2. MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
2.1 All Clubs shall have grounds or headquarters situated in
England or Wales and the Competition Secretary shall send their
names and particulars to The FA annually by the date appointed by,
and in the format required by, The FA. English Clubs shall be duly
affiliated at all times to a recognised County Football Association.
Welsh Clubs shall be affiliated to the FA of Wales. Each Club shall
notify the Competition Secretary of its affiliation number each year
as soon as practicable after it has received same. Each Club shall
return to the Competition Secretary a fully completed questionnaire
relating to Form "D" required by The FA by the date given in the
circular letter accompanying the questionnaire issued by the
Competition Secretary. A Club may share its ground (subject to the
provisions of Rule 4.12) with another club (including a club engaged
in another sport) providing, in the case of any football club, the club
playing in the most senior competition has priority of fixtures and,
in the case of any other club, providing the Club has priority of
fixtures. In the case of dispute the Company shall have the power
to accept an alternative agreement on priority.
2.2 No club which is a "nursery" club or a reserve side of
another football club shall be eligible for membership of the
Company. A club shall be deemed to be a "nursery" club if it is
under obligation, written or otherwise, to football club by
reason of which it has not the sole and entire control of its own
management, finance and players.
2.3 Clubs seeking membership or applying to retain
membership of the Company must comply with the requirements
provided for in the Criteria Document for the step at which the Club
is playing. Only clubs which meet these criteria in full will be eligible
for membership. All Clubs visited by representatives of the
Competition in pursuance of the document will pay a nonreturnable
fee. In the absence of a procedure for application for
membership being established by The FA, the Board shall establish
such procedure.
2.4 The FA shall determine a time scale whereby all Clubs in
membership must attain the grade provided for in the Criteria
Document. The grade applicable for each Club for the
commencement of a Playing Season shall be that existing at the
previous 1st April, such grading to be ascertained by an inspection
carried out on or before 1st April or as soon as practicable
thereafter. Any Club not maintaining the grade set for the
Competition shall be relegated at the end of the Playing Season to
a step determined by The FA.
2.5 Any Club wishing to incorporate shall notify The FA, its
Affiliated Association and the Company Secretary before it makes
any resolutions in this regard.
2.6 In the event that any Club which is an unincorporated
association incorporates itself it shall notify the Company Secretary
in writing within 14 days of the passing of the resolution to take this
action and shall with such notice provide the Company Secretary
with a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the
company. Any amendments to the Memorandum and Articles of
Association of a Club must be notified to the Competition Secretary
in writing within 14 days of the passing of the resolution with a copy
of the change(s).
2.7 In the event that any Club which is an unincorporated
association resolves to transfer its membership of the Competition
to a company or in the event that a Club which is a company
resolves to transfer its membership to a different company the
Board will use the following minimum criteria in deciding whether to
approve that transfer:
2.7.1 The shareholders or members of the Club have voted to
agree the transfer of the Club’s membership to the new entity
2.7.2 All Football Creditors in the Club must be satisfied in full or
transferred (with the creditors’ consent) to the new entity, and
evidenced as such.
2.7.3 All other creditors in the Club must be satisfied and
evidenced as such.
2.7.4 The proposed new entity has provided financial forecasts
showing its ability to fund the Club for the next 12 months or to the
end of the Playing Season following transfer (whichever is the
longer) and that evidence of funding sources has been provided.
2.7.5 The FA has given approval for the transfer to take place
2.8 The Competition shall allow for up to 66 member Clubs. There
will be 2 Divisions of 22 Clubs in each division where possible. The
Divisions will be called Premier and 1. The Clubs competing in
each Division each season will be confirmed by the Annual General
Meeting of the Company each year. Additionally the Competition
may organise two (2) Divisions comprising of reserves teams of it’s
Member or Associate Member Clubs.
2.8.1 It is a requirement for all Clubs to have floodlighting. Any
Club joining the League must show to the Board that they are able
to meet this requirement of Membership/Associate Membership in
the time that the Board set.
2.9 Any Club or Club representative found guilty of serious
irregularities regarding players Contract payments under The FA
Rules may be expelled from the Company in accordance with these
Rules and, in addition, may be fined such sum as the Board shall
determine.
2.10 The Company will hold a register of the full name of the
company/unincorporated entity constituting each Club. If the Club
is an incorporated entity, it must provide the Company with its
company registration number. If the Club is an unincorporated
entity, it must provide the Company with the name of an individual
in whose name the membership of the Company will be vested.
The Company will provide a copy of its membership register to The
FA annually.
2.11 In the event that an Insolvency Event occurs in relation to
any Club, that Club must inform the Company Secretary and The
FA immediately. The Board shall have the power to suspend a Club
on notification of it having entered an Insolvency Event. At the
discretion of the Board, a suspension may take effect from the
giving of the notice or it may be postponed subject to any
conditions as the Board may think fit to impose.In the event that a
Club is suspended or its suspension is postponed, the Board shall
have power to make such payments as it may think fit to the Club’s
Football Creditors out of any monies due to that club from the
Company.
2.12 Any individual wishing to act as an Officer of a Club must
submit a Fit and Proper Declaration to The FA and the Competition
within 14 days of becoming an Officer.
No individual will be permitted to act as an Officer of a Club if they
fail to meet any of the requirements of the Fit and Proper
Declaration, as set out in the Rules of The FA.
In the event that an individual/entity is found to have either:
• Completed false or misleading statements on their Fit and
Proper Declaration;
• Acted as an Officer of a Club when in breach of the
requirements of the Fit and Proper Declaration;
• Acted as an Officer of a Club without having submitted a fully
completed Fit and Proper Declaration;
then the individual/entity or Club shall be subject to such fine or
other sanction as may be determined by the Board or The FA.
2.13 Any Club which is incorporated must be incorporated in
England and Wales.
2.14 If during the course of a season the Board decide that the
organisation and management of a particular Club fall below the
standards appropriate to membership of the Competition, the
Competition Secretary shall be instructed to warn the Club at once
that it may be excluded from membership of the Competition at the
end of that playing season. Such a Club shall have the right to
appeal to the FA within 14 days of the date of notification of the
Board’s decision.
2.15 The Competition, through the Board shall be empowered
from time to time by subscription, levy or otherwise to require Clubs
to contribute such sum or sums of money to the funds of the
League as may be necessary for the proper conduct of the
business of the League. Such contributions by Clubs may be
collected by deduction from sums due to Clubs under any
promotion agreement or from sponsorship money due or by
whatever means the Board shall think fit. There shall be added to
any sums to be contributed from Clubs, if applicable, Value Added
Tax at the then prevailing rate.
2.16 Any Club failing to be represented at an Annual General
Meeting or any other General Meeting called in accordance with the
[Rules] [Articles] without satisfactory reason being given shall be
fined in accordance with the Fines Tariff.
2.17 The Board shall establish a procedure for inspecting Clubs’
grounds from time to time as well as a procedure for inspecting the
grounds of clubs applying for membership of the Company.