THE FA PEOPLE’ S CUP, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BBC GET INSPIRED TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The following Terms and Conditions apply to The FA People’s Cup 2019 Competition (the “Competition”). The promoter of the Competition is the Football Association Limited (“The FA”), Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London HA9 0WS. The Competition is also being run in conjunction with the BBC and partners from Small Sided Football Providers (“SSPs”), University Sites (“HE”) and College Sites (“FE”). SSPs, HEs and FEs, along with any other body (such as a County FA) that organises, hosts or runs a part of the Competition, are hereafter referred to as the Tournament Organisers.
By entering the Competition, entrants (including all Team Members (as defined below)) agree to be bound by the following Terms and Conditions and any and all other associated promotional materials published by The FA, the BBC and/or the Tournament Organisers.
1. Entry to the Competition opens on 14 December 2018 (the “Opening Date”) and will close at midnight on 19 February 2019 (the “Closing Date”). Entries received before the Opening Date or after the Closing Date will not be accepted.
2. The Competition is free to enter and is only open to male and female residents of the United Kingdom who are aged twelve (12) or above on the Closing Date, with the exception of participants in the Youth Disability category, who must be over the age of eleven (11) and under the age of sixteen (16) as at 31st August 2018. Under The FA’s Rules & Regulations, players participating in a match who are over the age of sixteen (16), must be of the same gender unless participating within the Walking Football competition. The FA reserves the right to request an entrant’s proof of age and residency at their stated address for verification purposes before accepting their entry.
3. Each team entered into the Competition must be made up of at least five (5) and no more than seven (7) team players (the “Team Members”) and must nominate a manager (the “Team Manager”).
4. Entries are on a first come, first served basis and the Organising Parties have the final decision on entrants.
5. Entries not in accordance with these Terms and Conditions are invalid.
6. In order to enter the Competition as a team, the Team Manager must register the Team by:
• visiting theFA.com/playfootball (the “Website”);
• searching for a session to play in; and
• completing the entry journey (including creating a team, registering as a Team Member, Team Manager or both, providing date of birth, contact email and phone number of the Team Manager, and inviting players to join the team as Team Members).
All mandatory fields must be completed.
7. The Team Manager will act as the primary point of contact with The FA and/or the Tournament Organiser (together the “Organising Parties”) throughout the duration of the Competition, unless otherwise specified by the Team Members and agreed to by one of the Organising Parties.
8. All Team Members registering for a team will need to sign up to The FA People’s Cup individually by completing the entry journey. All Team Members signing up to a team will be kept informed individually if changes or updates to their event take place between signing up and the first match being played. For the avoidance of doubt, the Team Manager must not sign up any other player as a Team Player in the individual Team Player sign up journey.
9. Any player under the age of 16 at the point of registration must be registered by a parent or guardian.
10. Individual entrants (“Individual Players”) can also sign up to take part in the Competition and must also comply with the provisions of these Terms and Conditions. To enter as an Individual Player you will register in the same way as a team via theFA.com/playfootball.co.uk and follow the instructions. Individual Players will be placed into a team by The FA where possible. Notwithstanding this, The FA cannot guarantee that an Individual Player will be placed into a team by The FA. In the event that an Individual Player cannot be placed within a team, The FA will inform the Individual Player by email.
11. The Organising Parties reserve the right to expel any team, Team Member or Individual Player from the Competition if any of them deems that team, Team Member, Team Manager or Individual Player:
• To be acting in an unsportsmanlike fashion;
• To be acting outside the principles of fair play;
• To be acting in a way that damages the image of the Competition;
• To be acting in a manner which risks the safety, security or welfare of any individual; and/or
• Not to meet the eligibility criteria set out in these Terms and Conditions and on any other publicly available materials published by The FA in relation to the Competition.
12. The Organising Parties hold sole and absolute discretion in this regard and their decision will be final and binding.
13. Any team, Team Member, Team Manager or Individual Player that fails or refuses to comply with these Terms and Conditions may be disqualified from the Competition by the Organising Parties. Any such decision will be at the sole and absolute discretion of any of the Organising Parties and will be final and binding.
Teams
14. Teams will be made up of a minimum of five (5) and a maximum of seven (7) Team Members, and will be registered by The FA under a team name of the team’s choice (subject to clause 18 below).
15. Team Managers must select their final team for The FA People’s Cup before the start of the Competition.
16. Any Team Member that is not selected for a final team will be informed of his Team Manager’s decision by email.
17. Once the Competition has started the Organising Parties may permit up to two (2) Team Members of any team to be replaced between rounds. The Organising Parties’ decision will be final. If a team qualifies for a Semi-Final, no Team Members from that team are permitted to go on and play for any other team.
