THE RULES OF BIRMINGHAM SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Section A - MEMBERSHIP

1.  The Association shall be affiliated to the English Schools FA and to the West Midlands Metropolitan County Schools FA and shall be guided by the rules of these associations.

2 . Membership shall be open to schools in the City of Birmingham.

3.  Member schools shall be insured under the scheme approved by the ESFA.

4.  Affiliation Fees: The amounts for Affiliation Fees shall be decided at an AGM or SGM. If necessary, an extra fee may be levied for a specific competition, should particular facilities be required and need to be paid for. This fee should be agreed by the Executive Committee in the light of proposed charges to be made by the outside agency.

5.  Affiliation to the Association shall presume acceptance of each and all of the rules of the Association.

Section B - Meetings

6.  The Annual General Meeting shall be held during the Summer Term. Affiliated schools may send, with full voting power, one teacher per team taking part in BSFA competitions. Twenty-eight days' notice of an AGM shall be given to member schools.

7.  The Association's financial year shall close on April 30th, and an audited cash statement shall be presented at the AGM.

8.   The Association's Rules may be altered only at an AGM. Suggestions for alterations to the Rules must be given in writing to the Hon Secretary at least 21 days before the AGM.               

9.   A Special General Meeting shall be convened at the request of not less than 5 schools. At least 7 days' notice of such a meeting shall be given to member schools.

Section C - Committees

10.  The Executive Committee shall deal with the general business of the Association, and in such matters its decisions shall be final. This committee, to be elected at the AGM, shall comprise the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Competition Secretaries and Representative Team Managers. It shall have the power to co-opt. Meetings shall be called as necessary, but at least once per school term. Four members shall form a quorum.

11.  The Emergency Committee shall comprise the Chairman, Vice-chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer, and shall be empowered to deal with matters demanding immediate action. The chairman shall have the casting vote, if required. This committee shall also act as a Disciplinary Committee, empowered to deal with breaches of rules, disputes or other such matters arising within this Association.

Section D - Representative Competitions

12.  The Association shall, if possible, enter representative teams in competitions in the following age groups: U16, U15, U14, U13, U12 and U11, and each shall carry the title BIRMINGHAM.

12a.  The colours of the Association's representative teams shall be predominantly blue and white.

12b.  Awards may be made to players in BSFA representative teams, depending on attendance, conduct and attitude.

12c.  Players attending representative trials should be teacher-accompanied.

Section E - Domestic Competitions

13.   Precedence

Representative matches or trials involving BSFA teams or players shall take precedence over inter-school matches, and Association teams shall have first call on players from member schools.

13a.  The order of precedence in inter-school matches shall be:
i.    External Trophy matches
ii.   BSFA Trophy matches
iii.  League matches
iv.  Re-arranged fixtures
v.   Other matches.

13b.   Fixtures must be played in accordance with the fixture list, the only exceptions being:
a. adverse weather or ground conditions
b. precedence considerations
c. schools having a player involved simultaneously in representative school football may opt for postponement
d. matches which have been played earlier than scheduled
e. postponements sanctioned by the Emergency/Executive Committee. Matches thus postponed must be played as directed by the League Secretary, or by mutual agreement, whichever is the earlier.

14.   League Fixtures

The End-of-Season date for League fixtures shall be decided at the AGM and shall be notified to member schools. 14a.  Schools shall submit their match results to the League Secretary within one week following the matches. All League results must be notified to the Secretary within 3 days of the end-of-season date.  Final league tables will be compiled on the Wednesday after the end-of-season date, and results not notified by then will not be included in the final league tables. Schools who have not fulfilled their fixtures may have their record expunged. Disputes regarding fixtures must be referred in the first instance to the Secretary, and then, if necessary, to the Emergency Committee and/or the Executive Committee.

14b.  It is not permissible to:
i.  abandon a fixture and share the points
ii.  play a single fixture for 6 points
iii. concede a league fixture.

15.   Cup matches

Schools who have not played their Cup matches by the limit dates risk elimination from the competition. Any disputes regarding arrangements for Cup matches shall be referred to the Emergency Committee.

16.    Finals

16a.  Extra Time. In the event of drawn Finals, extra time shall be played:
i.  7 min each way in U11 Finals
ii.  10 min each way in all other competitions.

16b.  In the event of a draw after extra time, the trophy shall be shared:
i.  Without a replay at U11 level.
ii.  After one replay plus extra time if necessary at all other levels.

16b.  The amount of extra time in minisoccer competitions shall be determined by the rules of each competition, if they exist, or by mutual agreement between the BSFA Committee members present and the team managers.

17.    Trophies and Awards

17a . Up to sixteen medals shall be awarded to teams and substitutes in Finals of BSFA 11-a-side Cup competitions, and a similar number of awards to League winners. Participating schools may purchase from the Association extra awards for players whom they and the Executive Committee consider eligible for such awards.

17b.  The winners of Primary minisoccer competitions should each receive a medal and a certificate. The winners of each qualifying league in the Primary minisoccer competitions should each receive a certificate.

17c.  The inscription of the trophy of the name of the winning school(s) shall be the responsibility of the winner(s). Trophies shall be returned, cleaned and inscribed, to the Hon. Secretary by March 1st of the following season. 

18. Match details

   Age    Duration each way   Adverse Conditions    Ball Size

   U19        45 min               35 min             5

   U16        40 min               30 min             5

   U15        35 min               25 min             4 or 5

   U14        30 min               20 min             4

   U13        30 min               20 min             4

   U12        25 min               20 min             4

   U11        20 min               15 min             3 or 4

The age groups in this schedule show the maximum ages of participant players at midnight on 31 August / 1 Sept  at the beginning of the season.                              

18a.  The first-named team on the fixture list shall be regarded as the home team. The home team shall be responsible for providing the match ball, and in League matches also the referee.

18b.  Points for League matches shall be:  3 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, 1 point for playing the match.

18c.  Goal difference shall not count in League placings.

19.     Players

19a. Substitutes shall be allowed in all BSFA matches as stipulated by the Laws of Association Football, or ESFA rules, or the rules of a specific competition, but they shall be used in accordance with the Laws of Association Football, i.e. a replaced player shall be allowed no further part in a match.

19b. A player may play in only 1 match per session, i.e. per evening or Saturday morning, though, having acted as an unused substitute, he or she may subsequently play for a team for which he or she is eligible.

19c. Boys of statutory leaving age who leave school at Easter shall be eligible to participate in BSFA games for the remainder of the season.

Kevin Turner  19 Jun 2006