Albert Dix – Cheltenham District Football

Date: Friday 20th October 2023

Group Phase Locations: Charlton Kings, Rowanfield Juniors and Prestbury St Marys

Group Phase Timings: 1pm-3pm

Final Phase Location: Prestbury St Marys

Final Phase Timing: 3:30pm-5:30pm

The winning team from each group will need to travel to Prestbury St Marys for the finals phase.

Age Group: Year 5 and 6

Description: English Schools’ Football Association competition. 7-a-side, no restriction on gender. Small and large schools will compete separately. (Small schools must have fewer than 65 pupils in Year 5/ 6). The winner of the small and large schools competitions will progress to the County round (usually in late November/early December).

Rules:

• Matches are to be seven –a-side
• Otherwise, rules are the same as in the league games e.g. no offside etc.
• Matches will last 7 minutes each way. Please make a quick change round at half time – perhaps two minutes.
• Substitutes can be made at any time – please inform the referee.
• Please support all referee’s decisions (right or wrong!).
• 3 points for win, 1 point for draw.
• Winners of each group to be decided (in this order) by:
  1. points accrued.
  2. goals scored.
  3. goal difference.
  4. results against each other.
  5. penalty shootout. (5 penalties each)

The winners of both the Open and Small Schools will represent Cheltenham in the County round of the ESFA Inter-School competition on the all-weather surface of Oxstalls Sports Park in Gloucester due to take place before the Christmas break. 

The no heading rule will be implemented. To ensure player welfare and mitigate against potential health risks linked to heading the ball. A number of local youth leagues have introduced this rule also.

What is a deliberate header?

A deliberate header / heading will usually involve a player moving their head and / or body:

• Towards the ball and / or
• Into the path of the ball When judging if a header is ‘deliberate’, account should be taken of whether the player had the time / opportunity to avoid the ball.

This will be influenced by:

• The speed of the ball
• The distance between the ball and the player when it is played by another player or rebounds from the goalpost or crossbar etc.

Law Changes 

Deliberately heading the ball is an offence punishable by an indirect free-kick. The indirect free-kick is taken at the point where the ball was deliberately headed.

• Where a player of the defending team deliberately heads the ball in their own penalty area, the indirect free-kick is taken from the penalty mark

Deliberately heading the ball is not a cautionable (yellow card) or sending off (red card) offence, unless it:

• Stops or interferes with a promising attack (yellow card) • Denies the opposing team a goal or obvious goal-scoring opportunity (red card)
• Occurs often enough to be considered ‘persistent misconduct’ (yellow card)