Rules: 11-a-side

The Tournament shall be governed in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of The Football Association. Matches shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game as settled by the International Football Association Board. The tournament will take place from Wednesday 25th July to Sunday 29th July 2012.

ELIGIBLE CLUBS

The tournament shall be open to all affiliated Clubs that are approved by their County and National football Association. Each club shall consist of a maximum of 20 persons.

PLAYER'S QUALIFICATIONS AND GAME INFORMATION

The Tournament shall be divided into the following age categories.
All players shall play for one club only.

Boys

Age Category Qualification
B2 Players born on or after 1 September 1996
B3 Players born on or after 1 September 1997
B4 Players born on or after 1 September 1998
B5 Players born on or after 1 September 1999
B6 Players born on or after 1 September 2000
B7 Players born on or after 1 September 2001

Girls

Age Category Qualification
G1 Players born on or after 1 September 1995
G2 Players born on or after 1 September 1997

** Dispensation will be granted to those Countries operating on a January – December age grouping **

REGISTRATION

Pre-Tournament Registration

Prior to the start of the tournament, each team shall produce a list of players eligible to participate together with their dates of birth. The Tournament Office reserves the right to access player registrations at any time during the tournament. Please note that overseas visiting teams will use passports to accompany the eligible player list. Each team may register up to 20 players.

Players cannot register for more than one team in the competition. This ruling also prevents players playing in more than one age group. Players cannot be registered after the start of the competition.

Pre-Match Registration

Team colours and a squad list of no more than 20 eligible players must be lodged for registration at the results service at least 40 minutes prior to each game. This will be completed by each team manager on an official tournament match sheet.

CATEGORY A or B PLAYERS

Professional footballers are not permitted to participate in the tournament. Players registered as category A or B players at the Youth Academy or Centre of Excellence of professional clubs will also be ineligible to play in the tournament. This ruling applies to all age groups.

Teams who are found to have category A or B player in their competition squads will be punished accordingly. The severity of the punishment remains at the discretion of the Tournament Disciplinary Committee. The punishment can range from the game in question being void and the opposition being awarded a 2-0 victory and any previous games being looked into, through to permanent expulsion from the competition.

 COLOURS

Players shall be dressed in uniform shirts and shorts but the goalkeeper's dress must distinguish him / her from the other players. Each team shall register its first and second choice colours at least 14 days prior to the commencement of the Tournament. In the event of a clash of colours the second named team shall change.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

The Tournament will be played on a league basis in the first stage with the teams divided into groups of 4. Each team shall play one match against each other team in its group.

Three points shall be awarded for a win and one point for a draw. In the event of any team being level on points for any place in a group the final position shall be decided by:

((a) goal difference

(b) number of goals scored

(c) the result of the match between the two clubs

(d) if the match between both clubs resulted in a score draw then the team scoring first will progress

(e) if the match resulted in a no-score draw the team to progress will be decided by the taking of kicks from the penalty mark

The knockout competition shall comprise of teams finishing in the highest two places for the Cup and the two teams finishing in the two bottom places for the Plate.

Recognition of Fair play

All teams must take part in the Tournaments fair play directive, whereby teams will parade onto the centre of the pitch before each game exchanging handshakes in acknowledgement of fair play.

Technical Area

A technical area of size 10 metres by 1 metre will be marked inside the roped boundary on the touchline of each pitch. Only designated officials / substitutes from each team will be allowed in the technical area. All spectators will be expected to keep behind the roped boundary on the opposite side of the pitch.

SUBSTITUTES

For any one match up to 20 players may be registered with unlimited roll on roll off substitutes. Entry onto the field of play will only be allowed during a stoppage in play. A player who has been replaced may return to the playing area as a substitute for another player.

REPORTING RESULTS

The referee shall be responsible for returning the match sheet and notifying the result's service of the result of each game at the conclusion of each game. The team manager from each team in a game must also sign the match sheet at the conclusion of a game to agree to the score noted by the referee.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Liverpool County FA will appoint registered referees. Each game will be appointed one referee except for finals.

PROTESTS AND COMPLAINTS

All questions of eligibility, qualification of players or interpretation of rules shall be referred to the Liverpool County FA disciplinary committee. The disciplinary committee will not accept any complaints or objections relative to the dimensions of the pitch or other appurtenances unless an official protest is lodged with the match referee before the start of the match. All protests and complaints relative to a particular match in the tournament shall be made in writing to the Liverpool County FA disciplinary committee within 15 minutes of the end of the match.

The Liverpool County FA disciplinary committee will not accept complaints made in relation to decisions taken by a referee in a match. Comments, complaints and compliments should be made using the official sheet from the results service and returned, marked for the attention of the Tournament Director.

TROPHIES

The following trophies / awards will be made to the winners / runners-up:

- Winners of the Cup Final - Championship Cup and Medals

- Runner Up of the Cup Final - Medals

- Winners of the Plate Final - Championship Plate and Medals

- Runner Up of the Plate Final - Medals

RULES BINDING

The rules of the tournament are binding on the teams taking part.

MISCONDUCT

A player who is sent off the field of play (red card) shall be suspended for one match in the tournament.

All cases of misconduct on the field of play will be reported immediately by the referee to the Liverpool County FA disciplinary committee and to the appropriate County / National Association.

Any misconduct by a player before or after a match, or by an official before, during or after a match, shall be reported to the Liverpool County FA disciplinary committee and to the appropriate County / National Association.

The Liverpool County FA disciplinary committee are entitled to take appropriate disciplinary action.

COSTS AND INSURANCE

The Tournament is insured for public liability. Each participating team will be responsible for taking out adequate insurance cover for those persons attending the tournament as players, officials or spectators.