Blog Post

NEHYL Newsletter Snapshot #9

Jan 05, 2024

January 2024

As we enter 2024 everyone at NEHYL wishes you a very Happy New Year! Please do take a few minutes to read through this newsletter as we try to cover off some of the common issues raised.

For many, the season thus far has had several weekends with poor weather rendering grass pitches unplayable – there’s little we can do about this other than ensure that we give visiting teams and allocated referees reasonable notice of postponements. Never assume a text or an email has been read – ask for confirmation or, better still phone so that you have immediate confirmation that the message has been received and is understood. Remember to let your Divisional Secretary know so that they are aware - and for competitive fixtures work with your opposition and Divisional Secretary to find an alternative date to play.

Talking about contacting fellow managers, coaches, and club officials, then it is important that contact details and roles are kept up to date in the NEHYL Club & Team Contacts System – to remove people who are no longer associated with your clubs and teams, the Club Secretary must email web@nehyl.org.uk to archive their record.

It’s also important to keep your FA Qualifications up to date – several team and club officials have expiring and, worse still, expired qualifications. Safeguarding and DBS are essential for anyone working with young players. If your qualification has expired, you simply cannot stand on the managers side of the pitch or help run the team.

Return of Trophies

It’s that time of year when Trophies awarded at the end of last season are due to be returned to the League – Club Secretaries will be asked to coordinate with their team managers but keep an eye out for more information around where to drop off any trophies and note that the deadline is 31st January. Please remember to get the trophy engraved before returning it – team name and season are all that are required.

New Team Sheet & Taking Images

During the pre-season meeting back in August, we highlighted changes to the Match Day Team Sheet that includes a new section around consent for the taking of images at matches. Firstly, we urge all clubs to ensure that teams are now using the latest Match Day Team Sheet which is available on the Information page.

We have been asked to clarify our position in relation to the taking of images – and how we expect teams to notify the opposition when they highlight that they do not have consent from all parents/guardians for images to be taken. Read the full information on taking images of players and referees here →

Discipline Update

The pre-season meeting also outlined that the League were setting up a new discipline panel. With club secretaries receiving the latest MRC scores in December then it is timely to share observations so far from the panel:

Over 90 Opposition Team Reports (OTRs) have been raised since start of season – an OTR is raised where one or more categories on the MRC score 4 or less (out of 10).
Each OTR received is assessed by the Discipline Panel at a weekly meeting
Around 25% have been escalated immediately to the relevant County FA for serious discipline offences
First stage warnings for conduct have been issued to 4 teams
Seven teams have had 2 or more OTRs raised against them – this is not good!
The U15, U12 & U10 age groups are the worst thus far for OTRs being raised
We all very much hope that the second half of the season will see a marked reduction of OTRs being raised

We ask all managers, coaches, players, and spectators to remember that the FA Respect Codes of Conduct spell out our expectations – as well as those of all our clubs – on how the game should be played. There is NEVER a valid reason as to why any of these Codes of Conduct can be broken.

Girls’ Football in North East Hampshire

Girls’ football continues to go from strength to strength for the U7 and U8 teams – we are pleased to report that we have just passed our 25th girls team registering to play.

Testament to the work that the league – and in particular Suzanne Swan who leads this initiative – has achieved in such a short space of time was the decision by England Football to award their National November Volunteer of the Month accolade to Suzanne.

If your club wants to get involved, for more information go to NEHYL Girls Football or drop an email to girls@nehyl.org.uk.

Read about Suzannes award and watch the video →

No League Allocated Referee?

If you have no allocated referee by Thursday, it is unlikely the League will be able to provide one. The Home team should endeavour to provide one in the first place, but if unsuccessful then after that it will need to be a parent or coach that will act as a Referee. Please remember that Individuals under the age of 16 must not participate either as a referee or assistant referee unless they are an FA registered referee and in full kit.

Where a person who is not a registered Match Official steps in as the Referee then in these circumstances the unregistered and/or unqualified Match Official will carry the same status, powers, and duties of an appointed registered Match Official for the purpose of that match. Back in 2022, all NEHYL teams were issued with a referee’s kit (flags, whistle, note pad & cards) - and so should have the basic equipment to allow a match to be refereed.

An unregistered and/or unqualified Match Official is fully entitled, as prescribed by the Laws of the Game, to issue cautions, use the sin bin for temporary dismissals, or send a player off. Where this happens then this should be reported by the referee to the League using the Report for Referees form.

Not receiving FA Fixture Emails or Texts?

Every Sunday at 5pm fixtures for the next 7 days are sent out by email from FA Full-Time – these are sent to all nominated Team Admins. If you are not receiving these emails, then either:

You have not been set up as a Team Administrator: Your Club Secretary can sort this and get you added via the Club Portal; or
You are one of around 250 Team Admins who have not responded to a verification email previously sent by the FA. This can be resolved by phoning Phil Rush on 07921 781746

It’s worth being aware that clubs can have a nominated Club Fixture Secretary who will receive ALL the fixtures for ALL the teams at the Club – this is a roll that can also be added via the Club Portal.

Finally, if you are not receiving an SMS on your match day to respond back to with the match result then anyone with access to FA Full Time for your team can help resolve this.

How to update FA Full Time for primary SMS contacts →