HAVE YOUR CLUB'S OR LEAGUES DEBT RECOVERED

Norfolk County FA operates a system to collect football debts on behalf of Affiliated Clubs, Affiliated Leagues and other Associations.

Under FA Regulations, football debts are defined as those costs where actual monies have been expended arising directly from football activity and as such would include:

• Match costs (e.g. match fees)
• Fines from discipline cases (cautions, dismissals, misconduct charges)
• Playing expenses (e.g. pitch hire)
• League costs (e.g. repair to cups etc.)

The following are not considered to be football debts:

• Kit/equipment
• Club subscriptions
• Signing on fees
• Internal club fines (except for those imposed as a result of discipline cases)
• Fund raising schemes
• End of season trip costs

Full details of the Football Debt Recovery Scheme can be found attached at the bottom of this page.

There are strict timelines and criteria under which football debts can be chased and Norfolk County FA are unable to deal with any debts that do not conform with the regulations. We therefore recommend that all Club's familiarise themselves with the procedures, the key points of which are highlighted below:

Reasonable Steps

It is incumbent of the creditor (i.e. the Club) to take reasonable steps to recover the debt before asking Norfolk County FA to take action. Reasonable steps should include:

• Writing to the player to inform him of the monies owed
• Not playing the player as soon as it becomes obvious that there is an issue with recovering monies

Attached at the bottom of the page is a template letter that Club's can use to inform players of monies owed.

Timescales

Norfolk County FA should be approached as soon as it is clear that there is a problem. In all cases this should be within 28 days of formal payment being requested and 112 days of the debt being incurred.

Requesting debt recovery
When requesting Norfolk County FA to assist with recovering a football debt from a player, the creditor must supply the following information:

• Full Name, Date of Birth and last known address of the individual responsible for the debt
• Evidence of the debt (e.g. discipline case references)
• Evidence of the efforts made by the Club to recover the debt from the individual (e.g. copies of letters sent to the player)

Attached at the bottom of the page is a template letter that Club's can use to request Norfolk County FA to assist with debt recovery.