SUNDERLAND AND DISTRICT SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

1. a NAME: The name of the Association shall be "Sunderland and District Schools' Football Association."

b AFFILIATION: The Association shall be affiliated to the English Schools' Football Association and shall be constituted in accordance with the rules laid down for a "properly constituted" Association in the General Rules of the English Schools' Football Association.
2. OBJECTS: The objects of the Association shall be mental, moral and physical development and improvement of schoolchildren through the medium of Association Football and to help such charities as the Council of the Association may from time to time determine.
3. a.CHILD PROTECTION: Every child / young person who plays or participates in football should be able to take part in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from abuse. This is the responsibility of every adult involved in football.
   b The Sunderland and District Schools’ F.A. recognises its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and young people by protecting them from physical, sexual or emotional harm from neglect or bullying. It is determined to meet its obligations to ensure that the Sunderland Schools’ F.A. and affiliated schools providing football opportunities for children and young people do so to the highest possible standard of care.
   
4. aMEMBERSHIP: The Association shall consist of teams from the schools in Sunderland and District and no other team shall be admitted to the Association unless under sole and direct control of teachers.
   b.SUBSCRIPTION: Schools are to pay by 30th. September each season, the affiliation fee laid down from time to time by the Association and any school(s) not having paid this fee be automatically suspended.
5. a.COUNCIL: The Association shall be governed by a council consisting of the Officers, together with one representative from each team in the Association.
   b.The Council at its Annual General Meeting shall elect a Management Committee, who shall be responsible for the conduct of the Association affairs, and consist of the Officers together with Team Coaches and one representative from each affiliated school. Members in each school shall elect their representative annually. A quorum shall consist of not less than eight elected members.
   c.The Management Committee shall have power to co-opt up to three members to serve for one year.
   d.The Council shall control its finances which shall be used solely for the furtherance of the objects of the Association.
   
6. a.OFFICERS: The Officers of the Association shall consist of the President, Vice-Presidents, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Ex-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and Assistant Secretary.
   b. Each team representative may nominate one candidate for each of the offices of Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, such nominations to reach the Secretary on or before 30th April.
   c. The Secretary shall, if necessary, prepare a voting paper containing a list of candidates with instructions for voting, and shall issue the same with the circular calling the A.G.M. to all team representatives.
   d. All voting papers must be returned to the Secretary at least two days before the A.G.M. The votes shall be counted by two scrutineers appointed by the Management Committee at their last meeting prior to the A.G.M., and the result declared at the A.G.M.
   
7. a.GENERAL MEETING: The Annual General Meeting shall be held not later than 30th June each year and the Secretary shall give at least eight days notice of such meeting to all members of the council. An abstract of the Treasurer's accounts, duly audited by two auditors elected at the A.G.M., shall accompany the notice.
   b. A Special Meeting of the Association may be called at any time by the Management Committee or on receipt of a requisition signed by the representatives of six teams, such a General Meeting to be held within 14 days of the receipt of the requisition by the secretary.
   c. Attendance at the Annual General Meeting shall be compulsory for all schools to enable them to enter competitions for the following season.
   
8. FINANCE: The financial year shall end on the 30th April.
   
9. a.REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS: The Association shall be responsible, through the Management Committee, for the running of representative teams under E.S.F.A. rules.
   b. A team manager for each Town Team shall be elected at the Management Committee Meeting immediately prior to the A.G.M. and shall take teams through the respective age groups.
   c. The Management Committee to be responsible for the selecting of the players to make up training groups. The team to be then selected by the team coach(es).
   d. The Management Committee shall have first claim on any player(s) in the schools to represent the Association. Any player(s) selected shall be debarred from playing in any other games on the day of the match, or on the day prior to the match ( two days for E.S.F.A. Trophy ties ), except at the discretion of the Committee.
   e. A full statement of the receipts and expenses of any game in which the association is concerned will be presented to a subsequent meeting of the Management Committee.
   
10. PLAYING RULES:The laws of the game shall be those of the Football Association Ltd., except that:
    a. The size of the ball (leather) shall be size 4; for Year 10 and above size 5.
    b. The length of the game, unless otherwise agreed, shall be 30 minutes each way; for Years 10 and 11 35 minutes and for under 19, 40 minutes each way.
    c. Substitutes to be allowed in all school games under the auspices of the Association, five players at any time in the game, unless otherwise agreed before the kick-off. ‘Repeated’ substitutions are allowed in all competitions. (This decision was taken at the ESFA 2005 AGM to fall in line with current ruling i.e. substituted players can return to the game.)
    
