Dear All Teams,

We have a league update below regarding the Wednesday Soccer League at Hyndburn Leisure centre and are looking to address constant issues.

One massive issue we have that needs resolving immediately is the disgraceful foul and abusive language our referees are having to deal with week in week out from a number of teams. It is going to get to the point where we have no referees willing to work on the night and we have to close the league altogether. We have already had a number of them say they will never ref on the Wednesday league again due to the torrent of abuse they are subjected to. We have a Monday league at Accrington Academy that doesnt have this issue, it appears to be on a Wednesday only from certain teams. Teams have to understand that referrees will give decisions that you feel are not correct, that is football. You see every week in the premier league elite referees making mistakes so what do you expect from a referee at a 7aside league in Accrington. The referees make a decision based on thier judgement, this may be right or wrong but teams need to refrain from the foul and abusive language otherwise we will have to start reporting all incidents to Lancashire FA who will then ban and fine players from all affilliated football. In some more serious circumstances we may need to get the police involved which we have done before and will not hesitate to do again if need be. All we ask is that you respect the referees and your opponents and try and enjoy the matches in a fun but competitive environment.

New fixtures have been created ready for the next round of matches on Wednesday 4th January 2017.

Premier League Kick off 6:30pm

Fixtures and league table here – http://full-time.thefa.com/ProcessPublicSelect.do?psSelectedSeason=141310677&psSelectedDivision=322573235&psSelectedLeague=6463889

Championship 7.15pm

Fixtures and league table here – http://full-time.thefa.com/ProcessPublicSelect.do;jsessionid=5984774555CE38C64F5193CF423978A4?psSelectedSeason=141310677&psSelectedDivision=407575042&psSelectedLeague=6463889

League 1 kick off 8pm

Fixtures and league table here – http://full-time.thefa.com/ProcessPublicSelect.do?psSelectedSeason=141310677&psSelectedDivision=806307301&psSelectedLeague=6463889

As of January 2017 the facilities have put their fees up for hiring the pitches. They have done this year on year and we have never increased the match costs. After a couple of years of facility cost increases we are now at a point where we need to increase the match fee slightly. The new fee will be £26 per team which works out at 14p extra per player which we feel is reasonable. We are still the cheapest FA Affiliated league in east Lancashire.

We will have a clear and simple process for teams who don’t turn up. If you don’t let us know and fail to appear on the night of the fixture you will face a temporary ban until you pay your match fee by credit/debit card within 5 days. Failure to pay this means you won’t be allowed back into the league and will be replaced with another team.

If your team is struggling for players let us know in advance and we can look at drafting a team in. We will not accept any cancellations on the day of the game as it becomes impossible for us to find a replacement so if this happens you will incur a match fee fine but you won’t be removed from the league as you had let us know.

If your opponent has let us know in advance that they cannot play we will always look to arrange a friendly for your team to ensure a match gets played. This is stated in the league rules. You still owe your normal match fee however you are guaranteed a 5-0 win. The reason for this is if we don’t give you a 5-0 win and you end up losing the game and points against a team standing in when you would have beaten the original team then it isn’t a fair record of the league.

Also many teams aren’t paying the correct match and are building up balances and not paying them off. Please be aware that we will be cracking down on this and should your balance get to £50 we will be asking that you pay it off as arranged with the office by credit/debit card. It isn’t fair on other teams that some pay a smaller match fee and they pay the full amount.

In terms of prizes all league winners and runners up used to receive £150-£200 worth of Accrington Stanley match tickets each season. This is now unavailable to us due to certain individuals from teams selling the tickets to others so Accrington Stanley Football Club put a stop to it which obviously affects everybody involved. We are currently in the process of trying to get a sponsor on board to provide prizes. As a registered charity we wanted to clarify that we cannot use charitable funds to provide cash prizes for league winners and runners up. This is against the rules of the charities commision and our constitution.

We have made these changes for your benefit and hope that your team will help us in making the Wednesday League a better experience for all. At the end of the day there is only so much we can do it needs all teams involved to abide by the league rules and enjoy the league for what it was set up for – to increase sport participation and improve health and exercise levels in adults.

Kind Regards

Accrington Stanley Community Trust