Blog Post

NEHYL Newsletter Snapshot #13

8 November 2024

November 2024

Autumn is well and truly here and the season underway – we want to use this newsletter to share news but also to provide updates on key issues that are being spotted during games. As ever, there is a wealth of information on this website – so if you are ever unsure about anything around the league then this should be your go to first port of call.

It's always worth remembering that everyone associated with making NEHYL a successful and well-run league is a volunteer – from League & Club Committees; to Team coaches, managers and admins. We do it to give over 11,000 players the opportunity to play football in one of 850 teams in a safe environment – let’s never forget it's not about us, it’s all about the players.

This coming weekend – 9th & 10th November – is when we ask every match to start with a minute’s silence in remembrance of those who lost their lives fighting for their country. It’s great that many clubs have embraced the work of Poppies4Kits who are in their eleventh year of supporting the Royal British Legion (RBL). Poppies4Kits allows clubs to show their support for the Armed Forces community by wearing self-adhesive poppy patches, commemorative armbands, and bespoke corner flags.

Playing Kit

First up is the wearing of bibs for matches – simply put, bibs may not be worn in any matches in the Under 11 age group or above. And when they are worn for mini soccer (U7 to U10) then they must be uniquely numbered and only used when:

the home and away outfield kits clash to the extent that the referee requires one team to change, or
goalkeeper tops are deemed (by the referee) to be insufficiently different to outfield players.

Over time, most teams will know when they are likely to have a kit clash for fixtures – and match joining instructions are a great way to highlight the home team colours and raise that here may be a potential clash.

We have also been made aware of instances where replica kit is being worn by players; black tops are a definite no for any players including goalkeepers; and no team should have players names on the back of their shirts.

Discipline

At the League kick off meeting the NEHYL Discipline Secretary talked through the work of the discipline panel and the lessons learnt after the panel’s first year. Across the thousands of games played last year, we received over 200 OTRs of which around 80 were escalated to Hampshire FA to review.

7 weeks into the new season and as a discipline committee we are delighted and concerned in equal measure by the number of Opposition Team Reports (OTR) that have already been received. For those clubs and teams who have taken time to raise issues via the additional online form, even if difficult and time consuming, we thank you.

This season there have been numerous allegations of parents and coaches entering the field of play without permission to often confront referees (many who are minors), assistant referees coaching whilst running the line, comments of cheating/bias towards match officials, violent behaviours of players or coaches and homophobic/racist language being used - so a difficult start with a lot of poor behaviour to stamp out.

Through the information provided by you we and County FAs will take strong action towards any club &/or manager, coaches or players who are unable to play in a sporting manner. Football in the NEHYL should continue to be a safe environment for children to enjoy their games and for match officials to feel safe. We implore every club to help continue to address this with their teams; to help promote positive encouragement; to coach and develop children to enjoy the game; and to stop thinking every game is a must win.

Fixture Postponements – A New Form

Fixture postponements always need reporting to your Divisional Secretary – we have found that the way this is done varies from team to team and so; to help streamline the process, we have launched a Fixture Postponement Request Form. This applies to all age groups and all League arranged fixtures.

We ask that teams use this form where you wish to request a postponement of an upcoming fixture. That request will be sent to the Divisional Secretary for review as well as your Club Secretary.

It is important to understand that submission of this form DOES NOT mean that your request will be granted.

Postponement & Cancellation Policy →

Player Transfers – An Existing Form

If a player is leaving a club and moving to a new team then clubs should not look to cancel the player registration – you are asked to use the Player Transfer Form that can be found here (which includes transfers between teams within a club).

Player Tranfer Form →

Girls Football

We continue to grow the number of Girls Teams playing football on Sundays under the NEHYL banner – back on the 6th October we held a day-long festival of football at Frimley Lodge where 46 teams and around 300 girls enjoyed playing football. Feedback has been super positive – and since then we have several new teams forming and entering the league.

Girls Football Information →