11. a.FIXTURES: League competitions shall be organised for the following sections: Year 11 (Under 16), Year 10 (Under 15), Year 9 (Under 14), Year 8 (Under 13), Year 7 (Under 12), except where a school cannot run a team in a specific age group, Schools may, at the discretion of the Management Committee, combine two consecutive age groups to play in the upper age group of the two. A player may only play for one age group in any one season.
    b. The last Saturday of the Spring Term to be the end of league competitions, unless otherwise agreed by the Management Committee. The winners of the Year 10 divisions shall play off to decide the Town Championship for the season.
    c. Half the fixtures in all leagues must be completed on or by the final Saturday of the Autumn Term. Failure to do so may lead to removal from the league for the remainder of the season (with all points deducted) and removal from all domestic cup competitions.
    d. All fixtures to be played by the agreed date except by the mutual agreement of the team representatives. In the event of a fixture not being played, through agreement or default, the matter must be recorded in writing within five days to the Competition Secretary.
    e. League Trophies shall be awarded at the discretion of the Management Committee. Such trophies to be returned to the Secretary on request.
    f. For the convenience of playing matches the competing teams may be arranged in divisions in such manner and on such basis as the A.G.M. shall decide.
    
12. a.RESULTS: Points shall be allocated as follows: two points for a win and one point for a draw. No team may claim two sets of points for any one match.
    b. At the end of the season the team having the most number of points shall be declared the winner in each division. In the event of two or more teams being equal in points a deciding match or matches shall be arranged by the Management Committee.
    c. In the event of a draw in a cup game extra time of 10 minutes each way must be played. If the scores are still level after extra time the result is to be decided by the taking of penalties, as per F.A. rule.
    d. The representatives of the competing teams shall report the result to the Competition Secretary within 5 days of the match being played. Failure to comply with this rule could result in loss of points or forfeiture of the tie.
    
13. a.CUP COMPETITIONS: The Association shall decide at its A.G.M. the cup competitions for the following season. The Management Committee shall be responsible for the administration of such competitions.
    b. Knock-out City Cup matches must be played by the date specified. Teams failing to do so may, at the discretion of the Competition Secretary, be withdrawn from the competition.
    
14. REFEREES: The home team is responsible for the appointment of the referee.
    
15. a.POSTPONEMENT: It is not a valid reason to postpone a game under the auspices of the Association because of the selection of a player or players for a representative team.
    b. In the event of a team failing to turn up, unless a satisfactory explanation is given to the Honorary Secretary and accepted by the Management Committee, the team turning up shall be declared the winners of the match.
    
16. a.PROTESTS: Protests must be lodged with the Honorary Secretary not later than seven days after the match. A deposit of £5 must accompany each protest, and it shall be forfeited should the protest be considered frivolous. Protests against the ground, ball or posts must be lodged with the referee before the game commences.
    b. If a protest is made against a player on the score of age, the team of which he is a member must furnish his address, exact date of birth, and place of registration to the Management Committee for verification. The side losing the protest shall pay all expenses.
    
17. The Management Committee shall have the power to order any match to be replayed or re-scheduled at such time and place as they shall determine.
    
18. The Management Committee shall fix dates and, in cases of dispute, grounds for all postponed matches at their first meeting after such postponement, failing agreement between the two clubs.
    
19. a. ALTERATION TO RULES: No alteration shall be made to these rules except at the A.G.M. of the Council, or at a Special General Meeting called for that purpose.
    b. Any proposed alteration to these rules must be submitted in writing to the Honorary Secretary on or before the 31st May, and the proposed alterations shall be printed on the Agenda for the A.G.M. or Special General Meeting held for the purpose of considering such alterations.
    
20. The Management Committee shall have power to deal with any matter not provided for in these rules.
    
21. In the event of the Association being dissolved the Council shall realise the property and assets and call in all monies due to the Association and, after discharge of all liabilities, hand the surplus to such charitable institutions or charities as shall be determined by the A.G.M. called for that purpose.