League Event
We held a league event to talk to clubs in November about a range of topics. Club administration was high on the agenda due to the impact of match cards not being completed.
We had to make a decision to ask managers not to use the Matchday App due to the unreliability of this and data going through to Full-Time. The position on match card completion has improved, but we do still have some managers who have to be chased regularly in order to get these completed.
Behaviour at games was also discussed. There have been a number of instances of poor behaviour from managers, players and spectators and a number of these involved referees. We have a shortage of referees and Norfolk FA, the league and clubs are struggling to find people to do this so we must ensure all league games are a welcome environment so more people will be prepared to do this vital role in football.
Postponement of games was discussed. There is a level of frustration from clubs about teams cancelling games. The league set out the approach for this season in that any game cancelled where the one postponement has been used will be awarded. This was agreed by all the clubs present at the meeting.
Cup and Trophy Event Final Dates
These are provisional dates as there is dependency on venue availability.
| 6th March | Under 12’s |
| 20th March | Under 13’s |
| 27th March | Under 14’s and Under 10 Sunday |
| 1st April | Under 18 |
| 3rd April | Under 15’s |
| 23rd April | Under 7 & 8 |
| 24th April | Under 16’s |
| 7th May | Under 9 & 10 Saturday |
| 8th May | Under 11 Sunday |
| 14th May | Under 11 Saturday |
Under 9 to Under 11 Format Update
Teams have been placed based on the results in the groups that have been played since September. Teams will be playing ‘competitive’ football which is the Trophy Event competitions for the season.
This years groups are:
U9 Saturday Kappa Cup
U9 Saturday 4sports Trophy
U9 Saturday Kappa Trophy
U10 Saturday Kappa Cup
U10 Saturday 4sports Trophy
U10 Saturday Kappa Trophy
U10 Sunday Kappa Cup
U11 Saturday Kappa Cup
U11 Sunday Kappa Cup
U11 Sunday 4sports Trophy
U11 Sunday Kappa Trophy
Formats vary slightly depending on team numbers. Please visit ncyfl.co.uk/trophy-event-rules-u9-u11 for full details of qualifications after the group stages.
All matches should take place, failing to fulfil a fixture will fall in line with the Trophy Event Rules. All players should be registered for the correct teams within your club and should not play for other teams within your club at the same age group. Eg. Home United F.C. U11 Stripes players cannot play for Home United F.C. U11 Whites.
Please note that once a player has participated for one team, they are then cup tied so if they transfer to another club, they cannot play for another team in the same competition.
Referee Courses
Discounted referee courses available in February, visit NorfolkFA.com for more details.
Club Secretary Support
The role of the club secretary is the pivotal and most time-consuming role in the club. The secretary is ultimately responsible for all the club’s administration. It can sometimes seem daunting as everyone in your club comes to you for help and advice. Who can the secretary turn to for help? There isn’t a training course for the club secretary as all clubs run slightly differently. However, here at the league we recognise how difficult your role can be, and because of this we are setting up a support group, where clubs can share what works well for them.
More information will be sent out to clubs within the next few weeks.
NCYFL Awards
It is a tough job and in a lot of respects a thankless task being a coach or Club Secretary, without whom football as we know it just wouldn’t happen. We would like to recognise the people in our league who are doing this by introducing awards for those who are ‘smashing it’. The recognition will be different to other awards as it will be recognition by your peers.
We will be giving awards in the following categories:
Age Group Coach of the Year
Club Secretary of the Year
The league committee will set the criteria and vote for the club secretary that in our view deserves the recognition. The managers/coach within the age groups will determine who will be the manager of choice from their division/group. The winners of these divisions will then be put forward for the committee to agree the overall age group winner. Managers/coaches will be asked to nominate their first, second and third choice (you cannot nominate yourself). These will be submitted to the committee.
More details to follow in due course.
Cancellation Form
If you need to postpone a match or request a cancellation, please complete the cancellation form on the league website – ncyfl.co.uk/cancellation-form
Good luck for the rest of the season!
From the NCYFL Committee.