County Cup Guidance on Weather Postponements
With the next rounds of the Sheffield & Hallamshire county cups taking place over the next two weekends, the Met Office has forecasted more rain and wind for our region, leading to possible disruption of fixtures.
Where possible, it is imperative that county cup matches are played on the specified date to prevent a fixture pile-up for teams and to save administration time for all involved in the game. But we understand that it can be a challenging time of the year to fulfil your county cup fixture due to weather and pitch conditions.
We’ve provided some guidance and procedures below on what your team should do if the weather leads to the postponement of your county cup fixture.
County Cup Postponements
Postponement of matches due to weather conditions should only take place if the pitch is unfit to play on or the weather conditions are deemed unsafe. The postponement must be communicated by the home team to the opposition team and to the referee.
It is advised that the owner of pitch, home team manager or referee are the only individuals who can postpone the match due to weather conditions. This must be updated on the FA’s Full Time system as soon as possible.
Please be prepared to provide proof of pitch/weather conditions that has led to this decision to the opposition, referee and Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA if required.
If both teams do not follow these procedures then there is a chance that the game will go down as a non-fulfilled fixture and both teams will be removed from the competition, or a charge be implemented.
Postponement rules
Matches which are postponed or abandoned:
When a match has been postponed or abandoned before the completion of 90 minutes and neither club is at fault, it must be played on the same ground on the following Saturday/Sunday unless agreed by the teams and the County FA (CFA) otherwise.
Reversing a fixtures
If you can reverse the fixture, in order for the game to go ahead, then we would recommend this
Fixtures not played after two postponements:
If a fixture is not played after two attempts due to an unfit pitch, then the CFA may order that the fixture should then be reversed or played on an all-weather pitch, with ground expenses being shared by both clubs.
Match rearrangements:
The home club must advise the visitors, referee, assistant referees and CFA, in writing/email, as to the location of their ground and time of kick-off no less than FOUR DAYS prior to the rearranged match. In terms of last-minute arrangements, if the home team, away team and referee all agree 24 hours before the match that the fixture is to be reversed then this must be confirmed by CFA and the match can take place.
This procedure must be repeated in the event of further postponement, cancellation, or other changes in arrangements. All changes must be accepted by the CFA and amendments made on Full Time following the agreement of fixture alterations. These will be done by a member of staff at the CFA.
Playing Conditions of Ground
Each club must take every precaution to keep its ground in playing condition and safe. If necessary, the club secretary/team manager can ask the referee or official to examine the ground and decide as to the fitness for play in sufficient time to save the expense of unnecessary journeys being incurred by the clubs. The referee shall have the power to decide as to the fitness of the ground in all matches.
Pitch inspections
During this time of the year, all match officials need to be prepared for pitch inspections. You can download a guide to pitch inspections by CLICKING HERE
Support with postponing a match
We are hopeful that the weather causes minimal disruption to upcoming county cup matches and we wish all teams the best of luck.
If you have any additional questions or queries, please contact us at support@sheffieldfa.com
If you are experiencing issues with the FA’s Full Time platform, please contact full-time@thefa.com or check out the FAQ on the Grassroots technology support page here.