- Team Manager contact details
- Team sizes for Under Eight year olds
- When can I start playing in football matches?
- Can my team join the SBMSC?
- Should teams and players be forced to clear fixture backlogs?
- Liability Insurance
- Sponsorship and breweries
- Do the start times for Conference matches alter?
- Why not publish League Tables?
- Do the starting times for matches and tournaments alter or are they the same?
Where are Team Manager contact details?
We do not release contact details for mail shot purposes, instead this web site is able to carry advertising. We’ve not got contacts listed on the web site because it’s considered bad practice to publish name, address or phone numbers on the Internet due to various privacy, fraud and security scams we want to avoid. Age Group rep contact details are sent to registered Team Managers twice a year. If you are a Team Manager that hasn’t received this pack please ask your Club Secretary to let the SBMSC Secretary know.
Can Under 8 year old teams play six a side matches?
SBMSC uses the 5 a side format in its games in age groups up to Under 8. Timid players can no longer “hide” and have had to work harder and surprised everyone with they could achieve.
When can I start to play in football matches?
The SBMSC does not organise fixtures for under six age group. Since season 2014, a rule change allows a player to be in a match from his/her 6th birthday. However players just turned 6 can only play in U7 matches; it is not allowed to play up in U8 games. If in doubt, use the online age eligibility checker.
Is it too late to join this season? – I’ve only just got my team going?
The SBMSC allows new teams to join at two points in the year: registering in June for a September start or registering in November to start in January. To join your team needs to meet certain other requirements including affiliation to a county F.A. Read our constitution or Enquire about joining
Should teams and players be forced to play their fixture backlog despite cold weather?
No, there is absolutely no pressure on Team Managers to play their fixtures or clear their backlogs because the South Bucks Mini Soccer Conference (SBMSC) is non-competitive and so all team Managers are permitted to cancel fixtures without any penalty or loss of prestige. SBMSC has guidelines about abandoning matches in adverse weather.
What club insurance cover does the SBMSC provide?
All clubs are required to affiliate to the Berks and Bucks FA or an adjacent county FA if the club is based there. This gives them insurance.
Can my team have its shirts spronsored by a brewery?
No, the FA regards alcohol-related sponsorship inappropriate for children’s football. Any strip should observe all recognised advertising standards and in particular those laid down by the Advertising Standards Authority. The inclusion on or incorporation in any item of clothing or equipment of anything distasteful, threatening, abusive, indecent, insulting, racist or otherwise ethically or morally offensive is prohibited (FA handbook regulation D1). Regulation D4 also excludes any product or service or other activity which is detrimental to the welfare, health or general interest of young persons (alcohol is included in this category).
Do the start times for Conference matches alter or are they the same?
For Conference matches starting in September it is up to the team managers to mutually agree a time on Sunday mornings, though in practice the home team often is constrained by pitch availability baring in mind other age groups will also need to play. This means the Away team should try to fit in with the time slot(s) that the Home team has to offer. Normally team managers inform their players directly, and the Conference does not collect or publish times on the website.
Why not publish League Tables?
It has been shown that a focus on results has a detrimental effect on the broad base development and some individuals progress in football. As a result of this experience the SBMSC clubs have decided not to publish the scores or results of matches. When we ran a Fairplay league to measure sporting behaviour shown by a teams supporters, players and officials tables were published once or twice a season.
Do the start times for tournaments alter or are they the same?
Summer Tournaments are run by Clubs not by the Conference, so timings are entirely set by the organising club.
