Secretary Diary

Secretary Diary

In order to assist with the running of your football clubs, the League has produced a Secretary Diary which breaks down the typical football week for a Club Secretary.

DAY 1: Monday

Confirming the fixture for next weekend

If you are the home side, you should start making contact with your opponents and the match official(s) in order to assist with their own preparations for the week. Please ensure that you receive an acknowledgement from your opposition and referee that they have received your notification. Do not just assume that they have received it.

You should confirm the match location, any parking restrictions, kick-off time, colours of both your outfield and goalkeeper jerseys along with footwear requirements if using an artificial surface (3G etc).

If you are unable to reach either of these, you must leave a voice or text message and attempt contact again with them by Tuesday if they haven't responded. If a match official says that they are unable to take the fixture, it is imperative that you ring the Referees Secretary (Mike Locke) as soon as possible so he can be made aware of the situation and arrange a replacement should one be available.

If you are the away club or referee, it is your duty to acknowledge any communication made by the home side, for instance in cases where a voice message or text message has been sent to you.

Submit your result e-card for the weekend just GONE

If you have played a league or league cup competition fixture over the weekend, you will be able to submit your e-card as soon as your result is showing on the website. The earlier you submit, the better the chance of your goalscorers getting a mention in the press report this week!

Upon submitting your e-card, you should receive an e-mail notification confirming that the e-card has been processed successfully. If you do not receive this, please contact the Results Secretary.

DAY 2: TUESDAY

If you were unable to reach your opponents on the previous Monday evening, you must try again. If you cannot reach the secretary of the club, try the emergency contacts also. If you cannot make contact with any individual from the opposing club, please notify the League General Secretary and persist with attempts to contact the club.

If you are unable to reach the referee to confirm the fixture, please notify the Referees Secretary so that they can arrange a replacement should one be available.

If you are the away side or referee appointed, you should have been contacted by Tuesday. If you haven't, it is your duty to attempt contact with them directly but also please contact the General Secretary or Referees Secretary respectively to keep them abreast of the situation.

DAY 3: WEDNESDAY

Today is the last day that you can register players who were signed under the emergency route at your fixture last Saturday. The players must have been added to the Whole Game System and submitted to the league for registration by midnight in order for them to have been eligible to take part, and to continue playing.

Wednesday at midnight is also the last point that result e-cards can be submitted on-time for a match played the previous weekend. Submissions after midnight are deemed late and liable to a fine. The system will send reminders to you that you haven't submitted your e-card yet.

If you are having technical difficulties, these should be reported BEFORE the deadline to the Results Secretary.

DAY 5: FRIDAY

Friday midday is the last point at which player registrations can be submitted through the Whole Game System in order to be eligible to play at the weekend in Saturday fixtures, outside of the allowance of a maximum of 2 emergency registrations. Note that this is midday before any game played i.e. for a Tuesday night fixture, the deadline is Monday midday.

DAY 6: SATURDAY - THE MATCH DAY

Before the match

The big day has finally arrived! Before setting out, make sure you have packed the car up with all the items mentioned above to avoid any delays.

If you're the home side, please look out for the referee and your opponents at the venue and introduce yourself as they may not have been there before. Please show them to their dressing rooms. Referees are requested to arrive at least 30 minutes before kick-off in order to carry out the pre-match equipment checks. 

The referee should be offered his match fee BEFORE the match in case they need to rush off afterwards although in some cases they may ask for the fee after the match instead. In league matches, the HOME club is responsible for paying the match officials. In league cup ties, these fees are paid by the AWAY club.

If you are making emergency matchday registrations (maximum of 2), please ensure you have completed the necessary registration forms and had these countersigned by your opponents BEFORE kick-off. Teamsheets must be presented to your opponents and the referee before the game takes place also.

After the match

If you still need to pay the referee, please do so promptly to avoid any delays. The referee should not have to ask for his fee nor wait for you to collect money from your players first.

If you are the home side, you need to ring your result through to the results line as soon after the game as possible but certainly before the 6pm deadline (Results to Barry Fitzgerald 07786 891093). If you are playing in an external cup competition (Charity or County Cups), you need to ring the result into the League regardless of whether you are home or away.

Follow up actions

Remember that result e-cards for the match need to be submitted to the League by the Wednesday following the match but you will be able to do so as soon as your match result is showing on the website.

Any emergency player registrations signed up on the day of the match must be added to the Whole Game System and submitted for registration there by the Wednesday following the game in which they took part. Failure to do so could see your team charged with fielding ineligible players so ensure you do this promptly and accurately!

Any protests regarding the match need to be lodged with the General Secretary within 4 days of the match and the relevant protest fee paid.