League Handbook

MIDLAND FOOTBALL ALLIANCE

LEAGUE CUP

RULES

1. The Competition shall be called the Midland Football Alliance Challenge Cup. All Clubs competing in the League shall play in the Challenge Cup Competition.
2. The Competition shall observe the Rules and Regulations of the Football Association and all matches shall be played according to the Laws of the Game as settled by the International Football Association Board.
3. All rounds up to the semi-final and the final will be played on a single leg basis. The semi-finals will be played on a home and away two leg basis. In rounds played on a single leg basis, if the scores are level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time of 15 minutes each way shall be played. If the aggregate scores are level at the end of extra time, the tie will be decided by the taking of kicks from the penalty mark in accordance with International Board decisions.
In the semi-finals, the team securing the best goal aggregate shall be declared the winner. If the aggregate scores are level at the end of 90 minutes of the second leg, the team scoring the most goals in their away tie shall be declared the winner. If the goals scored by each Club in their away tie are equal, an extra 15 minutes each way extra time shall be played. If the aggregate scores remain level at the end of extra time, the tie will be decided by the taking of kicks from the penalty mark in accordance with International Board decisions.
The date for each round and the Final Tie to be decided by the Management Committee.
4. The entire management and control of the Competition shall be vested in the Management Committee of the Midland Football Alliance who shall have power to deal with any matter for which no specific provision is made.
5. Each Club shall pay an Entrance Fee of £80, payable before entry can be accepted.
6. The matches shall be played on such dates as the Management Committee may decide unless re-arrangement be mutually agreed upon between the Clubs affected.
Dates of such re-arranged matches must be communicated to the Fixtures Secretary of the League by both Clubs within two days of such re-arrangement.
7. The minimum charge for admission to matches in the Competition shall be £3 (young people under 16 and Senior Citizens excepted). All spectators will pay the Club’s advertised admission charges.
8. In all rounds prior to the final match, the gross gate receipts shall be retained by the home Club which shall be responsible for the payment of expenses. The visiting Club shall be responsible for their own travelling expenses.
For the Final, the gross gate receipts shall be divided as for the other rounds after 50% of the gate receipts have been paid to League funds.
9. In all matches, any Player who has been duly registered with the Midland Football Alliance shall be eligible. In the case of a two-leg round only those Players shall be allowed to play who were eligible to play in the first leg.
No Player shall be allowed to play for more than one Club in the Competition. A Player nominated as a substitute but not being called upon to play, providing he has not played in a previous round, shall not be cup tied.
A Player who has not played in a previous round shall not play in the Semi-Final unless he has been registered for his Club with the League for a minimum of twenty one (21) days. A Player who is not eligible to play in the Semi-Final on grounds of registration, shall not play in the Final.
Any Club found guilty of playing an ineligible Player shall be removed from the Competition and be subject to a fine at the discretion of the Management Committee.
10. Rule 12 of the Midland Football Alliance shall be applicable in all rounds of the Competition.
11. All protests shall be lodged in triplicate within three (3) days of the date when the match was played, accompanied by a fee of £75 which may be returned at the discretion of the Management Committee if the appeal is sustained.
12. Where a match has been postponed through causes over which neither Club has any control, the expenses shall be paid out of the receipts of the second match.
13. The winning Club shall, complying with the conditions of Rule 19 of the Midland Football Alliance League, hold the Cup/Shield for the year and the General Secretary shall be responsible for the engraving of the trophy after it’s return, the cost to be borne by the Club. Both the winning Club and the Runners Up shall be presented with twenty (20) commemorative tokens.
14. The Referee and Assistant Referees will be appointed by the appointing authority. In the Semi-Finals and Final a Fourth Official will be appointed who will receive the same fee and expenses as an Assistant Referee.
In the Final Tie tokens will be awarded to the Referee, Assistant Referees and Fourth Official, who will also be able to claim a Match Fee and traveling expenses.
15. The Rules of the Midland Football Alliance shall apply to this Competition as far as they are applicable to a Challenge Cup Competition, except as specifically provided for in the foregoing Rules.
16. The Final Tie shall be played at the direction of the Management Committee and shall take precedence over any other fixture except the F.A. Cup, F.A. Challenge Trophy, F.A. Vase, or the Senior Cup Competition for which the Club is eligible of the County Association to which it was first affiliated, after consultation with the Clubs concerned.
17. No alteration of or addition to existing Rules shall be made except at the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting convened at the request of the Management Committee or a requisition signed by not less than two-thirds of the Clubs comprising the League and then only upon such resolution being carried by a two-thirds majority of the Members present and voting thereon. Notice of alteration or addition must be sent to the General Secretary not less than four (4) weeks before the date of such meetings, the same to be printed and circulated to Clubs for the purpose of amendments within the following ten (10) days and any proposed amendments to be notified to the General Secretary not later than a further ten (10) days. All proposed alterations and amendments to be forwarded to Clubs at least seven (7) days before the meeting.