18. A team name must be chosen by each team at the start of the Competition. At their sole and absolute discretion the Organising Parties reserve the right to reject team names that they consider to be unsuitable, inappropriate, obscene, derogatory; that reference trade marks, or known personalities; or that are derogatory towards the Organising Parties or any entities associated with them. The Organising Parties have the final decision on such matters and that decision shall be binding.
Player Eligibility
19. The Competition shall be run in accordance with particular categories, as follows. Each Competition category will be age specific and is open to all teams who are classified within the below classifications.
• Youth Disability – The player must be over the age of 11 and under the age of 16 as at midnight on 31 August 2018.
• Open Age Male – Attained the age of 16 on the day of the local qualifying heat
• Open Age Female – Attained the age of 16 on the day of the local qualifying heat
• Male Veterans – Attained the age of 35 on the day of the local qualifying heat
• Female Veterans – Attained the age of 35 on the day of the local qualifying heat
• Adult Disability - Attained the age of 16 on the day of the local qualifying heat
• Female Walking Football – Attained the age of 40 on the day of the local qualifying heat
• Mixed Walking Football – Attained the age of 50 on the day of the local qualifying heat
20. All Team Members and Individual Players must be of full amateur status.
21. Below outlines the eligibility criteria for each of the categories within the Competition.
Adult Male and Male Veterans categories
22. No Professional or Semi-Professional football player(s) are permitted to enter the Competition. For the avoidance of doubt, any Team Members or Individual Player(s) that have played in the top 8 levels (as set out below) of English Football since 1st August 2018 are not permitted to play in the Competition.
English Pyramid System
Level League(s)/Division(s)
1 Premier League
2 Football League Championship
3 Football League One
4 Football League Two
5 National League
6 National League North (Vanarama National League North) National League South (Vanarama National League South)
7 Northern Premier League Premier Division (Evo-Stik League Northern Premier Division) Southern Football League Premier Division Isthmian League Premier Division, Ryman Football League Premier Division)
8 Northern Premier League Division One North (Evo-Stik League Northern Premier First Division North) Northern Premier League Division One South
(Evo-Stik League Northern Premier First Division South) Southern Football League Division One East Southern Football League Division One West Isthmian League Division One North (Ryman Football League Division One North) Isthmian League Division One South (Ryman Football League Division One South)
23. Adult Female and Female Veterans categories
No Professional or Semi-Professional football player(s) are permitted to enter the Competition. For the avoidance of doubt, any Team Member or Individual Player(s) that have played in the levels (as set out below) of English Football since 1st August 2018 are not permitted to play in the Competition:
o The FA Women’s Super League (FA WSL)
o The FA Women’s Championship (FA WC)
o The FA Women’s Premier League (FA WNL) - Northern Premier and/or Southern Premier Divisions
Higher Education (University) Categories
24. No British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Football or Futsal players registered for the 20118/19 season are permitted to enter the Competition in the University Male category. Two BUCS Football or Futsal players are permitted per team in the University Female category. In addition the local heats for the Higher Education category are only open to students currently attending the host university in question.
Further Education (College) Categories
25. A maximum of two Category 1-3 Association of Colleges Sport (AoC Sport) Football players registered for the 20118/19 season are permitted to enter the Competition per team in the Male & Female College categories. In addition the local heats for the Further Education category are only open to students currently attending the host college in question.
26. Any team(s) found to be fielding ineligible players will be immediately disqualified from the Competition. This applies to all levels of the tournament; local heats, semi-finals and the national final.
27. The FA shall have the right, at its sole and absolute discretion, to withdraw any prize awarded to a team if that team is found to be fielding or have fielded ineligible players (whether as Team Members or Individual Players).
28. Teams arriving late for a fixture may forfeit the fixture and be disqualified from the Competition. This shall be at the discretion of the Organising Parties and shall be final and binding.
29. Teams will be expected to provide themselves, for each of their Team Members, the following (including but not limited to):
• Football kits; shirts, shorts, socks; shin pads and football boots with moulded or astro turf trainers. Shirts (including Goalkeeper) must not be black or dark in colour. Team Members will not be permitted to wear football boots with blades or non-moulded studs (wet or dry weather);
• Team Members and Individual Players will be liable for all travel and costs associated with their participation in the Competition (including Local Heats, the Semi Finals and the National Final). For the avoidance of doubt the Organising Parties will not contribute to these costs in any way; and
• Individual Players will be provided with bibs for their wild card team on the day of their match.
