EFL Charter

EFL Charter

Equatorial Football League Charter

Approved June 18th 2024 for Season 2024/25


Purpose

The purpose of the charter is to outline the standards and ethics each club in the league needs to adhere to, in order to remain a member of the league.

Disclaimer

The league is not a recognisable organizational body and has no legal status. Players competing in the league do so at their own risk, and should endeavour to get their own insurance or medical cover before playing.

The league is not responsible for the health and safety of any players competing in the league.

Guiding Principles

Fairness and Equality – Teams are playing for fun and therefore all players, teams and nationalities are welcome. Costs for pitches and referees are to always be shared equally between the competing teams i.e. no profit should be made from other teams.

Social football ahead of Winning – We would all rather play and lose, than not play at all. Therefore, players do not need to be registered and “ringers” can be drafted in in order to put teams onto the field to ensure a fixture takes place.

Transparency – Any incurred costs should be transparent. Pitch invoices should be shared where possible with other teams.

Failure to Adhere to the Charter or the Principles

Teams that are found to breach the charter could face a financial penalty or be evicted from the league. If a club feels that another club is not adhering to the charter, they can make their case at the Executive Committee. The chairman will propose a punishment for such breaches and then if a majority of the executive committee approve the punishment, the team accused will either take aforesaid punishment or choose to leave the league. If the issue relates to the Chairman’s club then the division co-ordinator who manages the division in which the Chairman’s team is not in has the final say.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee comprises of one representative from each team registered in the league. In all decisions they receive one vote each in all league matters. For clubs that have multiple teams for example Hibs United, Hibs Athletic, they are entitled to two representatives and two votes.

The executive committee is required to meet twice a year (AGM and Pre-Season Get together Meeting).

Quorate decision making is 60% of the exec committee voting in favour of an action/decision. This means that not all clubs need to have representation at an AGM in order to make a decision.

Division Coordinator Role

Each Division in the league needs to appoint a division co-ordinator. These positions are voluntary, but essential for the running of the league. Those that volunteer need to have the intention for committing for the whole season to the role. New Division coordinators can volunteer and be appointed in the AGM through the voting system. In the event that a Division coordinator needs to leave midway through the season, a new volunteer will be requested from the teams in the division.

Core responsibilities:

  • Arrange initial fixtures schedule.
  • Records results of the games and updates the league table.
  • Escalation point for disputes over money in the event of a disagreement between clubs.
  • In the event the disagreement cannot be resolved by division co-ordinators, it will be escalated to the chairman (who’s decision is final). If the chairman’s team is involved in the dispute final say falls on the Division co-ordinator from the division in which the Chairman’s team do not play.


Booking Pitches and Referees

Each home team is responsible for sourcing and securing a pitch for their home fixtures as well as booking the referee. As much as possible we should avoid any block booking companies like Farrer Sports.

Where possible, matches should be on a Saturday, but depending on pitch availability, and in agreement with the opposition, alternate arrangements can be made i.e. Sunday or weekday evening kick off.

Teams with a regular pitch booking but have an away game, can either share the pitch with other teams or encourage home team to take up the option to play the game there.

In the event a pitch cannot be sourced by the home team, the match should be rearranged to the next convenient slot.

In the event that a pitch is paid for and a team withdraws 7 days or less before the fixture, the home team or team that has booked the pitch should attempt to get a refund, if a refund is not possible, then the team withdrawing should pay for the full cost of the pitch and incur a 3-0 defeat. Referees can be cancelled at short notice with no fee. Booking team should share invoices and proof of booking for transparency.

Any matches that cannot be scheduled and played prior to the end of June will be assumed as 0-0 to avoid one season rolling into the next. The cup final if not played by season end would be the only exception to this rule.

New Additions to the League

New teams can enter the league on approval of the Executive committee and on agreement to the league charter. Ideally this will happen prior to the league commencing for that season, but teams can join mid way through the season but only participate in friendly matches with the clubs until the new season commences.

Team drop outs or mergers

In the event a team drops out or merges with another team, all results against that team become null and void, points, goals scored for and against are removed from the league table.

Use of Cosmo, S-League or NFL Players

In order to ensure fairness, competitiveness and enjoyment, teams should refrain from fielding Cosmo, S-League, NFL or, EFL premier league players in the EFL Championship. players unless necessary to ensure a fixture goes ahead. If a team is fielding such players in the squad, then it is polite to inform the opposition manager that you are doing so and how many. If 5 cosmo or more players are required to field a team, the opposition manager can choose to request a rescheduling of the match. Fringe Cosmo or over 40 years old cosmo players do not need to be declared (just regulars under 40).

League Structure

The League currently comprises of EFL Premier and EFL Div 1. Changes to this structure will be discussed annually at AGM for example collapsing divisions or creating new ones. For the 2024 season onwards the EFL Division 1 will be rebranded as the EFL Championship.

Promotions and Relegations

The top two teams in the EFL Div 1 will be promoted to the Premier divisions and the bottom two teams in the premier division will be relegated to division 1. This is not optional unless decided by exec committee at AGM following a withdrawal or arrival of new teams better equipped in the higher or lower division.

Cup Format, Structure and Timings

The cup in the EFL will be known as the “Crouchy Cup” in recognition of the first player to beinitiated into the EFL Hall of Fame.

This will combine teams in both EFL Premier and EFL Championship together initially and will not be seeded. Format is as follows:

All teams will be placed in the draw and randomly selected against each other. Winners of the first match will go into the Cup, all losing teams will then default to the plate. The loses of the first plate match head to head will then default to the bowl. All matches after this are straight knock out. Teams are therefore guaranteed at least 2 matches. The road to the finals will be pre-drawn at the start of the season get together.


AGM Structure and Purpose

Exec committee to meet toward the end of every season to discuss the next season:

Standing Agenda:

  • Review and make any amendments to the football league charter.
  • Discuss financials for trophies and changes in team contribution for the following year.
  • Review and discuss the League structure and divisions.
  • Discuss any charter breaches.
  • Admission of new teams or eviction of existing teams.
  • Elect new chairman
  • Elect new division co-ordinators
  • Elect new head of Trophies and Awards
  • Admit new players to the hall of fame.
  • AOB put forward by any member of exec committee.

Pre-Season get together and Purpose

Social to ensure everyone is ready for the season ahead, appoint or renew division coordinators, discuss pitch availability, blackout dates and draw the cup fixtures. Prior to the get together the schedule for the next season will be produced by division co-ordinators. Division coordinators will also have to work together to agree cup dates.

Trophies and Prizes

  • Each team contributes $100 for prizes and trophies. Any money remaining will be rolled over to the next season and a reduced contribution requested.
  • League winners and Runners up Trophies plus medals for each player 16 for each team
  • Crouchy Cup winners  Trophies for Cup, Plate and Bowl Competition as well as medals for each player for winner and each player for runners up =32 medals.
  • Bottom of each Division: Receives a wooden spoon and a $100 Harry’s Bar voucher to drown their sorrows.
  • Chairman and Division Coordinators receive a small token of appreciation for their role in the season.

Executive Positions

  • Chairman of the Executive Committee to be voted on by managers. Responsible for arranging AGM and post season review. Escalation point in the event disputes cannot be resolved by Division Coordinator.
  • Division Coordinator roles: as described above.
  • Trophies and Prize Manager: Responsible for collecting monies from clubs at the start of the season and then purchasing trophies and prizes.

Match Related Rules and Disciplinary

  • A match will only be deemed complete if abandoned after 70mins have been played. Results in games cut short due to lightning or other related reasons will not stand unless 70mins has been completed and the match will need to be replayed starting again at 0-0 at the next convenient date. This is unless both manager’s agree to allow the result to stand regardless of the time completed.
  • Referees are a cost on the clubs and so only one match official is required for a match day. Additional referees can be brought in on agreement of both teams. Cup Finals will have 2 or 3 officials as mandatory.
  • Red Cards – A player receiving a red card will be banned for 1 match. Managers must honour this. Players shown a red card for serious foul play or misconduct (including fighting, racial abuse or other such antisocial behaviour) will be banned for 3 matches. In the event of extreme behaviour the Chairman can be approached to establish a disciplinary committee of 4 neutral managers plus the chairman themselves to decide if a player should receive a longer ban i.e. full season or life time  ban. Impacted teams and the player involved can state their case in this disciplinary process which will be finalised by the Chairman if the event occurs.

Potential changes for consideration at next managers meeting:

1) Clarrification on red card suspension for 2nd yellow.

2) Do we need a rule for players playing for more than one club?

3) Proposal to reduce the minimum amount of time for a result to stand to 60mins.