General Rules
To register a place in the league, teams must complete the Team Registration Form, and pay the Team Deposit and Match Fees. Places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
All participating players must register prior to competing in the competition. Players who registered for the Spring/Summer competition do not need to register again, unless they wish to register for a different team for the Autumn competition.
- To register, players must complete the Player Registration Form, INCLUDING 2 PASSPORT-SIZED PHOTOS, and pay the Player Registration Fee. Players already holding the ClubFootball Community Card need to complete the Player Registration Form and provide photos, but do not need to pay the registration fee.
- Player Registration Fees must be paid before the first match commences. Should any player register but be unable to pay their registration fee at the first match, the fee will be deducted automatically from the team deposit.
- All registering players will receive a ClubFootball membership card entitling them to discounts at ClubFootball Partner organisations. Please click here for details.
- In the interests of all teams, there shall be no change to the fixtures once the schedule has been issued. Any team which has a problem with fixtures during the competition must inform ClubFootball at the time they confirm their participation in the competition. Any team which doesn't inform ClubFootball at the time of registering, and which is unable to fulfill their fixtures, will forfeit the relevant matches 0-3. No refunds are available for teams which can not play their scheduled fixtures.
- Where a team is unable to fulfill their matches on a specific week, ClubFootball must be informed 48 hours before the match, or the match is considered a "no-show" and deductions made as below from the Team Deposit.
Additional players may join the teams after the tournament begins, provided they register, as above, before they play a league fixture.
This is a friendly competition and should be played in the correct spirit. All matches will be refereed by a ClubFootball member of staff. The referee’s decision is final.
Playes should use the East Gate of the park to enter the pitches area, and not the Staff Gate to the North of the Gate. Players entering by the East Gate are not required to pay to enter the park. Please show your ClubFootball membership card or say you are a member of ClubFootball (Wanguo Qunxing) to enter for free. Players entering by the South, West or North Gate need to buy a ticket to enter the park.
No bicycles are permitted in the pitch area. Bikes should be locked up in the car-park area. Bikes which are left inside the park may be removed by the park staff.
When arriving at the pitch area, players should respect the other teams playing and stay well back from the pitch area until the other teams playing have finished.
No smoking or glass bottles are permitted within the facility.
- No players are permitted to play under the influence of alcohol.
Matches will only be cancelled in extreme circumstances due to the weather; matches will go ahead in the rain unless the pitch is deemed unplayable by the referee. In cases of lightning, play will be stopped immediately by the referee.
Teams and players not competing in the correct spirit will be asked to leave the competition. ClubFootball's decision is final.
Registrations and Match Fees
All teams must pay their Team Deposit of 600 Rmb prior to the start of the competition. Teams whose Team Deposit has been carried forward from previous competitions must top up their deposit to 600 Rmb prior to the start of the tournament.
Teams are requested if possible to pay their match fees in full prior to the start of the competition.
Where a team is unable to provide 5 players to fulfill their fixture, they must inform ClubFootball 24 hours prior to the kick off, and ClubFootball will provide up to a maximum of 2 additional players to allow the fixtures to take place.
Where a team fails to notify ClubFootball a minimum of 24 hours prior to kick-off to request additional players, or provides less than 4 players available for a scheduled match, the team will forfeit the match 0-3 and have 500 Rmb deducted from their team deposit.
Where one team doesn't show up and the other team present only plays one 30-minute game, the other match fee shall pay a reduced match fee of 125 Rmb for the evening.
Where one team can not play and ClubFootball invites a replacement team to play a friendly match in place of a scheduled league game, the team playing one league game and one friendly game shall pay a reduced match fee of 250 Rmb.
Teams may not field players who have already represented another team in the competition, unless expressly authorized by ClubFootball. Any team fielding an ineligible player will forfeit the match 0-3 and have 500 Rmb deducted from their deposit.
Players may only represent ONE team in the ClubFootball Midweek 5-a-side League unless the player represents his company team in the competition, in which case he is permitted to register for a second team. Players may represent one team in the midweek league and a separate team in the weekend league. Once registered with a team, a player MAY NOT play for another team, unless expressly authorized by ClubFootball. Players seeking to transfer team should contact ClubFootball by Email at league@wanguoqunxing.com or phone at 5130 6893/4/5/6 at least 48 hours to the team's forthcoming league fixture.