Tournament Rules
30. Save for as expressly amended or modified by the Terms and Conditions, the applicable laws of the game for The FA People’s Cup shall be The Football Association’s Small Sided Football Rules found in the FA Handbook (the “Tournament Rules”) (//www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/lawsandrules/fa-handbook). The only exception to this is Walking Football which shall be played in accordance with The FA’s Walking Football Laws of the Game (//www.thefa.com/news/2018/oct/08/walking-football-revised-laws-of-the-game-081018). For the avoidance of doubt the Tournament Rules shall include The FA’s Discipline Process for Small Sided Football or such other process as issued by The FA to participating teams from time to time.
31. Team Members and Individual Players are reminded of the General Principle of the Tournament Rules that where not otherwise stated in the Tournament Rules, the FA Handbook 2018-19 (the “FA Rules”) apply with exceptions (e.g. there is no offside in Small Sided Football).
32. Local heats will consist of a group stage, followed by a knockout stage (the “Local Heats”). A minimum of one (1) team from each Local Heat will progress to semi-finals that will be organised on a regional basis (the “Semi-Finals”).
33. Teams will be notified of their Semi-Finals venues via email following the weekend of 23rd – 24th February 2019:
34. Teams may not enter into more than one (1) Local Heat. Any team that is found to have entered into more than one Local Heat will have any subsequent entries cancelled and will be removed from the Competition.
35. The Semi-Finals will consist of a group stage, followed by a knockout stage. The winning team from each Semi-Final shall progress to a national final (the “National Final”).
36. In the event of a draw in the knockout stages of each round in the Semi-Finals, the match will be decided by penalties. The penalties will consist of three (3) rounds followed by ‘sudden death’ penalties if necessary.
National Final
37. The National Final will be held on 27/28 April 2019 (the “National Final Date”) at a location to be confirmed at the first round weekend (Saturday 23rd – Sunday 24th February 2019).
38. If any Team is unable to attend the National Final, The FA reserves the right to select a replacement team to take their place and this decision will be final and binding.
39. The FA reserves the right to move the location of the National Final at any time prior to the National Final Date and will inform all teams of the new location.
The Prize
40. The winning teams from each category will each receive one ticket per Team Member (up to a maximum of seven (7), save as set out in this clause 18) to attend The FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 18th May 2019 (the “Prize”). The winning Youth Disability category team will receive three (3) extra tickets (in total, for the team) which must be used by adults over the age of 18 to accompany the team. The winning Adult Disability teams will receive two (2) extra tickets which must be used by adults over the age of 18 to accompany the team.
41. The Prize is non-exchangeable, non-transferable, and not redeemable for cash or other prizes (in whole or in part). In the event of unforeseen circumstances or circumstances outside The FA’s control, The FA reserves the right to offer an alternative prize of equal or greater value. Travel and accommodation are not included in the Prize and The FA accepts no responsibility for any costs associated with the Prize including, without limitation, meals, personal expenses and insurance in connection with the Prize. Winners are strictly prohibited from selling or giving away the Prize to any other person.
42. The FA will provide the winners with further details of how to claim their Prize on or around the date of the National Final.
43. The winners’ names and counties will be made available after the end of the Competition to those who send a self-addressed envelope to ‘FA People’s Cup 2019 Competition’ to The FA’s address set out at the top of these Terms and Conditions.
44. As the prize involves attendance at the 2019 FA Cup Final, none of the winners can be subject to any Football Banning Order or equivalent court order and/or criminal conviction which restricts their ability to attend matches and/or makes them unsuitable to accept the prize. Any winner subject to such an order or conviction will not be able to receive the prize and will be treated as having been disqualified from the Competition. Such decision shall be at the sole discretion of The FA and will be final.
45. Winners must also comply with all of The FA or Wembley Stadium’s conditions for entry (including ticket terms and conditions) and any applicable ground or health and safety regulations (including those available on the Wembley Stadium website).
General
46. Team Members acknowledge that by entering the Competition they may be required to participate in any reasonable publicity accompanying and resulting from the Competition required on behalf of The FA and/or any other broadcast or media partners (including the Organising Parties) if so requested, with no further recompense.
47. Each Team Member and Individual Player acknowledges that by registering for the Competition, the Organising Parties (and third parties authorised by The FA in accordance with its Privacy Policy) may now and in the future use, exploit and make available the names, details, and images of all Team Members, Team Mangers and Individual Players in any medium whatsoever including (but not limited to) a website (including the Organising Parties’ and broadcast partners’ main websites, and any social media sites), television, mobile media platforms and/or radio and any other media, whether now known or in the future, for the purposes of advertising and publicity of the Competition and/or The FA People’s Cup brand without restriction as to manner, frequency or duration of usage or any other purpose whatsoever in connection with the sale and marketing of The FA People’s Cup brand.
