Personal Note:
It’s at times like this that you realise both how very important and very unimportant football is to us all. It is the perfect paradox.
Football is important as it provides a talking point; fitness for those from 7 to 70 (and older!); mental well-being; it is a great leveller; it transcends the age groups bringing young and old together in a social environment – It is extremely important to a large percentage of the population…. And yet…
We are in the midst of a global pandemic from a hidden virus that has so far, sadly, taken the lives of over 40,000 people in our country. How unimportant everything else, including football, then seems to become.
For those who have lost loved ones, we send our deepest sympathies; For those who are struggling either mentally or at the hands of the virus, you are in our thoughts; For those key workers on the front line protecting us, nursing us and serving us, you have our thanks and deepest admiration.
Stay safe and keep following the rules and, hopefully, we will all be able to return to the game we love very soon.
Rob Harwood CEO
Admin Update:
Season transition on Scoreline – Massive thank you to all Club Secretaries, Managers and Volunteers for ensuring that the teams’ info was confirmed/removed to ensure that the roll through/transition of seasons on the evening of May 31st on Scoreline went so smoothly. We are now in season 2020/21 and every team is showing on Scoreline at the new season age group. Please ensure when you contact the YEL that you use this new season age group to avoid any confusion.
Team entry invoices – Club Officers will see on the club’s dashboard on Scoreline that the invoices for team entry have now been added. THESE INVOICES ARE NOT TO BE PAID UNTIL 1ST AGUGUST AT THE EARLIEST as we are trying to assist clubs with any short term financial issues caused by Covid-19.
League fees – To be clear on the league position with regards to 2020/21 entry fees, the team entry fees have been invoiced at the advertised YEL rate. We are working on the basis that the league will start either at the beginning of or during the course of September and we will run our normal split seasons with a Winter and Spring season. Unless the season is delayed until January 2021, there will be no discount on the fees as, unlike other leagues, we had completed Winter season and the vast majority of our Spring season games that had been organised, were played.
Funding for Clubs – I would reiterate my previous messages and social media posts, there are a number of funding avenues/grants that clubs should look at to assist with any financial shortfall that has been caused by Covid-19 – Sport England Community Emergency Fund being the most important one. As a case study I am aware that Glebe FC which is a club approx. two thirds the size and make up of Bingham Town in the YEL, has just received a grant of £10,000 so there is funding available to support YOUR club. You just need to do a bit of research and apply for it.
What’s happening at the moment in the YEL Office? We are all still away from our office at Notts County as Meadow Lane is still closed. Once we are advised by Notts County that we are able to return, we will update you.
Office Staff – Please note that everyone in the YEL has now been furloughed. Sarah Smith, YEL Referees and Serena French, WGS and Finance were furloughed at the beginning of April. John McNicholas and Kev Cooper were furloughed this week as we have now completed the essential work in preparation for the new season. We are now in a very good position (at least a month ahead of where we would be normally) to start the season as soon as we get the go ahead from The FA.
We are hoping they will all be back soon but this will be dependent on FA announcements detailing when the football season/competitive matches can return. In the meantime any queries relating to the league, if urgent, please use the ‘Contact the YEL’ menu item on Scoreline and select CEO as the recipient and I will attempt to resolve it. You can also email the YEL Office – yel@live.co.uk and it will be dealt with. Please bear with us as there is currently just me, Rob Harwood, working.
Start of the 2020/21 season – We are working towards a September 5th start and will keep you advised on any updates as and when they occur. We do have fall back plans in place for an October start and a January 2021 start if the season is delayed.
Divisions/developments groups 2020/21 season – Kev Cooper (YEL Fixtures and events) has done a lot of preparatory work on provisional divisions/development groups for all ages U7 to U14 and these will be announced in due course. Any issues regarding divisions/fixtures should still be sent to Kev Cooper either by Scoreline messaging – use ‘Contact the YEL’ and select ‘Fixtures’ or email the office.
Reminder that if you suddenly find you don’t have sufficient players to play in the team you have entered when you return to training/re-signing the players to your club, there is no cost to withdraw the team provided it is done before midnight on 31st July.
Missing information on Scoreline – John McNicholas (YEL Office) has been updating Scoreline with missing information. If you have received an email from the YEL Office requesting info, please supply it as quickly as possible as we would like Scoreline to be in good shape by the end of June at the latest.
NEW ‘MY VENUE’ FEATURE (Accessible by Club Officials only) – As a response to an email into the YEL Office, we have added a ‘My venue’ feature into Scoreline to assist when you are entering a venue for your teams. You now only need to type in the venue/s that your teams use once. Click on ‘Clubs & Teams contact’, Select ‘My Club’, Either click on the blue club button or use the arrow key to go into your club. Scroll down to the bottom and click add venue. Enter the details of all the grounds your teams use. When you go into a team to update the ground location, provided you have entered all of the ground locations, you will be able to select the right one from the dropdown box on the team edit page.
Club affiliation & Player Registrations – We have received a number of queries around Club affiliation and player registrations. We are aware that the local County FAs are adopting slightly different approaches to this. If you have any queries relating to player registrations or affiliating your club, please direct them to your local County FA who are best placed to advise on this.
YEL AGM – Thursday 25th June – For obvious reasons we are unable to hold this at Notts County as previously advertised. We will still be holding the AGM however this will take place online. Details have been circulated to all Club Secretaries including an agenda, relevant documents and the format that the meeting will take. Every club is required to have a representative at the AGM.
Restarting training for clubs/teams – Finally, we are pleased that the Government/FA feel it is safe for small group training sessions to resume with social distancing restrictions. If you have any queries on what you should/should not be doing, whether it is the right time or too soon to recommence training etc please do not ask our advice. Seek the advice of the professionals who are giving this guidance that it is safe to train i.e. your local County FA. Best suggestion is that you email the County FA Designated Safeguarding Officer for advice.
Regards
Rob Harwood CEO
YEL