Blog Post

NEHYL Newsletter Snapshot #12

2 September 2024

September 2024

A warm welcome to the 2024-25 season – at NEHYL we are all looking forward to getting football back underway and have everything crossed that there will be far less weather disruption in the months ahead than last season!

We want to use this newsletter to draw everyone’s attention to some key pointers before we really get going so that everyone has chance to become familiar with any changes as well as to reinforce some key respect points.

Everyone associated with NEHYL - be that league committee, club committees and volunteers, or team managers, coaches & admins – give up their time voluntarily to allow boys and girls to enjoy playing football. Always, it is the players who we need to put first, to give our support and encouragement to, and from which we can all gain our pleasure and enjoyment at being part of the beautiful game.

Let’s all have a wonderful 2024-25 season – and be proud that NEHYL won the accolade of Hampshire FA Grassroots League of the Year for 2023-24 by working together for the good of the thousands of young footballers we support.

Play Safe’s biggest weekend yet is approaching

Play Safe Weekend is on 28-29th September 2024 and is a part of a year-round campaign that champions the importance of safeguarding in football. It encourages leagues and clubs at every level of the game to play their part in making the game safe, fun, and enjoyable for everyone, everywhere, every time. Help us make Play Safe 2024 matter.

This year, we’re asking everyone involved in football to know their role in safeguarding. This means whether you’re a Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO)/Club Welfare Officer (CWO), parent/carer, committee member, coach, referee/match official, spectator or player, you should know your responsibilities in keeping the game safe for all.

Play Safe Weekend Information →

No Deliberate Heading for Matches – U7 to U10 and for Training - U7 to U11

NEHYL were pioneers for no deliberate heading in development football. England Football has now introduced this as mandatory for U7 to U9 football for this season. Further, a majority of NEHYL Clubs voted for to continue No Deliberate Heading for all U10 matches.

For a Touchline Restart at U7 to U10, we want to clarify that a player cannot score from a pass-in; but you can score from a dribble in. Information and resources around Deliberate Headers and the Touchline Restart can be found here.

Whilst heading is now allowed for U11 and U12 age groups for matches, we would emphasize that there should be no heading in any training sessions for all ages between U7 and U11.

Match Day Administration

There are several areas of match day administration that we would like to emphasise ahead of the start of the season.

NEHYL Member Directory – it is essential that every team has a contact listed in the Member Directory to allow your opposition and referees to get in contact; the Member Directory also lists contact information for referees and key Club Committee members, including the CWO. Please can Club Secretaries check that their entries are fully up to date as soon as possible.

Photos for coaches – if you are the manager or coach of a team then you MUST be listed on your team photo sheet along with the players. This also requires your photo to be present. If you are not listed or you do not have a photo on the squad sheet, then you are not allowed to be with the players at a match.

Referee Name – it is mandatory to provide the name of the person who referees every match on the MRC (Match Report Card). Whether the referee is league appointed, a club appointment, or steps up on the day to take the whistle they MUST be named on the MRC return.

Respect Handshake and ID Parade – Every match MUST commence with the respect handshake between the two teams. It is also mandatory for there to be an ID parade where each manager checks the opposition players listed on the Match Day Team Sheet with the up-to-date Squad List.

Match Admin Page →

Referee Fees

Fees for referees have increased this season – please ensure that the referee has been paid BEFORE kick-off by cash or BACS transfer. The full set of referee fees can be found in the rules summary for each age group and Referees Page.

Referee Fees →

Laws of the Game – Changes

IFAB are the guardians of the Laws of the Game, comprising of four British football associations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and FIFA. This season’s main changes of relevance to NEHYL relate to Temporary Dismissals, Players Kit, Penalty Kicks and Handball. These new changes are to be applied for the new season.

The changes were briefed out to club representatives at the League Pre-Season meeting – an updated infographic summarising Temporary Dismissals can be found on our website here; and you can view a summary of the changes to the Laws of the Game here.

NEHYL Girls’ Football Sunday League

Girls’ football is going from strength to strength at NEHYL – at the time of writing we have 46 teams across U7 to U10 age groups plus further teams in our new Flexi League that will grow in the months ahead. Our first festival for Girls’ Football will be on Sunday 6th October playing in a 5 a-side format at Frimley Lodge – and which is open to all interested teams whether currently registered with NEHYL or not. We are happy to welcome new teams at any point during the season.

Girls Football Information →

FREE tickets to Aldershot Town FC for NEHYL Teams

Jamie MacAllister of Aldershot Town FC has reached out to let everyone know about their FREE ticket scheme that can benefit clubs competing in the NEHYL this season. They run a Community Stand Scheme where they invite community groups to ATFC fixtures for free, last season they distributed over 3,500 tickets to the local community, and amongst the beneficiaries were 52 grassroots u18 teams from 30 different clubs in the local area, many of whom compete in the NEHYL.

If this of interest to your club or team then click the link below.

Free Aldershot Town FC Tickets →