Basic League Rules
• The entry age of players is 16 years old
• The League is run by a committee. Elected members will remain until they step down or are voted out by fellow committee members or a total unanimous vote by all league managers at the AGM.
• New members will be elected by the existing committee. Candidates will be chosen by fellow managers who regularly attend managers meetings
• No one team can have more than 2 members on the committee unless sanctioned unanimously by fellow managers by vote at the AGM.
• The league committee decides its promotion and relegation structure pre-season. These processes cannot be challenged. If at any time the league needs to change its structure due to teams leaving or changing the numbers in its divisions it will look to the committee to produce an outcome. The committee will review all factors in any change including the clubs recent performances and cup progress and liaise with club officials. The outcome of any re-structure must be abided by and clubs do not hold the right to decline any outcome.
• The league allows a substitution system of 7 named substitutes. 5 can be used. The referee must be made aware of this before the start of a game.
• The league will abide by any decision the FA make regarding disputes with referees or results.
• Each participating club must have a legitimately booked pitch. The SDFPL may require at any time proof of booking for any individual game. This requirement is to comply with the laws set down by the FA and for insurance purposes.
• All deadlines set out by the SDFPL must be abided to. These deadlines have been decided giving ample time to comply with rule requirements. Any further delay with out previous communication with the SDFPL will be subject to a league fine.
• Any behavioural problems with teams that does not involve the FA’s own discipline panel such as unheard racial comments, spectator and the behaviour of players on the sidelines and general team fair play will be reviewed by the committee and if necessary the league will decide any punishment and if is required, pass any information directly to the FA for their attention.
• Clubs will abide by any sanctions. They will be permitted to appeal to the committee.
• If any game is abandoned, all scorers from that game will also be ruled void.
• The SDFPL hold the right to request the sitting of the league committee at any time to review discrepancies and loop holes in any of these listed rules.

Club and Manager Administration and Responsibilities.
• Managers are responsible for obtaining a referee. The league recommends managers booking referees well in advance and officials are usually hard to find within the week leading up to the game. Any manager/club frequently not providing a referee could be open to sanctions by the league committee.
• Managers are required to provide a representative to ALL SDFPL meetings. Failure to do so will incur any of the following penalties
Missed One Meeting (With Apologies) – Grace
Missed One Meeting (No Apologies) - £10 Fine
Missed Second Meeting - £10 Fine
Missed Third Meeting - £10 Fine & 3 Points deduction
Subsequent Missed Meetings - £10 Fine & 3 points deduction for each meeting missed
• Clubs must provide basic elements such as match ball, netting, corner flags and matching football team wear.
• Clubs must provide basic medical items such as clean water, magic sponge.
• Clubs are requested to provide further items such as medical/first aid bag containing dressings, spray, eye drops etc. Clubs are also requested to have a representative who has first aid qualification.
• Clubs must supply its Saturday result by Tuesday 19:00pm. The info required is: - results, scorers (yours and if possible opposition) and fair play points.
• If clubs do not submit their game information by the required date or the information is incomplete the team will face any of the following sanctions.
1st Missed Match Report - Grace
2nd Missed Report - £10 Fine
3rd Missed Report - £20 Fine
4th Missed Report - £20 Fine & 3 Points Deduction
Subsequent Missed reports - £20 Fine & 3 points deduction for each missed report

• Fair Play points MUST be issued in accordance with the fair play standards which are issued to all teams and can be found on the leagues website. A monthly fair play table will be posted showing teams average scores. Average fair play scores will be posted after a team has played 5 games
• The SDFPL reserve the right to fine teams £10 each time a deadline for correspondence (such as entry fees & forms, player reg forms & fees and any other admin related item requested by the league secretary.
• Home managers are required to contact the opposition manager by Tuesday 10pm to confirm pitch booking and referee.
• Clubs are responsible for its players and any supporters on the sidelines.
• Clubs are responsible for informing their players of the standard of behaviour required by SDFPL Clubs and a general brief on the ethos of the league and what its stands for.
• Teams have the right to cancel 1 game should the need arise. If a game has to be postponed due to adverse weather or reasons outside the home teams control (council/private owner requiring use of the pitch) then this will not affect the “1 game” rule. See cancellation section.
• Teams are expected to complete fixtures without unjust delay. FA laws state teams can play with 8 players+
• A deadline will be set outlining payment for any fine issued. A further fine of £10 will be issued If this deadline is passed. If this deadline is also breached, the case will be passed to the committee to decide further sanction.
The committee will also look the following issues for consideration in the future
- Failure of teams to fulfil fixtures & Penalties
- New teams to the league in 2008/2009 season to have affiliation with a church

