2.   MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

2.1    All Clubs shall have grounds or headquarters situated in England or Wales and the Competition Secretary shall send their names and particulars to The FA annually by the date appointed by, and in the format required by, The FA.  English Clubs shall be duly affiliated at all times to a recognised County Football Association.  Welsh Clubs shall be affiliated to The FA of Wales. Each Club shall notify the Competition Secretary of its affiliation number each year as soon as practicable after it has received same. Each Club shall return to the Competition Secretary a fully completed questionnaire relating to Form “D” required by The FA by the date given in the circular letter accompanying the questionnaire issued by the Competition Secretary.

A Club may share its ground (subject to the provisions of Rule 4.12) with another club (including a club engaged in another sport) providing, in the case of any football club, the club playing in the most senior competition has priority of fixtures and, in the case of any other club, providing the Club has priority of fixtures. In the case of dispute the Company shall have the power to accept an alternative agreement on priority.

2.2   No club, which is a “nursery” club (or a reserve side) of another football club shall be eligible for membership of the Company.

A club shall be deemed to be a “nursery” club if it is under obligation, written or otherwise, to football club by reason of which it has not the sole and entire control of its own management, finance and players.

2.3   Clubs seeking membership or applying to retain membership of the Company must comply with the requirements provided for in the Criteria Document for the step at which the Club is playing.  Only clubs, which meet these criteria in full, will be eligible for membership. All Clubs visited by representatives of the Competition in pursuance of the document will pay a non-returnable fee. In the absence of a procedure for application for membership being established by The FA, the Board shall establish such procedure.

2.4            The FA shall determine a time scale whereby all Clubs in membership must attain the grade provided for in the Criteria Document.  The grade applicable for each Club for the commencement of a Playing Season shall be that existing at the previous 1st April, such grading to be ascertained by an inspection carried out on or before 1st April or as soon as practicable thereafter. Any Club not maintaining the grade set for the Competition shall be relegated at the end of the Playing Season to a step determined by The FA. 

Any delay in inspection shall in no way release a Club from its obligation to have its ground ready for inspection. If for any reason a Club’s existing ground, or any new ground in which it proposes to play its home matches in the season following inspection, is not available for grading by 1^st April prior to commencement of the relevant season then the Club must, by the 1^st April, submit to the Board in writing its proposals for a venue for its home matches in the following season (“alternative proposal”), such alternative proposal to be considered (and if appropriate) approved at the next Board Meeting after 1^st April.  The alternative proposal must, inter alia, contain documentary evidence in support of any ground sharing arrangements and evidence that the proposed ground is demonstrably suitable at a level, which the relevant club will be competing. The alternative proposal may not be for a continuation of any ground share arrangement if the Club has had a ground sharing arrangement for the previous 2 seasons, or any part thereof, even if those arrangements have related to more than one ground.

Any approval of the alternative proposal will be subject to the issue of a grading certificate. The Board will use all reasonable endeavours to inspect the ground after receiving the alternative proposal and prior to the Board meeting, but if it is unable to do so then any approval of the alternative proposal will be subject to the issue of a satisfactory grading certificate. In the event of a Club not having received a grading certificate by 1^st April and not having had its alternative proposal approved at the relevant Board Meeting, it shall be relegated forthwith at the end of the playing season to a level determined by The Football Association.

Clubs in membership of the Competition on 1^st April in any season will have until 31^st May in that season to meet in full the criteria of membership of the Competition.]

2.5   Any Club wishing to incorporate shall notify The FA, its Affiliated Association and the Company Secretary before it makes any resolutions in this regard

2.6   In the event that any Club, which is an unincorporated association, incorporates itself it shall notify the Company Secretary in writing within 14 days of the passing of the resolution to take this action and shall with such notice provide the Company Secretary with a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company. Any amendments to the Memorandum and Articles of Association of a Club must be notified to the Competition Secretary in writing within 14 days of the passing of the resolution with a copy of the change(s).

