The Dugout

The Dugout is designed to provide managers and volunteers with resources, information, policies and general guidance about every aspect of running a team and following best practice.

Quick Reference Guide

The basic information for each age group at a glance:

The U7s and U8s play small sided games, 5v5, using a size 3 football. Match duration (mins each way) is 15-20 minutes, with a max playing time (mins in one day) of 40 minutes. The minimum number of players is 4.
The U9s and U10s play small sided games, 7v7, using a size 3 football. Match duration (mins each way) is 25 minutes, with a max playing time (mins in one day) of 60 minutes. The minimum number of players is 5.
The U11s and U12s play small sided games, 9v9, using a size 4 football. Match duration (mins each way) is 30 minutes, with a max playing time (mins in one day) of 80 minutes. The minimum number of players is 6.
The U13s and U14s play 11v11, using a size 4 football. Match duration (mins each way) is 35 minutes, with a max playing time (mins in one day) of 100 minutes. The minimum number of players is 7.
The U15s and U16s play 11v11, using a size 5 football. Match duration (mins each way) is 40 minutes, with a max playing time (mins in one day) of 100 minutes. The minimum number of players is 7.

General FAQs

General questions do come up from time, if you can't find an answer here, or you are unsure, you should always raise questions as part of the club comittee meeting or via clubs WhatsApp Group.

The league will endeavour to appoint referees for matches but these tend to allocated from the oldest teams downwards. If you are allocated a referee their details will be included in the FA Full Time email (sent to your team manger/administrator). Contact them as you would your opposition and confirm the cost of expenses.
Should the referee become unavailable the league will endeavour to find a replacement. However, should this not be the case or the referee doesn’t turn up the fixture should still be played with a volunteer or team coach officiating.
This varies as the fee is for travelling expenses. You should allow between £25.00 and £30.00 per game. All referee fees can be reclaimed from the club (so please keep a record or receipt). A template is included in this hub.
Teams can register players to train only and they are members of the club but not registered with the league. They are not permitted to play in league arranged games but can train with the squad and partake in activities such as Friendly Games. IMPORTANT: Any player partaking in a football activity must be registered with the club and therefore will be insured.
Should a player wish to leave your team or you have a player wanting to join from another club, this is permitted once the season has started and the deadline has passed. The inbound club is responsible for initiating the paperwork and will pay all league fees. All transactions will be conducted by the club registration secretaries (not the parents of player). No transfers can be made after 31st December. New players can be signed but only if they have moved to the area from outside the district (10 miles from Horsham).
If a player leaves the club before the completion of the season refunds are not issued as a matter of course. However, if there are extenuating circumstances all correspondence should be discussed with the committee and requests will be dealt with on an individual basis the next time the committee meets.