Section O - Miscellaneous

128. Members, Associate Members and Subordinates shall use such systems and procedures set by the Association from time to time to comply with any provision of these Rules or the Regulations. 

129. In all matches in which the Association is represented, the Players representing the Association shall be selected by the appropriate team manager at that time appointed. No Councillor, being a director or official of any particular club, may attempt to influence the selection of a Player to play in any such match. 

130. Any Player selected to represent the Association in any match arranged by the Association, shall comply with the arrangements of the Association for the playing of such match and shall attend such match unless the Player can show good and sufficient cause for such non-compliance or non-attendance. What constitutes “good and sufficient cause” in any particular case shall be determined by the Association in its absolute discretion. No club or official shall encourage or instigate or induce or connive at any breach by any Player of any of the provisions of this Rule or any Rule or Regulation. 

131. Deliberately left blank. 

132. Each Councillor shall be furnished with a special ticket, which shall not be transferable. All clubs shall admit the holder of such special ticket to their grounds and stands upon production by the holder of such special ticket without requiring any other or further authority, except on specified occasions which shall be determined by the Association from time to time.

133. The Association shall have first claim to the use of all Association Football grounds, offices and facilities of clubs within the jurisdiction of the Association. When the Association uses such ground, the Association shall hold sole rights in respect of television and broadcasting and in respect of ground advertising including, without limitation, advertising boards around the pitch and the name or designation applied to the ground for the purpose of the match organised by the Association. From each representative match staged at such a ground the club on whose ground the match is played shall provide the Association, within twenty-one (21) calendar days of the match, with a detailed statement of account of the gross income and expenditure received and incurred in staging the match. If the said statement is not supplied within twenty-one (21) calendar days, the Association shall have the power to impose a fine for each week or part of a week the statement (and/or any payment due to the Association) is late.  No provision of this Rule shall apply to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. 

134. A Qualifying Club’s membership of the Association is personal to such member and shall not be transferrable except on the incorporation, or de-incorporation, of the member. Such a transfer on incorporation or de-incorporation shall require the consent of the Association and in the application for such consent, the proposed transferee must satisfy the Association’s requirements as specified from time to time including, without limitation, evidence that the proposed transferee has accepted responsibility for all Football Related Liabilities of the Qualifying Club and has satisfied the Association that such liabilities will be discharged fully and within a reasonable time. 

135. The Association shall be entitled to publish in the public press, or in any other manner which to it shall seem fit, the reports of its proceedings, act or resolutions or any part thereof, without having any regard as to whether such publication shall or shall not reflect upon the character or conduct of any Member or any other party involved at the time in question within the jurisdiction of the Association. Every such party shall be deemed hereby to have assented to any such said publication. 

136. Any Qualifying Club or any other club within the jurisdiction of the Association shall play and otherwise fulfil all fixtures with other clubs in the leagues or competitions in which it is entered in any Playing Season. 

137. No football match in which Players of the opposite sex are involved shall be played on any football ground within the jurisdiction of the Association except matches involving Players of the opposite sex up to and including those in Academic Year eleven (11) (or twelve (12), if applicable puruant to Rule 88) and for the avoidance of doubt if a Player reaches the age of sixteen (16) during the Playing Season the Player will remain eligible to play in mixed gender matches until the end of that Playing Season PROVIDED THAT nothing in this Rule shall prevent (a) the playing of football matches between Players with a disability at any age where Players of the opposite sex are involved so long as, in the case of matches for those Players with a disability who have completed Academic Year eleven (11) (or twelve (12), if applicable pursuant to Rule 88), the matches take place in leagues organised exclusively for Players with a disability; (b) Players of the opposite sex of any age participating in Walking Football; (c) the FAW Girls Academy Under 17’s North and South teams including up to five (5) Players in Academic Year thirteen (13) (who are no older than 18 throughout the applicable Academic Year) each per Season in Official Matches in the FAW Academy Under 14’s North and South competitions respectively (and without such limitation on numbers in any Open Friendly Matches and Closed Friendly Matches); or (d) the playing of Closed Friendly Matches between:-

137.1 a team comprised exclusively of Junior Players in the FAW Performance Programmes and a male team comprised exclusively of Junior Players (in each case including Players who have reached the age of sixteen (16) during the Playing Season); and

137.2 a team comprised exclusively of non-Junior Players in the FAW Performance Programmes and a male team comprised exclusively of Junior Players in Academic Years ten (10) and eleven (11) (or twelve (12), if applicable pursuant to Rule 88) who are currently registered for an Academy, subject to compliance with safeguarding procedures set by the Association from time to time.

