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YEL Update – 7th February 2025
This Update has FIVE important messages this week which we would ask you to please read.

Fixture update
Cup Matches – Cup tied players, ID checks & team sheets, Finals
No swearing please
FA rules regarding formats teams can play during the season
YEL Office email has changed!

Fixture Update
All primary contacts for teams in all age groups should have received a Full-Time email from YEL Fixtures Team explaining about Sat/Sun games during Feb & March. This should be self-explanatory. If you haven’t received it and you are the primary contact listed on Full-Time for your team, check your junk/spam folders first, then email the office for a copy  office@yelonline.com

NB: we’re aware of duplicate fixtures in March. We used Mar 22nd in particular, as a ‘holding date’ for games lost to the weather and needed to be rescheduled. These will be all sorted out/updated in the next 10-14 days. Please don’t contact us at the moment regarding issues with March fixtures. Wait until they have been updated.

Cup Matches – Cup tied players, ID checks & team sheets, Finals
Cup tied players – Any player who has played in a previous round for another team in the same age group and playing day cannot play for another team in the same age group cup competition as they will be cup tied and therefore ineligible. Any team found to have played an ineligible player will be removed from the competition. Please check and make sure you do not fall foul of this rule.
Cup Rules, ID Checks & Team Sheets – Please ensure you have read and understand the cup rules inc ID checks and proving team sheets to officially appointed YEL refs – YELonline.com – under rules and regulations – Any issues on the day, ring YEL GameDay hotline below
Please email the YEL Office should you encounter any officially appointed YEL referee refusing to accept a team sheet or saying that they don’t need them.
Finals – teams still in the cup competitions should make a note that the finals will take place in May over two weekends – 10th & 11th and 17th & 18th The finals weekends are a festival of football with over 60 ability based competitions reaching their conclusion. It is a massive logistical exercise for us and requires months of planning. Even though you may not have reached a final yet, it is essential that you check availability now with your players to ensure they would be available for both of these dates (Very important they check at school that there are no planned schools events which would affect a significant number of players in the team). Any potential issues need emailing to the office now. The dates of the finals will not be moved from these two weekends but we could look to see if there would be a possibility of switching any affected final to the other weekend. This can only be done with plenty of notice ie NOW!

No swearing please!
We’ve received a request from a club secretary asking us to remind players and adults that swearing has no place in children’s football. Please make your players aware that swearing is not acceptable and ask them to let their feet do the talking, not their mouths. Likewise, coaches/parents – Adults are role models that young players respect and look up to. If they see adults swearing, they’ll naturally think it’s acceptable for them to do it – It’s not! Can all clubs ensure their players, parents/carers and coaches get this message. NB: If referees hear it, or worse if it is directed at them, the players could find themselves ‘cooling off’ in the sin bin for 8 mins!

FA rules regarding formats teams can play during the season
Reminder from the County FAs – During the season – Sept to May teams can only play matches in the format they are entered into a league ie U7/U8 can only play 5v5; U9/U10 can only play 7v7; U11/U12 can only play 9v9. This applies to all games inc friendlies arranged outside the league. We would urge all teams who are considering playing a different format game to seek clarification of this from their County FA. This information is being shared to ensure no YEL teams fall foul of this rule inadvertently or otherwise.

For information – Rule 18(C) in the Standard Code of Rules for Youth football states:

…’Children shall not play, and shall not be permitted or encouraged to play, in a match between sides of more than the stated number of players, according to their age group’

YEL Office email address has changed!
Amazingly, despite it being widely advertised for the last four months, some people are still using the old email address – Quite incredible!

Any emails sent to the old address will not be responded to. We will also not accept using this old email address as an excuse by any team/club to try and get out of fine raised through the league not being notified about something – kick off time change, venue change, change of personnel etc. Update your address book now:

office@yelonline.com

The switch to office@yelonline.com brings the office email address in line with the growing suite of @yelonline.com email accounts designed to ensure that your email gets to the right person as quickly as possible. Please use the relevant email addresses below to speed up the process:

office@yelonline.com – all general admin enquiries, fixture queries, KO time changes, questions on rules
finance@yelonline.com – any player reg queries, match return fines/queries, queries relating to invoices
referees@yelonline.com –questions regarding referee appointments, how to register a referee/as a ref.

Contacting the YEL

If you email the YEL OFFICE – office@yelonline.com – please ensure you state the team name, age group and playing day so we can quickly deal with the enquiry
If you have any issues or on the day queries relating to your game only, you can contact the YEL Game Day Hotline number for advice. Available between 9.30am and 12.30pm on Sat/Sun

ONLY AVAILABLE FOR ON THE DAY MATCH RELATED ENQUIRIES – no other issues will be discussed.

Rob Harwood CEO
YEL OFFICE

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