Kits
It is the AWAY teams responsibility to make sure they have a suitable change strip before arriving at the host venue.
Prior agreement during the telephone conversation / e-mail between managers in the days before the game, may take place where the home team if necessary uses it’s change strip.
Managers of teams forced to change colours must contact the SDFPL and make them aware.
Teams that force the home team to change colours on a regular basis will be warned they MUST arrange an alternate strip for away games against teams of the same colour.

Changes to league structure and new entry
• Teams wanting to enter the SDFPL must follow these guidelines.
• Request for entry should be made during September – March.
• Contact the league secretary to request an application form. Applicants must have submitted this form.
• The league committee will decide changes to the league structure.
• Teams wanting to enter are advised to have played a series of games with other SDFPL sides in order to gain a good reputation with other league sides.
• Teams must be able to prove they have :- Proof of pitch hire for home fixtures, full kit, basic match equipment as stated in the rules (nets, balls etc)
• The league requires new teams to have played 5 different established SDFPL sides. These SDFPL sides will grade the team seeking entry by way of the fair play point system currently in use.
• The committee will decide new entries to the league and favour teams who have played the most friendlies gaining a better recommendation by SDFPL managers.

Cancellations
o Teams are allowed to change fixtures 31days and over, of the fixture date being played provided that MUTUAL agreement has taken place. No penalty will be brought before the team cancelling at this point. Both clubs to inform the SDFPL of the change immediately.
o Inside one month of a fixture being played, should a team wish to cancel a fixture they will be fined a charge of £15 or use their “1 cancellation”. The SDFPL must be informed immediately of the cancellation and of a new date as soon as possible.
o All negotiation regarding fixture change MUST be clarified VERBALLY between managers. Email may be used in certain circumstances but fixtures change and confirmations between managers MUST NOT be done via SMS Text.
o BOTH Teams Must inform the fixtures secretary of change by either completing the online change form on www.sdfpl.co.uk or by phone or email immediately.
o All cancellation/postponements MUST be re-arranged within 14 days of the initial request to cancel/postpone or teams will incur a £10 fine. Midweeks from April onwards should be considered.
o If any rearranged fixture is played without consent or knowledge of the SDFPL, the teams involved shall be fined £15. (both clubs should have notified of the change)
o If a rearranged fixture is cancelled a second time, onus is solely on the team cancelling THE REARRANGED fixture not the first.
Please follow the following guide to cancelling a fixture
CANCELLATION GUIDE

Players and Registrations
• Teams can register a maximum of 30 players throughout a season.
• Teams are entitled to de-register a player at any time until December 31st
• Players can be registered until Thursday February 28th
• A player cannot play until he has signed a player registration form and that form has been received by the SDFPL with a £3 player fee.
• An emergency counter signing can be made on the day of a game providing the registration form has been signed by the OPPOSITION manager. It must then be received by the SDFPL along with a £3 player fee no later than Wednesday following a game. Failure to send this info will incur a fine.
• Should a player take part in an SDFPL game who is not registered on the league database and has not been part of an emergency counter signing, the following will happen.
1. The game will be awarded to the opposition with a minimum score of 3-0 (if the match day score was greater, that score will stand)
2. The team will be fined £25
3. The committee will sit to determine if further punishment should be taken.
• Players can only move teams providing the two teams are in agreement and the team holding the players registration requests the player de-registered with the SDFPL. In special circumstances, the league committee will sit and review a case if required.
• A squad sheet will be distributed to managers pre-season. This list may be used to inform the league on players who it WILL be signing but are unable to gain completed and signed signature from until a later date. The league will accept this list. As such any player listed on the sheet will be classed as signed. The league will expect a completed form and fee for each name listed on the sheet. If the league does not gain a completed form or fee, the registration place is taken until the club provide a £3 release charge.
• A copy of the squad sheet should be retained by the manager to keep track of any changes in player details such as address etc. The SDFPL may require access to this updated information to present to the FA if required.
• Players are to abide by these rules.