138. The Directors shall:- 

138.1 Determine the dates of each Playing Season and Close Season (each of which may differ for male and female football), and unless otherwise permitted under these Rules, no Official Matches are permitted to be played during the Close Season. 

138.2 Determine the dates of each Season and Professional Registration Period (each of which may differ for male and female football). In the case of Professional Players and Amateur Players registered with a Club playing in competitions in the English pyramid system, the Directors shall adopt as the Professional Registration Periods the same periods as prescribed by the English Football Association for clubs playing in such competitions. In the case of all other Professional Players and Amateur Players, the first Professional Registration Period shall normally occur at the start of the Season and shall not exceed twelve (12) weeks. The second Professional Registration Period shall normally occur in the middle of the Playing Season and shall not exceed four (4) weeks. These dates shall be entered into TMS at least twelve (12) months before they come into force or as otherwise prescribed by FIFA. Unless otherwise permitted under these Rules, no Professional Player or Amateur Player registrations will be accepted by the Association at any other time during the year. 

138.3 Determine the dates (if any) of each Amateur Registration Period (which may differ for male and female football). In the case of Amateur Players registered with a Club playing in competitions in the English pyramid system (other than those to whom the Professional Registration Periods apply under Rule 138.2), the Directors shall adopt as the Amateur Registration Period the period (if any) as prescribed by the English Football Association for clubs playing in such competitions. In the case of all other Amateur Players (other than those to whom the above provisions in this Rule 138.3 apply or to whom the provisions in Rule 138.2 apply), the determination shall be at the discretion of the Directors, giving due consideration to the sporting integrity of the relevant competitions. These dates shall be entered into TMS at least twelve (12) months before they come into force or as otherwise prescribed by FIFA. Unless otherwise permitted under these Rules, no applications to register such an Amateur Player to play in Amateur Competitions under the jurisdiction of the Association will be accepted by the Association at any other time during the year. 

139. Deliberately left blank. 

140. Deliberately left blank. 

141. Deliberately left blank. 

142. No person shall be the secretary of two or more clubs at the same time. 

143. Throughout these Rules the amount payable by the payee including, without limitation, subscriptions or fees or as otherwise required by law, shall be the amount stated plus the appropriate sum required in respect of VAT as applicable at that time unless otherwise expressly stated. 

144. Notices:- 

144.1 Any communication or notice given by or to the Association under these Rules or the Regulations using any online system or procedure prescribed by the Association from time to time shall be validly posted, uploaded, submitted or otherwise given if made or undertaken in the manner stipulated by the said online system or procedure and shall be deemed delivered as stated in the COMET Regulations when so given. 

144.2 Any other notice or other communication given by or to the Association under these Rules or the Regulations (i.e. not covered by Rule 144.1) shall be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the party giving it and shall be served by delivering it personally or sending it by pre-paid first-class post or by email to the address and for the attention of the relevant party set out in Rule 144.5. In the case of email service, the terms of Rule 144.3 apply. In the case of the other forms of service such notice or communication shall, subject to Rule 144.4, be deemed to have been received:- 

144.2.1 if delivered personally, at the time of delivery; and

144.2.2 in the case of pre-paid first-class post, forty-eight (48) hours from the date of posting; 

144.3 Any notice or other communication given to the Association pursuant to Rule 144.2 under these Rules or the Regulations by email shall be validly served if the relevant notification or communication is sent as an attachment to an email correctly sent to the Association. For the avoidance of doubt, the said notice or communication to the Association must be sent as an attachment and an email alone (even if containing the relevant information) will not constitute valid service under Rule 144. Any notice or communication given by or to the Association shall, subject to Rule 144.4, be deemed to have been received at the time of transmission. 

144.4 In respect of any notice or other communication given by or to the Association pursuant to Rule 144.2, if deemed receipt occurs before 9.00am on a Business Day the notice or communication shall be deemed to have been received at 9.00am on that day and if deemed receipt occurs after 5.00pm on a Business Day, or on a day which is not a Business Day, the notice shall be deemed to have been received at 9.00am on the next Business Day save as otherwise stipulated in the COMET Regulations from time to time.

144.5 Any notice or other communication to be served on the Association pursuant to Rule 144.2 shall be addressed to the Association at The Pavilion, Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan, CF72 8JY or by email to such email address issued for such purpose by the Association from time to time. In all such cases, the notice or communication shall be marked for the attention of the Chief Executive Officer unless otherwise expressly stated in any Rule or Regulation. Any such notice or other communication served by the Association on a Member or other party shall be served on the address or email address of that Member or other party last known to the Association. The Association shall notify Members in writing from time to time of any change to its address or email address and each Member shall notify the Association in writing of any change in the Member’s address or email address (using the systems and procedures set by the Association from time to time). 

