1. The Cup shall be called “The Football Association of Wales Regions Cup.”
2. The Cup is the property of the Football Association of Wales Limited.
3. The entire control and management of the Competition shall be vested in the National Cup Board. The National Cup Board shall have the power to formulate Rules of the Competition and to alter or add to the Rules as they, from time to time, deem expedient. Teams shall be bound by any contract entered into by the National Cup Board in relation to the Competition. In any matter not specifically mentioned in these Rules, the committee shall have the power to take such action and impose such penalties as it deems necessary.
4. The Championship South (Cymru South League) and the Championship North (Cymru North League) may each enter a regional team to represent them in the Competition. Players representing each team must respect the Player Eligibility criteria (Rule 21).
5. The competition format will be as follows;
a) The regional team representing the Cymru South League will play the regional team representing the Cymru North League.
b) The competition will be played under the knockout system, on a home-and-away basis (two legs).
c) The team which scores the greater aggregate of goals in the two matches qualifies for the next stage. Otherwise, the stipulations of Article 19 apply.
d) If the two teams involved score the same number of goals over the two legs, the team which scores more away goals qualifies for the next stage. If this procedure does not produce a result, i.e., if both teams score the same number of goals at home and away, kicks from the penalty mark determine which team qualifies for the next stage.
e) Kicks from the penalty mark are taken in accordance with the procedure laid down in the IFAB Laws of the Game.
f) The referee decides which goal will be used for the kicks:
i If either goal could be used for the kicks, then, in the presence of the two captains, the referee tosses a coin to decide which goal will be used.
ii For reasons of safety/security, state of the field of play, lighting or other similar reasons, the referee may decide which goal will be used without tossing a coin. Such decisions are final and require no justification.
g) To ensure that the procedure is strictly observed, the referee is assisted by the referee team, who also note down the numbers of the players on each team who have taken kicks from the penalty mark.
6. Matches are played in conformity with the Laws of the Game promulgated by the International Football Association Board (IFAB).
7. Each match lasts 2 x 45 minutes.
8. The half-time interval lasts a maximum of 15 minutes.
9. The Association will set the dates of the matches and notify the teams concerned with at least 28 days’ notice.
10. In the event of any postponed match or replayed match as the case may be, The Football Association of Wales shall declare a revised date by which the fixture must be played.
11. Should either Team refuse to play it shall be adjudged to have lost the match, unless sufficient reason be given to the Committee, which National Cup Board has appointed to control and manage the competition, for an extension of time. In any of the preceding situations, the not guilty team shall be awarded a 3-0 win.
12. The Association is responsible for selecting the ground(s) where the matches are to be played. A minimum Tier 2 compliant ground will be chosen.
13. Matches should be played within the territory of the Home Team.
14. Artificial turf must be approved by the FAW. It must have been granted the required FIFA licence, meeting the FIFA quality standards for football turf. It must meet all the requirements of the National Legislation in force. The surface must also be green and marked in white.
15. The Match Officials for the competition will be appointed by the Football Association of Wales, where possible 21 days prior to the match. The match fees and travel expenses are to be determined by the Referees Committee of the Football Association of Wales.
16. The substitution of three players, from a maximum of seven per team, is permitted in the course of the match.
17. During the match, substitutes are allowed to leave the technical area to warm up. The referee determines where exactly they may warm up (behind the first assistant referee or behind the goal) and how many substitutes are allowed to warm up simultaneously. Normally, three substitutes per team are allowed to warm up at the same time, but if space so permits, the referee can allow all the substitutes of each team to warm up simultaneously in the determined area.
18. Clubs must adhere to the following;
a) Before each match, each team shall indicate in the relevant match sheet the numbers, surnames, first names, dates of birth of the 18 players in the squad, together with the surnames and first names of the officials seated on the substitutes’ bench and on the additional technical seats if required. The match sheet must be validated by the competent League official.
b) The 11 players indicated on the match sheet as forming the starting 11 must commence the match. The other players are designated as substitutes. The numbers on the players’ shirts must correspond with the numbers indicated on the match sheet, on which the goalkeepers and team captain must also be identified.
c) Both teams must submit their validated match sheets at least 60 minutes before kick-off.
d) Only three of the substitutes listed on the match sheet may take part in the match. A player who has been substituted may take no further part in the match.
e) After the validated match sheets have been submitted by both teams, and if the match has not yet kicked off, no replacement is allowed except in the following cases:
i. If any of the 11 players indicated on the match sheet as forming the starting 11 are not able to start the match due to physical incapacity, they may only be replaced by any of the substitutes listed on the initial match sheet. The substitute(s) in question may then only be replaced by a registered player (players) not listed on the initial match sheet, so that the quota of substitutes is not reduced. During the match, three players may still be substituted.
ii. If any of the substitutes listed on the match sheet are not able to be fielded due to physical incapacity, they may only be replaced by a registered player not listed on the initial match sheet.
iii. If none of the goalkeepers listed on the match sheet are able to be fielded due to physical incapacity, they may be replaced by registered goalkeepers not listed on the initial match sheet.
