9v9 and 11v11

I hope all is ok and you are keeping well. I understand that there have been some cases of teams not being able to field full squads in upcoming fixtures across the country. As we all know this is a situation that is likely to keep on arising over the coming months. I have been doing some digging and pulled in some guidance from other leagues throughout the country who are also facing similar challenges and the in ways in which they are approaching this. If we was to carry on the way we are, we will lose teams, I would rather we keep these teams and therefore I’m asking the questions for you all to take into consideration, these are only recommendations not rules. The guidelines we follow are in line with the FA (minimum numbers to field a team). I think it is important that managers understand that this is not a league ruling, its endorsed by the FA.

All Clubs and teams need to work together for the development of the players and to promote fair play & sportsmanship over this period. If a team was to play with 7/8 or 9 players against a full squad then we should be actively encouraging teams to work together to make this a level playing field, share good practice across teams for the quality of the match and the players development. Also highlighting the rules to clubs regarding squad sizes across different age groups would be beneficial.

Unfortunately, in youth football we understand that not all clubs/teams will want to do this as they are not required to. However, we should be encouraging teams to communicate with each other before match day to overcome challenges to resolve further issues from occurring. Hopefully with prior communication this will stop further issues, complaints, and reports from happening post-match etc.

Small Sided Teams U7s to U10s – as you are all aware we introduced the Power Play Rule - We are all aware of this rule however if you are struggling for number you could consider reversing this rule. Normally during a match when the goal difference reaches 4 goals clear, the losing team may field an additional player, (instead the other teams takes a player off), If the goal difference reaches 6 goals clear, the losing team may field another additional player (taking the total up to 2 additional players) again (instead the other teams takes a 2nd player off). This does not need to be the same player that was put on as the additional player.

Another option if you are able to accommodate across all age groups, if you currently play 11v11, can you look at reducing pitch size accordingly for example dropdown to a 9v9pitch size, if you play 9v9 and only have 6 players change to 7v7 pitch size and so on, this again is only a recommendation.

Documentation of proof of isolation It has been noted that some clubs/teams have concerns in respect of the various leagues asking for this documentation and this case what documentation is ok/not ok? This is a formal document with no medical information attached from schools/work and Track & Trace. Clubs stating the players that are under quarantine/start and finish dates etc. These documents sent through can then be reviewed and a decision be made. This process has been administered by many of the leagues and the FA have approved that we ask for this proof of isolation.

Once again thank you everyone for your continued hard work and dedication over this period, we need to work together at this time, it should not be about the result it should be more about the taking part which is far more important. Yes, we all still want to win however we are also wanting our young to develop and enjoy what they do, as do we.