2.7   In the event that any Club which is an unincorporated association resolves to transfer its membership of the Competition to a company or in the event that a Club which is a company resolves to transfer its membership to a different company the Board will use the following minimum criteria in deciding whether to approve that transfer:

• 2.7.1 The shareholders or members of the Club have voted to agree the transfer of the Club’s membership to the new entity
• 2.7.2 All Football Creditors in the Club must be satisfied in full or transferred (with the creditors’ consent) to the new entity, and evidenced as such.
• 2.7.3 All other creditors in the Club must be satisfied and evidenced as such.
• 2.7.4 The proposed new entity has provided financial forecasts showing its ability to fund the Club for the next 12 months or to the end of the Playing Season following transfer (whichever is the longer) and that evidence of funding sources has been provided.
• 2.7.5 The FA has given approval for the transfer to take place

2.8   The Competition shall allow for up to 60 member Clubs and up to 44 associate member clubs.   There will be three divisions of up to 22 Clubs in each division, where possible. The divisions will be called Premier, Division One East and Division One West. The Clubs competing in each division each season will be confirmed by the Annual General Meeting of the Company each year.

2.9   Any Club or Club representative found guilty of serious irregularities regarding players Contract payments under The FA Rules may be expelled from the Company in accordance with [the Articles or] these Rules and, in addition, may be fined such sum as the Board shall determine.

2.10 The Company will hold a register of the full name of the company/unincorporated entity constituting each Club. If the Club is an incorporated entity, it must provide the Company with its company registration number. If the Club is an unincorporated entity, it must provide the Company with the name of an individual in whose name the membership of the Company will be vested.

The Company will provide a copy of its membership register to The FA annually. 

2.11 In the event that an Insolvency Event occurs in relation to any Club, that Club must inform the Company Secretary and The FA immediately.

The Board shall have the power to suspend a Club on notification of it having entered an Insolvency Event. 

At the discretion of the Board, a suspension may take effect from the giving of the notice or it may be postponed subject to any conditions as the Board may think fit to impose.

In the event that a Club is suspended or its suspension is postponed, the Board shall have power to make such payments as it may think fit to the Club’s Football Creditors out of any monies due to that club from the Company.

2.12 An Officer must submit a Fit and Proper Declaration to The FA and the Competition within 14 days of becoming an Officer.

No individual will be permitted to act as an Officer if they fail to meet any of the requirements of the Fit and Proper Declaration, as set out in the Rules of The FA.

In the event that an individual/entity is found to have either:

• Completed false or misleading statements on their Fit and Proper Declaration;
• Acted as an Officer when in breach of the requirements of the Fit and Proper Declaration;
• Acted as an Officer without having submitted a fully completed Fit and Proper Declaration;

then the individual/entity or Club shall be subject to such fine or other sanction as may be determined by the Board or The FA.

2.13         Any Club which is incorporated must be incorporated in England and Wales

2.14         If during the course of a season the Board decide that the organisation and management [or finances] of a particular Club fall below the standards appropriate to membership of the Competition, the Competition Secretary shall be instructed to warn the Club at once that it may be excluded from membership of the Competition at the end of that playing season. Such a Club shall have the right to appeal to The FA within 14 days of the date of notification of the Board’s decision.

2.15         The Competition, through the Board shall be empowered from time to time by subscription, levy or otherwise to require Clubs to contribute such sum or sums of money to the funds of the League as may be necessary for the proper conduct of the business of the League. Such contributions by Clubs may be collected by deduction from sums due to Clubs under any promotion agreement or from sponsorship money due or by whatever means the Board shall think fit. There shall be added to any sums to be contributed from Clubs, if applicable, Value Added Tax at the then prevailing rate.

2.16         Any Club failing to be represented at an Annual General Meeting or any other General Meeting called in accordance with the Rules without satisfactory reason being given shall be fined in accordance with the Fines Tariff.