144.6 In proving service pursuant to Rule 144.2 it shall be sufficient to (a) prove that the envelope containing such notice or other communication was addressed to the address of the relevant party set out or referred to in Rule 144.5 and delivered either to that address or into the custody of the postal authorities as a pre-paid first class letter or (b) the notice or other communication was sent by email to the email address referred to in Rule 144.5. 

144.7 For the purpose of any time limit under these Rules or the Regulations, the date of receipt (or deemed receipt under any part of this Rule 144) of the decision, notice or other relevant correspondence (as the case may be), shall count as the first day of such time limit. 

145. The practice of kicking-off matches by persons other than the players competing in the match is prohibited except in charity matches or Closed Friendly Matches. 

146. Any internal disputes between the Association, its Members and Subordinates that do not fall under the jurisdiction of its Judicial Bodies shall be referred by the Association to independent arbitration under the rules and procedures of any independent arbitration services based in England and Wales (and which applies the law of England and Wales) selected by the Chief Executive Officer (or his/her nominee) in his/her absolute discretion PROVIDED THAT the provisions of this Rule shall not apply to the matters outside the jurisdiction of the Judicial Bodies referred to in Rule 37.2. 

147. Jurisdiction:- 

147.1 These Rules and the Regulations and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.. 

147.2 The Association, its Members and Subordinates will not take any dispute to a court of law unless specifically provided for in the Rules or Regulations or FIFA Rules or UEFA Rules. Any dispute shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of FIFA, UEFA or the Association. 

147.3 The Association shall have jurisdiction on internal national disputes, namely disputes between parties under the jurisdiction of the Association. FIFA shall have jurisdiction on international disputes, namely disputes between parties belonging to different associations and/or international confederations. 

147.4 If as permitted in these Rules or the Regulations a dispute is taken to a court of law, the parties to the dispute irrevocably agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear such dispute. 

148. CAS:- 

148.1 The Association, its Members and Subordinates will recognise the jurisdiction of the CAS as specified in the relevant provisions of the FIFA and UEFA Rules. 

148.2 The Association shall ensure its full compliance and that of its Members and Subordinates with any final decision passed by a FIFA body or CAS. 

149(A) The licensing of Qualifying Clubs and all other Clubs under the jurisdiction of the Association to play in UEFA leagues or competitions shall be governed, sanctioned and controlled as set out, or referred to, in the Association’s UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations.

149(B) The licensing of Qualifying Clubs and all other Clubs under the jurisdiction of the Association to play in domestic leagues or competitions shall be governed, sanctioned and controlled as set out, or referred to, in the Association’s Regulations for the Pyramid League System including, without limitation, the FAW Tier 1 Club Licensing Regulations, the FAW Tier 2 Club Licensing Regulations, the FAW Tier 3 Club Licensing Regulations, the Domestic Club Licensing Regulations for the Adran Premier and the Women’s Tier 2 Women’s Club Licensing Regulations. 

150. International matches:- 

150.1 The authority for organising international matches and competitions between teams of national associations or international matches between leagues or club teams lies solely with FIFA. No such match or competition shall take place without the prior permission of FIFA. In addition, permission from the relevant international confederation may be required in accordance with the FIFA Rules. 

150.2 The Association is bound to comply with the international match calendar compiled by FIFA. 

150.3 It is mandatory for Clubs to release Players to the representative teams of the country for which the Player is eligible to play on the basis of his/her nationality (including, without limitation, releasing Players to the representative teams of the Association) if they are called upon by a country’s association to do so for matches on dates listed in the coordinated international match calendar of FIFA. Any agreement between a Player and Club to the contrary is prohibited. 

150.4 It is mandatory for Futsal clubs to release Futsal players to the representative teams of the country for which the Futsal player is eligible to play on the basis of his/her nationality (including, without limitation, releasing Futsal players to the representative teams of the Association) if they are called upon by a country’s association to do so for matches on dates listed in the coordinated international match calendar of FIFA. Any agreement between a Futsal player and a Futsal club to the contrary is prohibited. 

151. The Association shall not play matches or make sporting contacts with national associations that are not members of FIFA or with provisional members of an international confederation, in either case without the approval of FIFA. 

152. Except in cup competitions, no Area Association or league (including, without limitation, any National League) shall have a more stringent rule than any Rule or Regulation. 

153. Competitions for Players with a disability who are over the age of eight (8) years on the 1st September in any Playing Season shall be governed, sanctioned and controlled as set out in the Regulations for Disability Football in Wales. 

154. The preamble to these Rules, incorporating the definitions and interpretation provisions form part of the Rules and the Rules shall be read and construed in accordance with the same.

 

As approved by the Members - May 2023