2020-21 Season

Q: What football activity can I currently participate in?

A: The FA issues updated guidance regarding this on 12th June and further information can be found here:

http://www.norfolkfa.com/news/2020/jun/12/new-covid19-guidance-issued

Q: Do we know when the 2020-21 season will get underway?

A: Unfortunately not. With the situation regarding Covid-19 remaining incredibly fluid it is impossible to say when and how football will return. All we can continue to do at this time is play our part by following all government instructions and guidance.

Q: Is there a chance that next season may not be able to start on time?

A: We hope that things will be back to normal next season, but it certainly remains a definite possibility that there may be a delay. The government will determine when and how the current restrictions that are in place are lifted and only once it is safe to do so will The FA permit grassroots football to start again. Most of our Leagues start between mid-August and early September so let’s hope that we can do that for the 2020/21 season.

Q: What will happen if Leagues cannot start on time, or do start but then have to pause again due to a second wave of Covid-19?

A: We are working closely with all of our sanctioned Leagues with regards to planning for the 2020/21 season and part of that includes working on contingency plans to cover some of the scenarios that may arise. As I am sure you can appreciate this is an extremely challenging task with so much uncertainty on what the future may hold, but all Leagues will be looking to start the new season as well prepared as they possibly can be.

Q: What is happening with League AGMs this season?

A: All AGMs will be held “virtually” due to the restrictions imposed by social distancing and we will be supporting Leagues in doing this. Every League has now set a date for their AGM and this will be communicated directly to the relevant Clubs by each League.

Q: What is happening with regards to Club Affiliation to Norfolk FA for next season? When we will be able to affiliate and how much will it cost?

A: We are delighted that we are able to support Clubs by offering FREE affiliation for the 2020/21 season. Further details can be found here: http://www.norfolkfa.com/news/2020/may/29/norfolk-fa-statement-free-affiliation-for-20-21.

Q: What about League fees?

A: League fees are determined directly by each League, with the financial position of each competition varying greatly. Once a League has determined the fees that it will be charging for next season, they will communicate this directly to their Member Clubs.

Q: Can I register players of the new season yet?

A: No. There are currently no changes to the Player Registrations processes, so we expect the player registration window to open on 1^st July. Please note that for the 2020-21 season all players will have to be registered with either their email address, or for youth football, the email address of one of their parents/ guardians.

Q: If players have an existing discipline suspension, will this still apply next season?

A: Yes. As per paragraphs 66-68 of the Disciplinary Regulations, any suspension outstanding following the last competitive fixture will be served at the commencement of the next season. On that basis The FA have confirmed that any suspension that remains outstanding will be served once competitive football recommences.

Q: If my Club is struggling financially, what help is available?

A: We do recognise that finances are a worry for many clubs. The Treasury have issued the following:

· Grant funding of £25,000 is available for hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000.

· A 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England will be introduced.

· The government is bringing forward legislation to allow SMEs to reclaim statutory sick pay paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19. Employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible (further information to follow).

· Businesses in financial distress with outstanding tax liabilities may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s 'Time To Pay' service. Please call the dedicated helpline: 0800 0159 559 who can help with any tax deferrals and revised payback schedule.

· Businesses that have insurance for both pandemics and government-ordered closure should be covered. However, the impact of government advice on mass gatherings in terms of insurance is yet to be confirmed. Please check your individual insurance policy.

For further support, please visit the government’s support for businesses page or contact your local authority which will be issued with guidance to help businesses in their area.

In addition, local clubs, leagues and community sports organisations who are experiencing short term financial hardship due to the impact of Covid-19 are eligible to apply to Sport England’s new Community Emergency Fund. Norfolk County FA encourage all our affiliated clubs and sanctioned leagues to consider applying if emergency money is needed.

Sport England’s website hosts full information regarding the new Community Emergency Fund, and all applications are made via the Sport England website. In order to access the relevant information: https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/our-funds/community-emergency-fund.

Q: What support are Norfolk FA offering Clubs at the moment?

A: Although the majority of our staff are currently furloughed, we are continuing to actively provide support to grassroots football in the County. One of the key activities we are currently undertaking is a bi-weekly Club Development WebEx to enable us to provide important updates to all Clubs as well as answer any questions you may have.