Late Arrivals
On the day, each team shall consist of a minimum of 4 players. Where a team has less than 4 players, the team will forfeit the match 0-3 and the match considered a "noshow". The team may borrow players from the opposition and play the game as a friendly match. Where a team has 4 players, they must play, otherwise the match will be considered a noshow. Teams providing less than 4 players for a match, or refusing to play with 4 players, will have 500 Rmb deducted from their deposit.
Where a team has 5 players at the kick off time, the match must begin
Where a team has less than 5 players at the kick off time, kick off may be delayed by a maximum of 10 minutes to allow for the late arrival of a player or players.
Where the team does not have the required 4 players ready to play after the 10 minute delay, the match will be forfeited and the match counted as a “noshow”.
Match Rules
All teams should wear shirts of the same colour. Teams should wear shirts of the colour stated in the Team Registration Form as their first choice team shirt. Where a team doesn’t have a team kit for a particular evening of matches, they should contact ClubFootball before 5pm on the day of the match to allow a replacement kit to be provided.
All matches must be played with the ball provided.
There is no restriction as to how high the ball may be played.
There is no offside.
When the ball goes out of play, play will restart with a kick-in (not a throw-in). There are no goal-kicks, instead the goalkeeper begins play with a throw out or kick out. Once the goalkeeper puts the ball down and plays it, he may not pick it up again with his hands.
- For the safety of players, slide tackles will not be permitted. Repeated slide tackling will be a cautionable offence.
Substitutes may be made any time, but the player entering the pitch must wait until the player leaving the pitch is off the pitch before he can enter the game. Substitutes must be made at the halfway line, and on the side of the pitch as designated by the referee.
Each team must have a designated goalkeeper who must wear a different colour to the rest of his team (or a bib); the goalkeeper may handle the ball anywhere within the marked goalkeeper’s area. Where a goalkeeper handles the ball outside the semi-circle, the opposition will be awarded a penalty.
- Players may wear football boots, but boots with metal studs are strictly forbidden.
A goal may only be scored from within the opposition’s half of the pitch. A goal scored from within the goal scorer’s own half will not count; play will restart with a throw-out from the goalkeeper of the team which has just “conceded” the goal.
A goal may not be scored directly from a kick-in. Where a goal is scored directly from a kick-in, the goal will not count, and play will restart with a throw-out from the goalkeeper of the team which has just “conceded” the goal.
The “passback rule” (as in the official FIFA rules) will be applied. Where a goalkeeper handles the ball after it has been deliberately passed back by a teammate, the opposing team will be awarded an indirect free-kick.
A goal may be scored directly from the kick-off.
Where a free kick is awarded, the opposition player must retreat 3m from the ball.
Subsitutes or spectators must stand 1m (ONE METRE) back from the touchline during play, and must not enter the field under any circumstances.
- In the event that the competition finishes with 2 or more teams level on points, the winning team will be determined by:
- goal difference
- if goal difference is level, then goals scored
- if 2 teams are level on goal difference and goals scored, the team which won the match between the 2 tied teams will be the winner.
- if more than 2 teams are level on goal difference and goals scored, all results against other teams will be discarded and the title decided by applying the rules to only the matches between the tied teams.
- where all of the above are level, a play-off will be arranged at a time convenient to both teams.
Player Discipline
This is a friendly competition and should be played in the correct spirit, ie yellow and red cards should not be necessary.
Where a yellow card is issued, the player receiving the card will be “sin-binned” and forced to sit out until the opposition has scored a goal. His team will not be permitted to replace him. He will then be allowed to return to the field of play.
Where a red card is issued, the player receiving the card will be sent off and not permitted to play for the rest of the evening and will also be banned for the match night the following week. For offences involving violent conduct, longer bans may also be imposed for the benefit of all participating teams.
ClubFootball has the right to ask any player to leave the competition. Any player involved in instances of fighting will be asked to leave the competition immediately.
Abuse of the referee is unacceptable. Anyone abusing the referee will be sinbinned until the opposition scores a goal (without a replacement). For serious abuse of the referee, a red card will be issued and the player sent off and not permitted to play for the rest of the evening, and also banned for the match night the following week.
