Denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by an offence punishable by a free-kick or penalty kick
– Denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball
– Use of offensive, insulting or abusive language
– Receiving a Second Caution in a match
The administration fee for these sanctions will be £15.00 + the fine imposed

MISCONDUCT CHARGES
A Misconduct Charge will be issued where an incident is reported which does not fall under standard dismissal offences or is a serious offence. A Discipline Commission will convene to consider all Misconduct Cases,
whether the response to the charge is accepted or denied. If you receive a Misconduct Charge and it is found proven, the suspension is from ALL football. If you are issued with a Misconduct Charge you will receive a
charge letter, response form and any evidence that the ESFA has received which we have based our charge upon. You must ensure you respond to the charge within 14 days.
Charges can apply to: – a School/College Association or any participant (e.g. Manager / Coach / Physio / Secretary / Chairperson)
The administration fee for these charges will be £10.00.

APPEAL FEE
The Appeal Fee for all Youth Games is £30.00
If you have not received a suspension notice from the ESFA within 10 days of a red card, then you must contact the ESFA immediately. Non-receipt of paperwork is not a valid defence and a charge will be issued if a
student plays whilst under suspension to both the School/College and the player.
An administration fee of £15 (Standard Dismissals) /£10 (Misconduct Charges) is applied to all discipline cases.
For further information on the new discipline process look at the The FA’s Discipline Handbook which can be viewed by clicking here. It gives advice and guidance to discipline managers, clubs, schools and participating players.
CASES INVOLVING DISCRIMINATION
In the event of any breach of Rule E3 (1) including a reference to any one or more of the following: ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, faith, gender, sexual orientation, or disability (an “aggravating charge”) resulting in and E3(2) charge the matter must immediately be referred to the ESFA Discipline Department.

Sharing of Data for Fixtures
By entering the Sisters n Sport National Cup Competitions, we will need to share your contact details (Name, Email and Contact Number) with the other schools within the competitions for you to be able to organise fixtures. Please let us know if there is a problem  – snsfootballcup@sistersnsport.com

Publicity
Competing schools shall use the proper name of the competition ‘Sisters n Sport National Girls Football Cup’ or #snsgirlsfootballcup when using social media. Please feel free to tweet us scores/photographs etc to @sistersnsport

Control
Decisions regarding any point of contention will be made by Sisters n Sport. Sisters n Sport reserve any right to deal with any matters not specifically provided for in the Rules of Competition and to take whatever action
they deem to be appropriate. Sisters n Sport are not responsible for any injury or loss experienced during the competition.

Fixtures will be split by region and initially sub-region as much as the entries allow – will be dependent of the entries per region & sub-region:

North
North West –Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, Cumbria and Lancashire
North East – County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear
Yorkshire
 
– West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and South Yorkshire

Midlands
East Midlands –
Derbyshire, , Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland.
West Midlands – Herefordshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Shropshire and  Staffordshire.

South East
Greater London – London
South East – West Sussex, Kent, Surrey, East Sussex
East – Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Norfolk

South West
South West 1 – Bournemouth, North Somerset, Wiltshire, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Bath & NE Somerset, Dorset, South Gloucestershire and Poole
South West 2 – Cornwall, Devon and Somerset
South – Berkshire, Brighton & Hove, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire

inspiresport Sisters n Sport Netball National Cup – FAQS


Q – I can’t get in touch with another school, despite contacting them on the information given.

A – Please email snsnationalcup@sistersnsport.com to advise.

Q – How to we send in the result?

A – Email snsnationalfootballcup@sistersnsport.com and we will update online

Q – What if we can’t get an referee?

A – Every attempt must be made to find a qualified referee, however, as a last resort, schools must come to an agreement whether they can use Staff or not. This is between yourselves, and Sisters n Sport will not accept any complaints or discrepancies over the result or reports of bias.

Q – When are the deadlines for matches?

A-  All deadlines are on the fixtures, we will send regular emails and the website will have all the information. If Teams unable to agree a date by the deadline must both inform the organiser during this 7 day period.  The SnS committee will then decide the date and start time of the match. Any decision of the SnS committee will be final and binding.

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