You can find more information on this at http://www.norfolkfa.com/news/2020/apr/07/norfolk-club-development-webex

Q: We are hoping to run a summer tournament; can we do that?

A: As it stands, there is a ban on all grassroots football for the foreseeable future and we have no idea how long that may last which could prevent summer tournaments taking place if football does not return in time. Therefore, at present we are not sanctioning any summer tournaments, but we do recognise that these are important fund raisers for Clubs so hopefully this position will change in time for them to take place in some form.

Norfolk FA's FDC Facilities

Q: Now that football activity (remaining socially distant) is permitted in outdoors spaces for up to 6 people within a group, does this mean theFDC facilities will now re-open?

A: Initially it wasn’t our intention to open whilst the group size activities remains at 6 people, however based on the demand we are now starting to receive, we are now considering a phased re-opening of our centres as follows:

theFDC, Bowthorpe Park, Norwich
Our main FDC facility is now actively asking any interested teams/groups/individuals that would be interested in booking a pitch during this period, complete an expression of interest form so that we can start to build a programme of use, which we hope will start to be sufficient enough to see us reopen again on the most ‘popular’ evenings. We will only open up on an evening when there is the demand and resource for it to be available to do so, however with that said, we are confident this could be in the coming weeks ahead. For more details please click here.

Open Academy and Flegg Ormiston Academy
With two of our three FDC facilities based at the above school sites, the schools have agreed that we could consider a phased re-opening from the start of August onwards. Each site will now start to communicate with its regularly customers in how we intend to approach a phased reopening.

Q: What mitigations and conditions are you putting in place to ensure the facilities are Covid-19 compliant and as safe as possible for customers?

A: The safety of our customers and staff is of paramount importance, which is a further reason for us not rushing into re-opening the centres. We have put in place various mitigations and conditions as follows:

Reduced Opening Hours (demand lead within the hours of 5pm to 9.30pm – Monday to Friday & Saturday mornings)
30 minutes left vacant between each booking slot to enable customers to leave prior to the next hour customers turning up on site in line with the below bullet point
No users to arrive any earlier than 10 minutes prior to booking slot and must have departed the site no later than 10 minutes post booking slot
Restricted numbers on the pitches (centre specific)
theFDC, Bowthorpe - Reduced pitches in use with one vacant 5-a-side court per each side of the centre to enable less overcrowding on the outside of the pitches
theFDC@ School Sites - Each half of the pitch will be staggered on the half hour / hour to minimise crossover between groups
Access to the centres will be adapted to ensure minimal or zero touch points are required
Additional outdoor toilets will be provided where applicable
Hand sanitiser stations will be provided, with customers required to use when arriving and departing the site
All bookings must be made and paid (if credit isn’t in place) in advance, no ‘turn up & play’ is permittable – payment links will be sent on confirmation of booking
All users to follow social distancing guidance when on site at all times
The practical activities taking place on the pitches must follow FA & Government Guidance
Bookers will be responsible for undertaking a risk assessment for their own activity, which also includes the management of your own equipment and any first aid treatment required for your participants.

Q: I still have outstanding monies left on my previous booking at one of theFDC’s?

A: As previously communicated, each booker has been given the option to either have a refund on the monies left remaining on the booking or utilise this as credit for a future booking when each of the centres are reopened.

Q: Can I speak to one of theFDC’s staff members that I’m used to dealing with?

A: Unfortunately, existing staff from all three centres have been furloughed, as with the high majority of NCFA staff due to loss of income and football activity caused by COVID-19. The limited current staffing structure are doing their utmost to respond to any queries raised and however we are now asking for any FDC related queries to be sent to the relevant centre’s email address as follows:

theFDC (Bowthorpe, Norwich) – theFDC@NorfolkFA.com

theFDC@OpenAcademy – theFDCopen@NorfolkFA.com

theFDC@Flegg – theFDCflegg@NorfolkFA.com

Q: What government support have theFDC’s received during this lockdown period?

