This Festival is registered with the Cumberland FA
Whitehaven Amateur Football Club are fully committed to fair play and fully endorse the FA respect campaign.
Parents and coaches are reminded that this is a children's tournament and unacceptable behaviour
WILL NOT be tolerated.
If you fail to comply with a request from any referee or club official you and your club will be held accountable.
Further details of the FA Respect campaign can be found at
www.thefa.com
MATCH RULES (U7 - U9 GIRLS & MIXED)
- Goal Keepers may kick ball out of her/his hands or throw out during open play.
- Goal Keepers are allowed out of their area.
- Goal Keepers MAY NOT receive back passes, indirect free kick will be awarded, the place of the kick will be no closer than 6 yards from goal-line.
- All outfield players are allowed in the goal area.
- Half way retreat line for goal kicks only.
- All restarts from the touch line must be either a pass in or dribble in. A goal cannot be directly scored from a pass in.
- Deliberately heading the ball will result in award of an indirect free kick. If this occurs in the box the free kick will be taken from the nearest penalty area line.
- Red & Yellow cards will be used in accordance with FA Rules.
- Any player receiving a RED will miss the next game, 2 RED cards and player will be disqualified from the rest of the tournament.
MATCH RULES (U10 - U12 GIRLS AND MIXED)
- Goal kicks the Goalkeeper must kick from the floor.
- Goalkeepers handling the ball in open play must throw ball out either overarm or underarm,
NO kicking from hands is allowed including dropping of the ball to then kick it on the bounce.
Referees will return the ball in the first instance, but continued attempts to kick it will be at the discretion of the referee to award a indirect freekick.
- Goal Keepers are allowed out of their area.
- Goal Keepers NOT allowed back passes. INDIRECT FREE KICK will be given in this event.
- All restarts from the touchline will be by throw in.
- Red & Yellow cards will be used in accordance with FA Rules.
- Any player receiving a RED will miss the next game, 2 RED cards and player will be disqualified from the rest of the tournament.
- There will be NO half way retreat line in operation.
Competition Rules - Match Days (GENERAL)
- Mixed and Girls U7 - U8 = 5 aside plus 5 subs max
Mixed and Girls U9 - U10 = 7 aside plus 3 subs max
Mixed and Girls U11 - U12 = 6 aside plus 4 subs max
(NO additional players are permitted)
- Roll on Roll off subs Referee must be informed
- All games will be restarted with a centre kick after a goal is scored.
- Time wasting will be at the discretion of the referee but may result in Yellow card if persistent.
- All games will be independently timed by the referee.
- The goalkeeper for any penalty shoot out must be the player who finished the game in that position.
- Coaches are Only allowed to enter the field of play with permission from the referee.
- Parents and spectators are not allowed to enter the field of play at any time.
- Threatening, insulting and abusive behaviour will not be tolerated and may result in team removal from the festival.
SCORING AND POINTS
- 3 Points for a win.
- 1 Point for a draw.
- In the event that the groups are tied after normal play then the following hierarchy will apply with regard to which team progresses;
- Goal difference
- Most goals scored
- Least goals conceded
If the teams are still tied a Penalty shootout will take place consisting of 5 penalties each. If they are still tied the shootout moves to sudden death. Everyone must take a penalty before it goes back to someone who has already taken one including Goalkeeper.
SEMI FINAL & FINAL
1) If the teams are tied a Penalty shootout will take place consisting of 5 penalties each. If they are still tied the shootout moves to sudden death. Everyone must take a penalty before it goes back to someone who has already taken one including Goalkeeper. When taking penalties, once player has started run up to strike the ball, it MUST be a continuous run, no stopping.
OVERAGE PLAYERS / SWAPPING / ACADEMY PLAYERS
It is our aim at Whitehaven Amateurs to host a friendly and inclusive festival, we would like it to run as smoothly as possible for all players, coaches and supporters to enjoy the day.
As a football club we rely heavily on honesty and integrity of all visiting teams to comply with the competition rules.
Teams are not allowed to field players who are ineligible for the age group entered according to FA rules i.e. you can only play a maximum of one year up and you cannot play a year down under any circumstances. Abiding by these rules is a safeguarding responsibility for all concerned in youth football.
If a club has multiple teams entered in the the festival they are not permitted to swap players between those teams. A player is permitted to play for one team only in a particular age group.
Mixed competition - No players registered with a professional club academy during the 24/25 season are permitted to play in the WAFC festival.
Girls competition - No players registered with a Professional Game Academy (PGA) during the 24/25 season are permitted to play in the girls competition at the WAFC festival.
This is purely a grassroots football festival.
YOU'RE TEAM WILL BE DISQUALIFIED IF YOU ARE FOUND TO BE IN CONTRAVENTION OF ANY OF THE RULES STATED ABOVE. A WAFC CLUB OFFICIALS DECISION ON THESE MATTERS IS FINAL.
