10.  Playing Season, Conditions of Play, Times of Kick Off, Postponements, Substitutes

10 a:  All fixtures shall be arranged by the League Fixture Secretary, and shall not be re-arranged by Clubs without the permission of the League Fixture Secretary. Clubs shall be given at least 14 days notice of each fixture. The first named club in each fixture shall be considered as being the “home” club.

10 b:  No club shall be permitted to postpone or re-arrange a fixture without the permission of the League Fixture Secretary. Any request to postpone or re-arrange a fixture must be made at least 14 days before the date of the fixture, including the full reason for the request. The decision whether to allow the request shall be at the discretion of the League Fixture Secretary. The League Fixture Secretary shall have the Power to postpone or re-arrange a fixture at any time.

10 c:  Notice of postponement of any match must be given without delay to the opposing club and to the League Fixture Secretary, Referees Secretary and Results Secretary.  Clubs must ensure that the postponement is confirmed. It is not sufficient for Clubs to simply leave a message and assume that it will be collected.

If the club fails to notify the opposition and/or League Officials of a postponement causing the opposition and/or Match Officials to travel to a game the defaulting Club may be required to pay compensatory expenses as outlined in the Fines Schedule and may also be fined.

10 d:  Subject to rule 10e, in the event of a club failing to fulfil a fixture without the prior agreement of the League Fixture Secretary, that Club may to be fined and in the event of it being a league fixture, one point shall be deducted from the Club’s total for the season. In addition the points from the fixture shall be awarded to the opposition or in the event of the fixture being a cup fixture the opposition shall be awarded a walkover.

10 e:   In the event of a club failing to fulfil a fixture, as long as it is the first such failure of the season and the club notifies the opposition and/or League Officials by 11am on the day of the game then no fine shall be levied, nor points deductions applied. The points from the fixture (or a walkover for a cup fixture) are still awarded to the opposition.

10 f:   In the event of both clubs failing to fulfil a fixture, each club shall be fined. Unless the clubs are able to re-arrange the match at their own expenses before the end of the season the match shall not be played and no points awarded.

10 g:  All matches shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game as determined by the International Football Association Board.

All matches shall last two equal periods of 45 minutes, unless otherwise determined by the referee, and in any event shall be of equal halves. No match shall last for less than 60 minutes.

The half-time interval shall be of five minutes’ duration and may be altered only with the consent of the referee.

The times of kick-off shall be set by the League Fixture Secretary. Any Club failing to commence at the appointed time may be fined.

Referees shall order matches to commence at the appointed time and must report all late starts to the League.

In the event of a team not being ready at the appointed time, provided 7 or more of the players are available, the referee shall order the game to proceed as soon as he sees fit. If it is not possible to commence the game within 30 minutes of the scheduled kick off time, the referee has the right to refuse to officiate. All match officials shall be entitled to their match fees. Any team not able to commence the game within 30 minutes of the due kick off time shall be considered to have failed to fulfil a fixture according to rule 10d.

Each team must provide at least two footballs fit for match play. Any club failing to do so may be fined.

10 h:   The Management Committee shall review all abandoned matches and in a case where it is to the advantage of the League and does no injustice to either Club, shall be empowered to order the score at the time of the abandonment to stand. In all cases where the Management Committee is satisfied that a match was abandoned owing to the conduct of one team or its Club Member(s) it shall be empowered to award the match to the opposition. In cases where a match is abandoned owing to the conduct of one or both teams or its/their Club members, the Management Committee shall take such action as it considers appropriate including the deduction of up to 6 League points from the offending team.

10j:  A Club may at its discretion and in accordance with the Laws of the Game nominate and use up to a maximum of 3 substitute players in any match in the League. For all Cup Finals 3 substitute players may be selected from 5 players.

The referee shall be informed of the names of the substitutes before the start of the match. A player not so named shall not be allowed to take part in the game.