A: Other than utilising the Government Furloughed Job Retention Scheme, none of theFDC facilities have been able to benefit from the Small Business Support Grant Scheme, which has presented further challenges for us when attempting to make activity sustainable and operational once again. This won’t deter our ambition to get back up and running as soon as possible, however we felt it important that our customer base are aware of the challenges we’ve been facing!

Conclusion of the 19/20 Season

Q: What options were available with regards to how to conclude the season?

A: The FA provided two options for Leagues to consider:

Bring the Competition to an immediate end with results expunged (i.e. without promotion or relegation occurring)
League positions and promotions and relegations are resolved by a points per game calculation

Q: Was there no option to delay the end of the season and play matches when permitted?

A: No. The FA did not deem this feasible in grassroots football for a wide range of reasons. Sadly, at present there is no date of when football can re-commence so the only choice was the conclude the current season with immediate effect and select from one of the two options provided.

Q: Why didn’t Norfolk FA just dictate to all Leagues how they should conclude their season?

A: The current circumstances are completely unprecedented and as such it was felt that it was very important that we should recognise the autonomy of Leagues to determine how best to conclude their season so that they could take into account their own unique circumstances. Whilst ideally, we would have liked every League to choose the same option, we absolutely respect and support each League in the decision that they have made which is the one that the League Committee feels is the best for their Competition.

Q: How can the points per game calculation be used when it is not in the League rules?

A: SCOR/Y Rule 6(D) states: “The Management Committee shall have powers to apply, act upon and enforce these Rules and shall also have jurisdiction over all matters affecting the Competition”, giving the League the authority to apply the Rules and anything else not covered in the Rules that impacts the League – i.e. a Pandemic). This would then permit the League to add points per game as a determining factor. It will only be permitted for this season under the unique circumstances we are in and it must be stressed that this would not be applicable under normal circumstances.

Q: What if the positions are tied when using the points per game calculation?

A: Some tiebreaker options exist (e.g. Goal Difference for adult Leagues) unless a League wishes to have the position tied which would be allowed.

Q: If a Competition is brought to an immediate end with results expunged (i.e. without promotion or relegation occurring) can teams still move up/down divisions next season?

A: Yes they can and this is where Rule 2(L) is very helpful. “At the AGM or an SGM called for the purpose, a majority of the delegates present shall have the power to decide or adjust the constitution of the divisions at their discretion. When necessary this Rule shall take precedence over Rule 22.” This is where a discussion can take place at a future AGM / SGM so teams can be aligned to divisions based on the current season as the normal promotion and relegation could not be applied.

In the next few weeks all Leagues that have chosen to expunge results will be giving very careful consideration to this and how it may be implemented for their Competition and will then communicate this directly with their Member Clubs.

Q: My team had already mathematically won our division and now the results have been expunged. Surely this is not fair?

A: It is clearly recognised that whichever way a League has chosen to conclude their season will not be the fair and just solution for every Member Club. There is simply not a “one size fits all” solution. In the case of those Leagues which are expunging results, there can be no official champions, promotions or relegations.

However, where a team has already mathematically secured a League title, at the discretion of the League Committee, mementoes may be awarded to that team should they wish to do so.

Remember also that whilst there is technically no promotion / relegation when results have been expunged, a League can use Rule 2(L) when looking to place teams into divisions next season, subject to the approval of the Member Clubs at an AGM / SGM.

Q: My team were top of their division and our League has applied points per game meaning that a team that were below us have been declared Champions. Surely this is not fair?

A: Again, there is simply not a “one size fits all” solution and whichever option a League chose would result in some teams being affected in a negative way. Ultimately the PPG option is based upon the average number of points each team has won per League match played and then that is used to determine final table positions.

Q: What about League Cups? How are they affected?

A: There is greater flexibility around Cup Competitions, with options including simply cancelling the Competition, trophy sharing (if finalists are already determined) or delaying the finals to a “season opener” for the 2020-21 season. The Cup Competitions vary greatly from League to League, both in terms of how they are run and the stage they were at when the season concluded. As such, each League will carefully consider how best to conclude their Cups and then communicate this directly with their Member Clubs.

Q: What about County Cups?

