Match day responsibilities

Finding your fixtures

Your fixtures are issued on the FA Matchday app, or through FA Full-Time. The league secretary generates a username and password for every registered coach or team lead. Log in to the Full-Time admin section and you can search for all of your fixtures — see the results and fixtures page for the link.

You can amend the venue and kick-off time online. Doing so sends an automatic email to you and to your opponent's coach, as confirmation.

Only change the venue if you are playing somewhere other than the one shown on your Matchday fixture allocation. Each fixture has to be changed on its own — there is no way to do a run of them at once. There is a step-by-step guide with screenshots on the documents page.

Before match day

For a match on a Saturday or Sunday, the home coach should contact the away coach no later than the Monday evening before the match. Share all of the following:

• Venue details — address, postcode and a map link. Our venues page has all of these.
• The pitch plan, at any venue with more than one pitch.
• Kick-off time.
• Home team shirt colour, so any kit clash is sorted out in advance.
• Anything specific about parking, access and dogs. It is the home coach's responsibility to tell the away coach before match day if dogs are not permitted at the venue.
• Whether either side has any safeguarding restriction on filming — for example children in foster care or witness protection. If the opposition objects, no filming can take place during that match, and both coaches need to tell their parents. See the photography and filming guidance.

The home coach should also update the kick-off time on FA Full-Time or in the FA Matchday app.

Tell your parents about a fixture as soon as it is published. Ideally you should have an available team before you confirm with the opposition and the referee.

Referees

For competitive games — under 12 and older — request a referee on Centre Circle. Once a referee is appointed, contact them as soon as you can. If nobody is appointed, try to book a referee yourself. There is a guide to using Centre Circle on the documents page.

Do not book a registered referee for a non-competitive game — under 11 and younger. Doing so reduces the number of referees available for competitive games. The one exception is younger qualified referees, who are not able to referee the older age groups.

Make sure you know the agreed referee fee for your age group, and do not pay more than it. If a referee asks for a fee above the agreed amount, tell the club committee.

On match day

Setting up

It is the home coach's responsibility to arrive early enough that the pitch is set up and compliant with FA guidelines. That means:

• goals set up, positioned correctly and secured safely;
• corner flags in place;
• touchline barriers in place.

Welcome the away team and the referee when they arrive.

Team sheets

Complete a team sheet check with the away coach before kick-off. Make sure every player who has reported to play for the opposition appears on the photo team sheet, and that there is a photo of the coach uploaded to it too.

If either team cannot produce a team sheet, the game should not be played. Tell a member of the committee straight away if that happens.

Captains

One player in each team should be the nominated captain, and should wear a captain’s armband.

During the game

Model the behaviour you expect to see from other coaches, players and spectators. Your words should be encouraging and supportive, and your actions should reflect the standards of the FA and of West Kirby United.

Whatever the result, at the final whistle encourage all of your players to shake hands, high five or fist bump with the opposition players and the referee.

After the match

Confirm the full time score with the opposition coach and the referee.

Paying the referee

Pay the referee promptly after the match. The home and away teams each pay half of the referee's fee.

Clearing up

It is the home coach's responsibility to see that pitch equipment is put away and stored correctly. Parent volunteers may help, but it remains the coach's job to brief them and to oversee it. Make sure you know the expectations for your home venue — guidelines for each venue are shared with all coaches.

Where a venue has a lock-up, container storage or a padlocked gate, the last coach to leave is responsible for locking the container and the gates securely.

Reporting the result

Every coach must submit their full time score and respect marks on the FA Full-Time website. Do this by 20:00 on the Sunday evening. If a fixture is postponed, report that and the reason for it.

Discipline and conduct

• Tell the club committee if any of your players receives a yellow or red card, or is sin-binned. Any disciplinary fine must be paid to the club within 14 days.
• Tell the club committee about any poor or inappropriate behaviour by anyone on or around the pitch during your matches.

Every card and every report counts towards the club’s FA disciplinary points. The chairman’s message, Let’s keep up the good behaviour, explains what those points lead to — it is worth pointing your parents to.

Cancellations

If a match is cancelled the league will notify you through the league WhatsApp group. Tell your referee as soon as you know — if you do not, you may still have to pay the fee.

If your match is cancelled you can always try to arrange a friendly instead.

Also worth having to hand

• Our venues — postcodes, pitch plans, parking and defibrillator locations for every ground we use.
• Club documents — the Coaches' Expectations, the training rota, insurance, safeguarding and FA policies.
• Code of Conduct — what we expect on the touchline.
• Book a pitch — for club representatives. Other coaches ask their representative on WhatsApp, as now.