Craven Minor Junior Football League

Under 7 and Under 8 Divisions

At the moment there are 10 teams in the Under 7 Division and 11 in the Under 8’s. Because these leagues are non-competetive without the same need to complete all fixtures, it may be possible to incorporate new teams into the league at any stage during the season, but if any club is thinking of putting in additional teams as much notice as possible would be appreciated.

Because the Under 7 and 8 Divisions have to be played on a “friendly” basis, the League will not re-arrange any games which do not get played on their original scheduled date for any reason, but clubs can arrange them between themselves if they want to.

The League has organised a fixture lists which cover the whole season with a break from mid-December to mid-January. No mid-week games have been arranged. At the moment there are usually two Under 7 and one Under 8 teams without a game each week, leaving space for new teams to join.

A player who is young enough to qualify for either the Under 7 or 8 Division is not permitted to play in Under 9 or 10 League or Cup games, but Under 7’s may play in an Under 8 game.

Where a club has entered more than one team in the Under 7 or Under 8 Division, because these leagues are played on a non-competitive basis, they may use players registered for one of those teams in the other without the need for a transfer, but they cannot play for two teams on the same day – see note below relating to New Rule.

Under 9 Division

The Under 9 Division will be played on a competitive basis and there will also be the Jim Rourke knock-out cup competition. A player who is young enough to qualify for the Under 7 or 8 Division is not permitted to play in Under 9 or 10 League or Cup games.

There are 15 teams in the Under 9 Division. It will be necessary to play mid-week games during the first two weeks of the season. Fixtures have not yet been scheduled to take place after the fist week in December or for the first two weeks in January, but any games postponed before then for any reason are likely to be arranged for that period.

The league will be played in two stages. In the first stage all teams are scheduled to play each other once. In January the division will be split into two parts with the stronger teams being placed into the Leopards Division and those not as strong in the Panthers Division. Trophies and awards will be given to the winners and runners-up in both the Leopards and Panthers Division.

Please note that results and points from the first part of the season between teams who end up in the same division after the split will be carried through – as teams in the new divisions will only play each other once in the second part of the season this will mean that by the end of the season they will have played each other twice (once in the first part and once in the second). Points gained against teams who are in the other division will not count towards the final points total.

The Jim Rourke Trophy competition will probably take place after December.

Where a club has entered more than one team in the Under 9 Division, unlike the Under 7 and 8 Divisions, players registered in one team cannot play in another team in the same age group in the same club without a transfer. Transfers within the same club will normally only be approved prior to 1^st October (See Rule 8(I))

Under 10 Division

There are currently 17 teams expected to be playing in the Under 10 Division. Because of the numbers involved it would be impractical to operate this age group on the same basis as the Under 9’s and for this reason it has been decided to split the age group into two divisions, Eagles and Hawks, from the start of the season. This split has been made based on the performance of teams in last season’s Under 9 Divisions wherever possible. Teams will play each other three times during the season and the points from all three fixtures will count towards the final league positions.

This will be a quite busy programme of fixtures, involving mid-week games during the first two weeks of the season and a shorter break at Christmas, with fixtures scheduled up to 19^th December and starting again on 9^th January. Any games postponed for any reason will almost certainly result in mid-week fixtures having to be played at the end of the season.

The same restriction relating to clubs having more than one team in the same age group outlined above in connection with Under 9’s also applies to Under 10’s.

Because the Under 9 and Under 10 Divisions are played on a competitive basis, unlike the Under 7’s and 8’s, it should be noted that if a player plays for a team in their club above the age for which they have registered then that player becomes ineligible to play for any other team that the club has in that same age group, unless a transfer is completed in accordance with Rule 8(I), e.g. a player who is registered to play at Under 9 and then plays in the club’s “A” team at Under 10 would not be allowed to play in the club’s “B” team at Under 10 unless that player was transferred to the “B” team.

Players who are eligible to play at Under 10 cannot take part in any 11-a-side games.

New Rule

Please note that at the League AGM in June it was agreed to amend part of Rule 10(B), relating to mini-soccer, by including the following sentence:

“Any player having previously taken part in any game, either in this League or any other, will be considered to be ineligible to take part in this Competition on the same day, irrespective of the duration.”

Fixture Clashes and Kick-off times

Because of the varying size of the divisions and also the fact that a number of clubs have two or three teams in some age groups, it is inevitable that there will be times when fixture clashes arise with more than one game scheduled to take place on the same pitch on the same day. Fortunately, with the mini-soccer divisions it is easier to take advantage of the flexibility allowed over kick-off times to overcome any problems (see Rule SS4 in the Rule Book). However, if a pitch is still not available then clubs must liaise with their opponents at the earliest opportunity to check if the game could be played at their ground. If the matter can still not be resolved then the Fixture Secretary must be informed as soon as possible, which should be no later than two days before the game is due.

Please note that clubs must give priority to the more senior game – i.e., Cup games must always take priority over league games and older age groups must take priority over younger, so for instance an Under 10 game cannot be prevented from taking place because the only pitch a club has available is being used by the Under 9’s, unless the Under 9 game is a cup match. (See Rule 10(F)). Fixtures organised by the League must always take priority over friendlies, including Under 7 & 8 fixtures.

Mid-Week Fixtures

There are mid-week fixtures scheduled for the Under 9’s and 10’s. As in previous seasons, there is some flexibility over the days in the week when these are to be played - teams may agree an alternative day in the same week, but if an alternative day cannot be agreed then the scheduled date must stand. The Fixture Secretary must be informed in advance by e-mail of any agreed changes. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS ARRANGEMENT ONLY APPLIES TO MINI-SOCCER FIXTURES.

Reporting of Results

Mini-Soccer results must be reported to the Mini-Soccer Fixture Secretary (01695 421212) in accordance with the rules. FOR MINI-SOCCER THE PREFERRED METHOD OF REPORTING IS BY TELEPHONE – ALL CALLS WILL BE ANSWERED BY ANSWERPHONE. Results may be left by e-mail if necessary or as well, but these will take longer to process.

Press Reports

The League welcomes reports on games which will be submitted by the Press Secretary to the local press, particularly in the Mini-Soccer age groups. Reports can be sent to the Press Secretary at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Please note that following changes introduced to the Rules by the Football Association, leagues are not permitted to collect results for Under 7 and Under 8 Mini-Soccer and therefore the League will not be able to publish scores or scorers in the press and therefore reports submitted for these age groups should not include the names of scorers or the final score.

Holidays

It is important to note that there is no time set aside within the fixtures for holidays other than Christmas/New Year and Easter Weekend (24^th April 2011), and it is essential therefore that that clubs take adequate steps to ensure that they have sufficient players available to meet their fixture commitments.

Under 9’s and 10’s should particularly note that there are no breaks scheduled for half-term holidays and therefore teams may wish to consider saving the use of “lives” for those dates when players (or managers) are away – every season clubs seem surprised when people go away on holiday.

Failure to play a fixture because insufficient players or managers are available may result in a charge of non-fulfilment being made against the club, with a resultant fine and loss of points.