A: Norfolk FA remain hopeful that all our County Cup competitions will be able to be played to a conclusion. This is obviously dependent on several factors, including of course when football is given permission to re-commence, but as it stands the intention is to conclude the County Cups as “season openers” for the 2020-21 season if it is possible and practical to do so.

Q: If a League has chosen to expunge results for the season, does this mean all discipline fines will get expunged and Clubs will get a refund?

A: No. The FA have confirmed that discipline cases will remain recorded in their entirety. Although the results have been expunged, it remains a fact that the offences have been committed and therefore the relevant sanctions still apply. This would be a similar scenario to matches abandoned where the game has not been completed but the sanctions remain.

Q: What about outstanding suspensions from the 2019-20 season. Will these be waived?

A: As per paragraphs 66-68 of the Disciplinary Regulations, any suspension outstanding following the last competitive fixture will be served at the commencement of the next season. On that basis The FA have confirmed that any suspension that remains outstanding will be served once competitive football recommences.

Q: We have still been receiving late fines on outstanding cases. With everything that is going on surely that cannot be right?

A: We totally agree. Any fines that have been added were automatically produced by the Whole Game System. Arrangements have now been put in place by The FA to prevent any further late fines and/or Club/ Team suspensions being imposed as a result of non-payment. If you have received notice of a late fine since 1st March, please email Support@NorfolkFA.com and we will arrange for this to be removed.

Q: How will my Club pay its bills?

A: We do recognise that this is a significant worry for many clubs and County FA’s are currently discussing the financial implications of the suspension with The FA who in turn are talking to the government. At this stage it is simply too soon to give any further information about any support that may be available, although the Treasury have issued the following:

Grant funding of £25,000 is available for hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000.
A 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England will be introduced.
The government is bringing forward legislation to allow SMEs to reclaim statutory sick pay paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19. Employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible (further information to follow).
Businesses in financial distress with outstanding tax liabilities may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s 'Time To Pay' service. Please call the dedicated helpline: 0800 0159 559 who can help with any tax deferrals and revised payback schedule.
Businesses that have insurance for both pandemics and government-ordered closure should be covered. However, the impact of government advice on mass gatherings in terms of insurance is yet to be confirmed. Please check your individual insurance policy.

For further support, please visit the government’s support for businesses page or contact your local authority which will be issued with guidance to help businesses in their area.

In addition, local clubs, leagues and community sports organisations who are experiencing short term financial hardship due to the impact of Covid-19 are eligible to apply to Sport England’s new Community Emergency Fund. Norfolk County FA encourage all our affiliated clubs and sanctioned leagues to consider applying if emergency money is needed.

Sport England’s website hosts full information regarding the new Community Emergency Fund, and all applications are made via the Sport England website. In order to access the relevant information: https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/our-funds/community-emergency-fund.

Q: As this season has been concluded, does that mean that as a player I can now sign for another club for next season?

A: No. As it stands there has been no change to the Rules regarding player registrations so players cannot sign for next season yet. All players remain registered to their existing teams until 31^st May and as such should not be approached before this date without the necessary notice of approach being submitted, as per FA Rule C2(a).

Q: We are hoping to run a summer tournament; can we do that?

A: As it stands, there is a ban on all grassroots football for the foreseeable future and we have no idea how long that may last which could prevent summer tournaments taking place if football does not return in time. Therefore, at present we are not sanctioning any summer tournaments, but we do recognise that these are important fund raisers for Clubs so hopefully this position will change in time for them to take place in some form.

Football Services

Q: Can we play in summer tournaments?

A: No. As it stands, no Club can run a summer tournament due to the current suspension. We do of course recognise that these events are important fundraisers for Clubs but at the present time the suspension does prevent these from taking place.

Q: Does the suspension include small-sided football?

A: Yes, all affiliated football is currently suspended for the foreseeable future so that covers every format of the game.

Q: How will my club pay its bills?

A: We do recognise that this is a significant worry for a large number of clubs and County FA’s are currently discussing the financial implications of the suspension with The FA who in turn are talking to the government. At this stage it is simply too soon to give any further information about any support that may be available, although the Treasury have issued the following: