BAFA rules for member organisations

Note: These regulations came into force on 1st October 2008

1. Member organisations of BAFA are required to conform to the following rules.
2. Where a member organisation itself has member organisations, these rules apply recursively to the relationship between the BAFA member organisation and its member organisations.
3. Where an organisation changes any details specified below, it must give notice to BAFA within 28 days. Such notice will be deemed given when received and acknowledged by a designated BAFA officer. The designated officer will copy all notices to all BAFA directors.

Membership

1. Register individual and organisational members with the BAFA Central Registration System prior to their participation in football activity.
2. Renew registrations each membership year.
3. Prohibit any individual from participating who is registered with BAFA as serving a ban or owing a debt.

Corporate Governance

1. Notify BAFA of the organisation’s governance arrangements, and lodge with BAFA copies of all governance documents including but not exclusive to constitutions, articles and memoranda of association, byelaws, rules, regulations, etc.
2. Notify BAFA of the principal officers of the organisation (e.g. directors) and their contact details and any such changes to such within 14 days.
3. Prohibit anyone acting as a director who is prohibited by law from serving as a director.
4. Prohibit anyone holding any office who is banned by BAFA from holding such office.
5. Report to BAFA at least annually giving details of their implementation of these rules.

Risk Management

1. Implement risk management policies and procedures that are compatible with any BAFA risk management policy in force at the time.

Human Resources (Employment and Volunteers)

1. Ensure persons acting in any appointed capacity on behalf of the organisation abide by all rules, regulations and guidelines for conduct.
2. Ensure all persons acting in a coaching capacity are qualified members of BAFCA.

Financial Management

1. Notify BAFA of the organisation’s financial year.
2. Provide to BAFA accounts at least yearly and within 6 months of the end of the organisation’s financial year.
3. Report any financial problems (e.g. unpaid debtors or creditors above £500 outstanding for more than 2 months).

Marketing and Communication

1. Maintain the integrity and reputation of BAFA in all communications.
2. Not make public statements that are contrary to these rules.
3. Not engage in sponsorship or similar arrangements that are judged by BAFA to be contrary to the interests of the sport.

Equality

1. Implement equality policies and procedures that are compatible with any BAFA equality policy in force at the time.

Child Protection

1. Implement child protection policies and procedures that are compatible with any BAFA child protection policy in force at the time.

Disciplinary Code

1. Implement disciplinary policies and procedures that are compatible with any BAFA disciplinary code in force at the time.

Games and playing rules

1. Conduct all contests according to the playing rules in force at the time.
2. Sanction teams that do not comply with football-playing rules that do not have a designated penalty.
3. Use only BAFRA officials wherever possible.
4. Not schedule any games on dates that clash with National Programme games or mandatory training camps.
5. Not schedule any games on dates that clash with BAFA “designated events” (e.g. the BAFA Convention)

International participation

1. Seek BAFA’s prior approval for the organisation of any team, game or other event where the name “United Kingdom”, “Great Britain”, “Britain”, “England”, “Scotland”, “Wales”, “Northern Ireland”, “National”, “International”, “Europe” or derivations therefrom is used.
2. Seek BAFA’s prior approval for the use of the nickname “Lions”, “Crusaders”, “Chieftains”, “Dragons”, “Giants” or derivations therefrom by a member team, club or other organisation. Existing teams in BAFL or BUAFL using these names (on 3rd October 2008) shall be allowed to continue to do so. [Birmingham Lions (BUAFL)]
3. Seek BAFA’s prior approval for teams to participate in any game:
   • outside Great Britain or
   • involving a team from outside Great Britain
   Approval is unlikely to be granted if the game or opponent does not have recognition from an IFAF member governing body or equivalent.
4. All player transfers to or from countries outside Great Britain must abide by the rules of the EFAF player transfer system.

Liaison with external bodies

1. Keep BAFA informed of discussions with:
• EFAF, IFAF or their affiliated or successor bodies
• any professional sports organisation
• other UK sports governing bodies or their offshoots
• other representative bodies
2. Not enter into any contracts or agreements with any of the bodies listed above without prior consultation with BAFA.
3. Inform BAFA of any application made for public funding.
4. Seek BAFA’s prior approval for any funding application to any scheme which requires NGB approval.
5. Inform BAFA of any sponsorship agreement valued at £1000 or more.
6. Seek BAFA’s prior approval for any agreement made with an external body where that may have an effect on the sport as a whole or another BAFA organisation.

Disputes between BAFA member organisations

1. If any difference of opinion shall arise between BAFA member organisations relating to the performance by either party of its obligations or entitlements, such dispute shall be referred in the first instance to be resolved by mediation at each party’s equal expense.
2. If not resolved by this means within 30 Business Days, then it (or any remaining issue/s arising from any such dispute or difference on which agreement cannot be reached) shall be referred to be dealt with and determined by arbitration, the costs of which shall be borne and payable by the party against whom any relevant award is then made.
3. Any such mediation or arbitration shall be referred to and conducted by such person as shall be appointed by agreement between the parties or in the absence of such agreement:
• In the case of a referral for mediation, by the Chairman or governing body for the time being of the ADR or CEDR group (or its or their equivalent at any given time).
• In the case of a referral for arbitration, by the Chairman or governing body for the time being of the Royal Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (or its equivalent at any given time)
4. Any person so appointed to arbitrate shall act as an expert and their decision shall accordingly be binding for all purposes on the parties.
5. Any such referral for mediation or arbitration shall be deemed to be commenced by either party giving notice to the other requiring such a referral.
6. Communications sent by post shall be deemed to have been received forty-eight hours after posting. In proving service by post it shall be necessary to prove only that the communication was contained in an envelope which was duly addressed and posted in accordance with this clause.

Procedure where a breach of the rules is suspected

1. Anyone may report a suspected breach to BAFA.
2. The BAFA Board shall appoint someone to investigate the breach and report to the Board within 28 days. This period may be extended with the agreement of the Board.
3. Where the BAFA Board determines that the breach was a technical one that in the balance of probabilities did not affect a decision or the outcome of a process, the breach shall be disregarded.
4. Where a breach is judged to be significant, the organisation will be instructed to rectify the breach within 28 days.
5. Where the breach is not rectified, the Board may impose any of the following sanctions commensurate with the effect of the breach:
• issue a public statement concerning the breach
• suspend the organisation from participation in BAFA decision-making
• suspend any or all of the officers of the organisation involved in the breach from holding any office in the organisation or any other BAFA organisation for a specified period of time.
6. The BAFA Board is the final arbiter of all decisions made under these rules and interpretation thereof.

Procedure where a new organisation wishes to join BAFA

1. This procedure applies to new organisations that wish to join BAFA, or suspended organisations that wish to be reinstated.
2. Before being admitted to BAFA, an organisation shall establish policies that conform to these rules.
3. BAFA may allow an organisation to join where not all policies are in place, conditional on appropriate policies being in place by a specified date.
4. BAFA may, at its sole discretion, deny membership to an organisation if any of its directors are judged not to be of good character.