Cup Rules

26.A

All clubs in membership of the Competition shall enter all Cup Competitions for which their teams qualify or are invited into at the discretion of the Management Committee. No fee will be required to enter the Roger Jones Senior Challenge Cup or a Divisional Cup (Premier, Intermediate, Junior or Shield) which is included in the annual subscription. All additional cups will require an entrance fee if required by the Cup Competitions Committee.

26.B

The Charity Shield. The previous seasons winners of the Premier Division and the Roger Jones Senior Challenge Cup will contest a Charity Shield usually on the first Sunday of the new season subject to (26A) above.

The Roger Jones Senior Challenge Cup. All teams shall be permitted to enter this Competition subject to (i) above. Teams from the Premier Division and Championship shall not enter until a later round date determined by the committee.

The Junior Challenge Cup. All teams who exit the Roger Jones Senior Challenge Cup during the early rounds of the cup (excluding teams in the Premier Division and Championship) shall enter this competition subject to (26A) above. Teams can also choose to enter this cup direct if they do not wish to enter the Senior Challenge Cup. An entry fee of £25.00 per team will be required.

The Premier Cup All teams in the Premier Division and Championship shall enter this cup competition subject to (26A) above. The Intermediate Cup. All teams in the 1st and 2nd divisions shall enter this cup competition subject to (26A) above.

The Junior Cup. All teams in the 3rd and 4th divisions shall enter this cup competition subject to (26A) above. The Veterans Cup. All teams in the Eastern Division (Vets) shall enter this cup competition subject to (26A) above. The Management Committee reserves the right to alter the entrants to all Cup Competitions at their discretion.

26.C

If other Cup competitions are organised teams shall be invited to enter these at the discretion of the Management Committee and Cup Competitions may be run on either a Knock Out basis or League basis (or a combination of the two) as advised by the Cup Competitions Committee. An entry fee of £35.00 may be required for entering any additional cups.

26.D

In the publication of the draw for any round up to the final, the first named in the tie shall be the home team and shall be responsible for informing Match Officials and Opponents of all particulars as in Rule 20 (D).

26.E

The cost of all ties including Semi-Finals, but excluding Finals, shall be shared by the teams involved. The Management Committee may ask for teams involved in the Finals to contribute towards the cost if deemed necessary.

26.F

A player having represented one team in a Cup competition will NOT be eligible to represent any other team in the same competition in the same season. An example – if a player plays in the 1^st round of the cup for one team and then transfers, they would not be eligible to play in the same competition for their new team. The same principle applies to a player who is signed to a club with more than one team in the league – if the player plays for the first team, they are not eligible for the second or subsequent teams.

26.G

Players taking part in Semi-Final or Final ties shall be eligible by having played (in accordance with Rule 18) in at least 2 matches (League and/or Cup) played by that team in the Competition in the current season. The number of matches includes all matches actually played (including those against teams who have subsequently withdrawn from the Competition under Rule 22(D)) and shall be rounded

26.H

A player may not play for more than one team in the Premier, Intermediate, Junior or BSFL Shield. Failure to abide by this rule will result in the offending team being ejected from the Cup competition. As an example – if a clubs 1st team is in the Premier Cup and the 2nd team is in the Intermediate Cup then a player or players who have been fielded in the 1st team in the Premier Cup cannot play for the 2nd team in the Intermediate Cup competition. This rule does not override any other League Rules and they will still apply. See also Rule 18(N).

26.I

The maximum time to be played in League Cup matches shall be 90 minutes (45 minutes each-way) and the minimum time shall be 60 minutes (30 minutes each-way). In the semi-finals and final only, if a match is drawn after normal time, extra time of 15 minutes each-way must be played. The Cup Competitions Committee reserves the right to decide whether Cup Finals will be decided by extra time or a penalty shoot-out to determine the tie if the scores are still level after full time, prior to kick off.

26.J

The time of kick-off for the Cup competitions shall be between 10:00 and 13:30, except for the Semi Final and Final rounds which will be decided by the Management Committee.

26.K

At the start of each season the Cup Competitions Committee will compile the draw for the Cup Competition up to and including the Final Round or as decided by the Management Committee.

26.L

Pitch and Match Officials fees for all rounds up to and including the Semi Final will be shared between the 2 teams. (Up to a maximum of £50 can be claimed from the opponents for the cost of a pitch, all Match Officials’ expenses are to be shared equally.) If the Semi Final is played on a neutral pitch chosen by the Competition and the cost exceeds £300 (£150 per team) the Competition will bear the additional cost above £200.

26.M

The ground for the Semi-Finals and Final tie will be decided by the Management Committee and all pitch and Match Officials’ fees for the Final will be paid by the Competition. The Management Committee may ask for teams involved in the Finals to contribute towards the cost if deemed necessary.

26.N

Clubs taking part in County Cups shall inform the Fixtures Secretary by the 1st August. Failure to comply with this Rule will result in a fine in accordance with the Fines Tariff.

26.O

Clubs taking part in County Cups shall inform the Fixtures Secretary of the dates they are playing as soon as they are informed by the appropriate County FA. Failure to comply with this Rule will result in a fine in accordance with the Fines Tariff.

26.P

Where possible ties must go ahead on the scheduled date determined by the management committee. Games are to be played at the team drawn at Home teams pitch if available and if Home teams pitch is not available then the game is played at the Away teams’ pitch. If the away teams pitch is not available then a neutral ground needs to be found for the tie to be played which is the Home teams responsibility to source a pitch.

26.Q

If a Cup fixture is twice postponed due to causes over which neither club has control, the game may be played on a neutral ground or the away team’s ground if mutually agreed by the two clubs.

26.R

Additional Cup competitions may be organized throughout the season and teams invited to participate will be determined at the discretion of the Cup Competitions Committee. Cup competitions may be played on either a knockout basis or a group (League) basis.

26.S

Cup entry fees for the Roger Jones Senior Challenge Cup and Divisional Cup (Premier, Intermediate, Junior or Shield) are included in the Annual Subscription as per Rule 4B. Clubs failing to pay their fees by the due date shall be dealt with as the Management Committee determines. All other cup competitions required a £35.00 entrance fee.