The team concerned must, upon request, provide the FAW administration with the necessary medical certificates.
19. On the date that the first match of the Competition is played, the players of the Cymru South team must be registered with a Club in the Cymru South League or one of its feeder Leagues, specifically The Welsh Football League or an Area Association League within the Gwent County, South Wales or West Wales Area Associations.
20. On the date that the first match of the Competition is played, the players of the Cymru North team must be registered with a Club in the Cymru North League or one of its feeder Leagues, specifically The Welsh Alliance League, the Welsh National League or the Mid Wales Football League or an Area Association League within the North Wales Coast, North East Wales or the Central Wales Area Associations.
21. Players are eligible to play in the competition if they meet all of the following criteria throughout the FAW competition.
a) The players of each team must be selected from at least three different clubs that play in the division(s) determined by the FAW in accordance with Rule 20.
b) Players must never have been professional, as defined in Chapter II of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players.
c) Players must never have played in the Cymru Premier League, or any other top national division.
d) If a player competes in the FAW competition in compliance with all of the above provisions, is then transferred to a division that is outside the scope of Rule 20 but remains registered with the region he represents in the competition, he remains eligible to compete until his team's elimination, the above provisions notwithstanding.
e) Players may be of any nationality but must have been duly registered as active players with the Association and within the Region they represent in the competition for at least two years without interruption on the date of their first appearance in the competition.
f) Players must have never played in any other senior football competition organised by UEFA, FIFA or another FIFA confederation (i.e. excluding any previous UEFA Regions’ Cups and any UEFA, FIFA or other confederations’ futsal competitions and age-category competitions).
g) On the date of their first appearance in the competition, players must be at least 19 and under 40 years of age.
h) The Association decides on questions of player eligibility. Challenged decisions are dealt with by the FAW National Cup Board.
22. If the Committee, which National Cup Board has appointed to control and manage the competition, has any doubt as to the qualification of any player competing in this Competition, it shall have power to call upon such player or the Team to which he belongs, or for which he has played, to prove to its satisfaction that he is properly qualified according to the Rules, and, failing such satisfactory proof, the Committee shall have power to disqualify such player. Any matches in which the disqualified player has played and which his Team won points shall be adjudged to have been lost and the not guilty Team shall be awarded a win and any other sanction that the National Cup Board deems necessary.
23. A player who is sent off the field of play is suspended for the next match of the FAW Regions Cup competition, unless there is evidence of an obvious mistake of identity by the referee.
24. Single yellow cards that have not resulted in a suspension expire on completion of each FAW Regions Cup and are not carried forward to future competitions.
25. Teams, through the League which they represent, are entitled to protest as per FAW Rules and Regulations.
26. Protests must reach the Compliance Department in writing, stating the reasons, within 2 Business Days of the completion of the match. This time limit cannot be extended.
27. The protest fee will be confirmed by the FAW Compliance Department. It must be paid at the same time as the protest is filed.
28. A protest is directed against the validity of a match result. It is based on a player's eligibility to play, a decisive breach of the Regulations by the referee, or other incidents influencing the match.
29. Protests concerning the state of the field of play must be submitted to the referee in writing by the relevant official before the match. If the state of the field of play becomes questionable in the course of the match, the team captain must inform the referee, in the presence of the captain of the opposing team, orally without delay.
30. Protests cannot be lodged against factual decisions taken by the referee.
31. A protest against a caution or expulsion from the field of play after two cautions is admissible only if the referee's error was to mistake the identity of the player.
32. The standard FAW Competition Appeals Procedure will apply.
33. The Winner of the FAW Regions Cup will be nominated to represent Wales in the UEFA Regions Cup.
34. The Rules of the UEFA Regions Cup are a different set of Rules to the FAW Regions Cup. The FAW National Cup Board controls the Rules to the FAW Competition as confirmed in Rule 3. UEFA controls the Rules to the UEFA Regions Cup.
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