48. Neither of the Organising Parties will accept any responsibility for lost, delayed, incomplete, misdirected, mislaid, damaged or corrupted Entries (due to whatever reason, including but not limited to malfunction of the Website), or Entries that do not comply with these Terms and Conditions in any way.
49. The FA accepts no responsibility for any damage, loss, liabilities (including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damage) injury or disappointment incurred or suffered by you as a result of entering the Competition, not being able to enter into the Competition or accepting the Prize. The FA further disclaims liability for any injury or damage to your or any other person's computer, tablet, mobile phone or other device or IT system relating to or resulting from participation in or downloading of any materials in connection with the Competition. Nothing shall exclude the liability of The FA for fraud or for death or personal injury as a result of that party's negligence.
50. In no event shall The FA or any of its Group Company’s total liability for all damages, losses, or causes of action exceed the price of the Prize. Without limiting the foregoing, this Competition and the Prize are provided "as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement.
51. The FA reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, this Competition with or without prior notice due to reasons outside their control or to amend or modify these terms and conditions at any time.
52. Team Members’ and Individual Players’ personal information will be collected, stored and processed in a database for the purposes of administering the Competition as described in The FA People’s Cup Privacy Policy which can be found at [//www.thefa.com/public/privacy/just-play-recreational] (the “Privacy Policy”), which you are deemed to have read and acknowledge in entering this Competition, and in connection with any advertising mentioned in these Terms and Conditions. Such information will not be used for any other purpose other than as stated in these Terms and Conditions or in the Privacy Policy. If Team Members have separately agreed to receive communications from either of the Organising Parties then their personal data may be used for such purposes, including direct marketing. The Organising Parties shall at all times comply with applicable data protection legislation currently in force in the UK.
53. If there is any reason to believe that there has been a breach of the Terms and Conditions, or incorrect, illegible, fraudulent or other invalid or improper information has been provided, any of the Organising Parties may, at their discretion, refuse to process an entry or provide the Prize.
54. The Organising Parties reserve the right to verify all Team Members and Individual Players.
55. A decision of either of the Organising Parties will be final and binding in all Competition circumstances and no correspondence will be entered into.
56. All yellow and red cards administered on the day of any match shall be considered as final and binding and will not be subject to any further challenge or consideration. However, should misconduct take place which extends further than a sending off (including, without limitation, serious misconduct), all discipline reports received involving Team Members, Individual Players, Team Managers and teams will be forwarded to the relevant County Football Associations for them to investigate and take appropriate action.
57. A Team Member, Individual Player or Team Manager who is dismissed from the field of play or from the side line for spitting, violent conduct or serious foul play shall not take any further part in the Competition.
58. A Team Member or Individual Player who is dismissed from the field of play for denying a goal scoring opportunity, use of offensive and or abusive language or receiving two cautions in a match will be immediately suspended for the next fixture, or until such time as that team have completed one (1) fixture within the Competition.
PROTESTS, CLAIMS, COMPLAINTS
59. All questions of eligibility, qualification of Team Members and/or Individual Players or interpretations of the Rules shall be referred to the Tournament Organiser on the day of the respective match for their consideration.
60. Complaints made to the Tournament Organiser should only be referred to The FA by the Tournament Organiser in cases where the Tournament Organiser decides in accordance with The FA’s guidance that there are applicable exceptional circumstances. Such referrals should be made by email to The FA (fapeoplescup@thefa.com) within 7 days of the date of occurrence of the incident.
61. A member of an Organising Party who is also a member of any Teaminvolved shall not be present (except as a witness or representative of their Team) when such protest or complaint is being determined.
62. The FA may at times further investigate the protest or complaint referred to The FA by a Tournament Organiser in relation to an incident by speaking to any party or person they deem appropriate in order to determine the outcome of its investigation of such incident.
63. All decisions made by The FA will be final and binding and are not subject to any further challenge.
64. The FA reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time by publishing an updated version on the Website. Any amendments will have immediate effect on publication unless otherwise specified.
65. If any of these Clauses should be determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable then it shall be severed and deleted from these terms and conditions and the remaining Clauses shall survive, remain in full force and effect.
66. These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising under or in connection with them shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England, save for that any disputes or differences regarding the Tournament Rules shall be resolved in accordance with the FA Rules.
