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⭐ A New Signing for YEL
This week’s focus is a really positive one for the league. We’re delighted to announce a new addition to the YEL team — Julie Lazarus joins us full time from next week as Acting League Secretary, with a view to being formally appointed at the AGM. You could say this is a key mid-season signing. Julie brings with her nine years’ experience as Secretary of West Bridgford Colts — one of the largest clubs in the UK, supporting thousands of players and hundreds of teams across multiple age groups. That experience means she fully understands the realities, pressures and challenges that come with being a club volunteer at scale. She knows what it’s like to juggle matchdays, registrations, league processes, parents, referees and committee responsibilities — often all at once. That lived experience is incredibly valuable for us as a league and for the clubs we support. Her background means she joins us not just with process knowledge, but with genuine empathy and practical understanding of what clubs need. Julie will also be a familiar face to many of you, having supported the YEL Awards for the past five years, helping behind the scenes to make those events such a success. |
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🌧️ Weather, Postponements & Working Together
We know this time of year can be unpredictable, and pitch conditions can change quickly. Postponements are never ideal — especially for players who are ready and excited to play.
If your pitch is at risk due to bad weather, please keep your opposition updated as early as possible and let them know when your inspection is due to take place. Open communication between clubs really helps reduce frustration and unnecessary travel.
Where a game is postponed due to weather and the opposition are able to offer their pitch so the fixture can still go ahead, we would strongly encourage clubs to work together positively and consider that option wherever possible. Flexibility on both sides often helps the wider schedule and avoids congestion later in the season.
We appreciate that weather decisions aren’t always straightforward, and we thank you for continuing to communicate early and work collaboratively with one another.
Hopefully, the warmer weather is just around the corner and we’ll see fewer postponements as we move toward the end of the season.
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🗓️ REMINDER – Transfer Deadline 16th March
Just a reminder (following last week’s update) that the player transfer deadline for submissions is 16th March.
If you’re considering any transfers, please try to start the process in good time so everything can be completed smoothly before the deadline.
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🔁 Player Transfer Process – Important Update
To keep things consistent across the league, here’s a clear reminder of the steps:
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The joining club secretary emails the leaving club secretary to issue a 7-day Notice of Approach (NOA).
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The leaving club can choose to waive the 7 days if appropriate (for example, kit or equipment may need to be returned). Please note this cannot be withheld for financial reasons.
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If not waived, the player can be submitted via the portal on day 8. If waived, submission can happen earlier.
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For approval, please email the league office with either:
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A copy of the agreed waiver, or
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A copy of the Notice of Approach email so we can confirm the 7-day period has passed.
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If you’re unsure at any stage, just drop us a message at office@yelonline.com and we’ll guide you through it.
🪪 Player ID Checks – A Quick Reminder
Just a gentle reminder that player ID checks remain mandatory and should be completed before kick-off in line with league requirements.
We know matchdays are busy and there’s a lot going on, but taking a couple of minutes to complete checks properly helps protect everyone — players, coaches and clubs — and avoids unnecessary issues later.
Where ID checks are not carried out, this can lead to formal complaints, potential disciplinary review and possible competition sanctions, which we would always prefer to avoid.
Thank you for continuing to support a fair, consistent and transparent approach across the league.
📝 Match Reports – Thank You & Reminder
Firstly, thank you to the many teams who are consistently completing their match reports on time each week. It really does help everything run smoothly behind the scenes.
As you know, a weekly list is issued highlighting any outstanding reports. This isn’t about naming and shaming — it’s simply to keep things transparent and give clubs the opportunity to resolve any oversights quickly.
A small number of teams have recently been reminded that continued non-completion may result in fixture suspension. There are no fines being issued for this — however, match reports remain a league requirement and are part of maintaining accurate records and competition integrity.
If you’re unsure of the requirements, please take a moment to review the relevant section within the YEL Regulations.
We appreciate everyone’s cooperation in keeping standards consistent across the league.
📆 U11–U14 Rescheduled Fixtures
Clubs in the U11 to U14 age groups may have noticed a number of fixtures currently sitting on 31 May.
Please don’t worry — this is simply a holding date within the system while we work through the rescheduling process.
We’re aiming to review and reallocate the majority of these fixtures over the next week.
Thank you for your patience while we get everything aligned.
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