10. (A) The Annual General Meeting shall determine the commencing and concluding dates for the ensuing season which shall be in accordance with Football Association Rules. No Club shall be compelled to play after the concluding date. Original fixtures arranged by the Fixtures Secretary, must not be arranged for a date later than seven days preceding the concluding date determined by the Annual General Meeting.
All Clubs shall provide the Fixture Secretary by the 01st June with a list of Home dates for the whole of the ensuing season. Any Club failing to comply shall be liable to a minimum fine of £20.00.

(B) All matches shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game as determined by the International Football Association Board.

Clubs must take all reasonable precautions to keep their grounds in a playable condition. All matches shall be played on pitches deemed suitable by the Management Committee. If through any fault of the home team a match has to be replayed, the Management Committee shall have power to order the venue to be changed.

The Management Committee shall have power to decide whether a pitch and/or facilities are suitable for matches in the Competition and to order the Club concerned to play its fixtures on another ground.

All matches shall have a duration of 90 minutes unless a shorter time (not less than 60 minutes) is mutually arranged by the two captains in consultation with the referee prior to the commencement of the match, and in any event shall be of equal halves.

The times of kick-off shall be fixed by the A.G.M. or the Management Committee and currently will be 3.00pm during August, September, October, March, April and May; and 2.00pm during November, December, January and 2.30pm February. Any Club failing to commence at the appointed time shall be fined a sum not exceeding £20.00 or be otherwise dealt with as the Management Committee may determine.

If a member Club has suitable floodlights then the kick-off shall be 3.00pm and for evening matches 7.45pm, or as agreed with the Fixture Secretary, at least 5 days notice shall be given to the match officials and the opposing Club.
Early or late season evening Kick Off times for clubs with no lights shall be neither earlier than 1800 nor later than 1830 as set by the Fixtures Secretary
Referees must order matches to commence at the appointed time and must report all late starts to the Competition.

C) Except by permission of the Management Committee all matches must be played on the dates originally fixed but priority shall be given to The Football Association and all relevant County Association and Local Area Division Cup Competitions. All other matches must be considered secondary. Clubs may mutually agree to bring forward a match with the consent of the Fixtures Secretary.

(D) The Secretary of the home Club must give notice in writing or e-mail of full particulars of the location of, and access to, the ground and time of kick-off to the match officials and the Secretary of the opposing Club at least five clear days prior to the playing of the match. The away Club shall seek and acknowledge receipt of such particulars.

Any Club failing to comply with this Rule shall be liable to a fine of £20.00.

(E) Every Club shall play its best available qualified team or teams in all matches in the Competition.

(Note: The intention of this Rule is not to interfere with normal team selection by Clubs, but to prevent Clubs deliberately fielding a weakened team in order to unreasonably reserve players for another game or to boost the strength of another or lower team. It is NOT intended that Clubs MUST field higher team players in lower teams when the higher team has no engagement. If, in the opinion of the Management Committee, the substance or spirit of the Rule is obviously being disregarded, the Club or Clubs concerned may be called to account for its/their actions and shall be subject to such decisions as the Management Committee may determine, despite the fact that Rule 8 has not been infringed.)

In the event of a Club playing in any match with less than eleven players they may be fined £15.00 for each missing player. A minimum of seven (7) players will constitute a team for a Competition match.

(F) Home and away matches shall be played. In the event of a Club failing to keep its engagement the Management Committee shall have power to inflict a fine up to £100.00, deduct points from the defaulting Club, award the points to the opponents, order the defaulting Club to pay any expenses incurred by the opponents or otherwise deal with them except the award of goals. Not withstanding the foregoing home and away provision, the Management Committee shall have power to order a match to be played on a neutral ground or on the opponent’s ground if they are satisfied that such action is warranted by the circumstances.

Any Club with more than one team in the Competition shall always fulfil its fixture, within the Competition, in the following order of precedence: - First Team; Reserve Team, and A Team. Clubs in breach of this requirement shall be fined a sum not exceeding £50.00 or otherwise dealt with by the Management Committee.

Any Club unable to fulfil a fixture must, without delay, give notice to the Fixtures Secretary, the Competition Referees Appointments Secretary, the Secretary of the opposing Club and the match officials and shall send an explanation of circumstances in writing to the Competition Secretary within three days of the date of the fixture. Any Club failing to comply shall be dealt with by the Management Committee who may inflict any penalty it may deem suitable.

In the event of a match not being played or abandoned owing to causes over which neither Club has control, it shall be played in its entirety on a date to be mutually agreed by the two Clubs and approved by the Management Committee. Failing such agreement and notification to the Fixtures Secretary within three (3) days the Management Committee shall have power to order the match to be played on a named date or on or before a given date.

In all cases of matches being postponed on the day or abandoned for whatever reason, both Clubs must inform the Competition Fixture/Result Secretary on the day of the match. They shall send an explanation of circumstances in writing to the Competition Secretary within three days of the date of the fixture. Any Club failing to comply shall be dealt with by the Management Committee who may inflict any penalty it may deem suitable.

The Management Committee shall review all matches abandoned in cases where it is consequent upon the conduct of either or both Teams. Where it is to the advantage of the Competition and does no injustice to either Club, the Management Committee shall be empowered to order the score at the time of the abandonment to stand. In all cases where the Management Committee are satisfied that a match was abandoned owing to the conduct of one team or its Club member(s) they shall be empowered to award the points for the match to the opponents and/or take what other action they may deem necessary. In cases where a match is abandoned owing to the conduct of both teams or their Club members, the Management Committee shall take such action, as they consider appropriate. Such action is subject to any disciplinary action taken by the appropriate Affiliated Association.

(G) A Club may at its discretion and in accordance with the Laws of the Game use 3 substitute players in any match in this Competition who may be selected from 5 players.

The referee shall be informed of the names of the substitutes not later than 30 minutes before the start of the match.

A player who has been selected, appointed or named as a substitute before the start of the match but does not actually play in the game shall not be considered to have been a player in that game within the meaning of Rule 8 of this Competition.

(H) The half time interval shall be of ten minutes duration, but it shall not exceed fifteen minutes the half time interval may only be altered with the consent of the referee.

Both teams must list the names of players and substitutes in block capitals and in shirt number order on the official form (team sheet) supplied by the Competition. A copy shall be handed to the Referee and a representative of their opponents in the presence of the Referee at least 30 minutes before the scheduled time of kick-off.
Clubs in breach of this requirement may be fined a sum of £20.00 or otherwise dealt with by the Management Committee.

(I) Only the following shall be permitted to occupy the trainers box, up to five named substitutes and up to three nominated Club Officials, only the nominated coach/manager may convey tactical instructions to the players during the match and he/she must return to their position immediately after giving these instructions. He/she and other officials must remain within the confines of the technical area and they must behave in a responsible manner.