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Terms and conditions
Mandatory Notice: All players must maintain a minimum distance of 2 metres from League Officials at all times. Entrants must be at least 16 years of age. All matches are competitive contact sports; players participate strictly at their own risk.
Quick Rules Summary
Crucial match night directives for captains, players, and match officials.
Pitch Marking
The pitch must be marked with white cones prior to kick-off: exactly 10 cones down each touchline and 7 cones marking out each goal area.
Flexi-Squad & Guest Players
Captains do not need to register players in advance. Guest players from any team in the league may only make up the basic squad of 6 and cannot act as substitutes. The referee and opposing team must be notified before kick-off.
Substitutions
3 roll-on, roll-off substitutions allowed per game. Permitted only during an attacking move or break in play. Substitutes must stand behind their team's goal; striking a substitute out of position risks a penalty. Goalkeeper swaps require referee notification.
Direct Set Pieces & 2-Yard Rule
All free kicks, corners, and kick-ins are direct. Opposing players must retreat a minimum of 2 yards. Encroaching or showing dissent advances the kick 2 yards forward; if it moves into the goal area, it becomes a penalty kick.
Goalkeepers & Area Play
Both attackers and defenders may enter the goal area, and keepers may leave it. Keepers can use feet with the ball under control, distribute overarm or underarm, or take goal kicks from the floor. Keepers cannot handle a deliberate backpass (penalty kick awarded) and cannot kick from their hands.
Discipline, Slide Tackles & Time Wasting
Slide tackles are prohibited (sliding to block a pass without opponent possession is permitted). Time wasting, dissent, and kicking the ball away are penalised at referee discretion with direct free kicks, sin-bins, red cards, or penalties.
Rules in Full
1. Start & End of Match
- 1a: Play is started by the referee giving the ball alternately to one team or the other at the start of each half from the centre circle.
- 1b: Fixture duration is 13 or 18 minutes each way.
- 1c: Maximum of 9 players allowed per squad on a single night.
2. Squads & Guest Players
- 2a: Maximum 2 guest players per match, agreed before kick-off with the opposing captain and referee. If no protest is registered before kick-off, the fixture proceeds as normal.
- 2b: Referees reserve the right to accept or refuse guest players if their inclusion considerably alters the competitive outcome.
- 2c: Guest players can only be used to reach the basic squad of 6 and never as substitutes.
- 2d: Using guest players does not waive or reduce full match fees.
- 2e: Team captains are strictly responsible for settling any discipline fines incurred by guest players.
- 2f (Flexi-Squad): Teams do not need to register players prior to match night and can rotate personnel throughout the season, provided players do not represent another team in the same division.
3. Penalties & Spot Rules
- 3a: Time is added on at the end of either half if a penalty is awarded.
- 3b: Penalty takers are allowed a maximum of two steps before striking the ball.
- 3c: Goalkeepers must remain on their goal line and not move until the ball is struck.
- 3d: Teams must clearly declare the penalty taker to the referee. Penalties will be disallowed if the goalkeeper is disadvantaged by failure to clarify.
- 3e: Where no penalty spot is visible, kicks are placed 1 yard back from the edge of the goal area.
4–7. Goal Area, Backpasses, Clothing & Substitutions
- 4a & 5a: Attackers and defenders may freely enter the area, and keepers may leave it. Goalkeepers cannot pick up deliberate backpasses (penalty kick awarded).
- 6a & 6b: Outfielders may not wear caps, hats, jeans, or non-approved footwear. Goalkeepers may wear a peaked cap in sunny conditions. Shirts must be worn; bibs are provided for kit clashes.
- 7a–7f: Up to 3 substitutes must stand behind their keeper's goal. Multiple substitutions are permitted, but fielding extra players results in sanctions. Subs enter only during attacking phases in the opposition half after the departing player has fully stepped off.
8. Indoor Head-Height Rule
- 8a–8c: In indoor leagues, the ball cannot travel above head-height (defined as the whole ball passing above the tallest player on pitch). Infringements result in a free kick where the ball was kicked.
- 8d–8f: Deflections off keepers, posts, equipment, or bottom boarding are not infringements. Deflections off netting/walls are at referee discretion. Heading the ball is permitted.
9–10. Free Kicks & The 2-Yard Rule
- 9a–9c: All free kicks, kick-ins/roll-ins, and corners are direct. The ball must be stationary. Opponents must give 2 yards. Defending players extending a leg or encroaching are penalised.
- 10a–10d: Failure to retreat 2 yards or dissent moves the kick forward by 2 yards. Referees may repeat this consecutively. If an advanced kick enters the goal area, it becomes a penalty kick.
12–15. Discipline, Sin-Bin & Infringements
- 12a (Sin-Bin): Yellow cards carry a mandatory 2-minute sin-bin behind the team's goal. Referees serve as sole timekeepers. Refusing to leave triggers an immediate red card.
- 13a (Dismissal): Dismissed players must leave the pitch immediately; failure to do so awards the match to the opposing team.
- 14a–14c (Time Wasting): Referees have full autonomy to award free kicks, penalties, or cards without prior warning for intentional delays.
- 15a–15c: Direct free kicks are awarded for intentional advantage handballs, drop ball strikes before bounce, entering opposition area (where applicable), failure to retreat, slide tackles, kicking the ball away, loose shoes (goals scored with loose shoe disallowed), and playing without shirts.
- Referee Autonomy: The referee's score overrules the scoreboard. The referee is the sole judge of play safety and possesses full authority to override rules for the good of the league.
Disciplinary Framework & Fine Bands
Sanctioned players are suspended until fines are paid to the affiliated governing body. Captains bear financial responsibility.
Attendance, Fixtures & Withdrawal Policy
Match Cancellations & Forfeits (7-Day Notice): Teams failing to give 7 days' prior notice to Head Office forfeit the game 5-0 and must pay the full match fee. Opponents play a friendly arranged by Leisure Leagues. Missing two consecutive games without notice makes the team liable for both missed match fees plus two withdrawal notice fees.
Points Matches: If a vacancy exists, scheduled teams must attend, pay the match fee, and play the friendly fixture to be awarded a 5-0 win and 2 points. Teams declining the friendly must notify Head Office at least 7 days in advance or remain liable for the match fee. Teams not attending points matches forfeit the 5-0 win regardless of notice.
Withdrawal Policy (14-Day Notice): Teams withdrawing from the league must provide 14 days' written notice to Head Office and play/pay for all fixtures occurring in this window (minimum of two games). 7 days' notice cannot be used to cancel fixtures while serving a withdrawal notice.
League Closures & Removals: Notice cannot run when leagues are closed (bad weather, Bank Holidays, Christmas); notices carry over to active fixtures. Teams removed by Leisure Leagues remain liable for the 14-day notice period fees.
Automatic Re-Entry: Teams are automatically entered into the upcoming season unless written withdrawal notice is received 14 days before the active season ends. Teams withdrawing at the start of a season must play the first two games or pay both match fees.
Fees, Memberships & Health and Safety
Fee Breakdown & 10-Week Membership: Entry fees serve as a non-refundable administrative discipline bond. Match fees fund pitch hire, match balls, and referees, acting under collection agency. Paying fees commits members to a minimum 10 consecutive weeks. All fees must be paid in advance and are non-refundable. Billin