A letter from the league about fines
The league's fines letter arrives: late result submissions for three of your teams, a missing match card for the under-15s, and a referee's marks not submitted. Each fine is small. Together they are a noticeable amount, and the letter warns about points deductions for repeat offences under the league's rules.
Every captain and team manager knows they must submit the result. But after a game, there is kit to collect, players to get home, a pint to drink, and a busy Sunday. The fixture secretary sends a reminder on Sunday night to the team groups, which half the managers do not read. By Monday afternoon, the deadline has passed.
Why results are submitted late
- Submission is a job for one person per team, done at a time when they are busy.
- Deadlines differ by league and competition, and managers of several teams mix them up.
- Team sheets with registration numbers have to be looked up.
- The fixture secretary cannot see which teams have submitted without logging into the league system.
- When a manager is away, nobody knows who covers.
The league's own submission system and rules stay as they are. We make sure the right person does it on time.
What late submissions cost
Fines, paid from club funds, which are ultimately members' subs. Points deductions in serious cases. The fixture secretary's time spent chasing, and in some clubs, doing the submissions themselves. And an uneasy relationship with the league, which the club needs on its side when it asks for a fixture to be moved.
The pattern is familiar in clubs with many teams. The first team's manager has done it for years and never misses. The newly formed under-13s' manager, a parent who took the job in August, has never heard of a match card, does not know the league's deadline and does not have a login. The fixture secretary ends up doing it for him every week, on top of everything else, until the fixture secretary is the one who steps down.
Cup competitions often have different, stricter deadlines than the league, and teams that play in both, sometimes on consecutive weekends, trip over the difference. So do sides whose match is abandoned or finishes after a late kick-off on a Sunday.
A post-match prompt and a pitch-side submission
Some league systems have their own apps for results. If yours does, we help managers use it and add only the reminder and oversight. Where they do not, we set up something simple.
- Each fixture in your club list carries its league, the deadline for results and match cards, and the person responsible, with a named deputy.
- When the match ends, the responsible person gets a prompt on their phone to record the result.
- They enter the score and pick the team from the squad list, with registration numbers filled in, and any referee marks your league requires.
- The information is formatted ready to enter into the league system, or submitted directly where the league allows it, and the manager confirms once it is done.
- If nothing is confirmed by a set time before the deadline, the deputy and fixture secretary are reminded.
- The fixture secretary sees a list of the weekend's fixtures and which results are in, outstanding or overdue.
| Time after match (example) | What happens |
|---|---|
| At the final whistle | Prompt to the manager to record the result |
| Evening | Reminder if not done |
| Before the deadline | Deputy and fixture secretary alerted |
| After confirmation | Fixture marked as submitted |
The weekend, afterwards
The manager records the result on the touchline before packing up the goals. The team sheet fills from the squad with registration numbers. The fixture secretary glances at the list on Sunday evening, sees one team outstanding, and messages that manager directly. Late submissions become the exception, and when one happens, everyone can see why.
Is your club paying for late results?
- You receive league fines for late results or match cards.
- The fixture secretary chases managers every Sunday.
- Team sheets are written out by hand with registration numbers looked up.
- Nobody covers when a manager is away.
- You cannot see at a glance which teams have submitted.