Preamble. These Special Rules have been made to ensure the smooth running of the Elite Clubs Cup Competition in view of its novelty and complexity.

To this end though the Competition shall as far as necessary be governed by the GFA Statutes, General Regulations, Regulations and Disciplinary Code certain aspects have been modified or revised.

Competition Participating Teams The competition shall be open to the entire Premier and Division One clubs who participated in the 2013/2014 League Season.

Format The competition shall combine both the knock out and league models. It shall start with three rounds of preliminary two leg knock matches, followed by a league, and then a two-leg knock out semifinals and a one off final.

First Round 32 Division One clubs selected on the basis of their standing at the end of the last league shall be paired based on geographical proximity to play in a two leg home and away knock out phase.

Second Round The 16 winners of the first round shall be paired against the remaining 16 division one clubs to play in a two-leg home and away knock out phase.

Third Round The sixteen winners who emerge from the second round shall then be paired with the sixteen Premier clubs and will play in a two-leg knock out home and away basis.

League The sixteen winners who emerge from the third round shall then be drawn into four groups of four teams each. The clubs in each group shall play against each other on a home and away basis. Three points shall be awarded for a win and one point for a drawn game. In determining the winner of each group, the head to head rule in the GFA Regulations shall apply.

Semi Final The four winners of the groups shall proceed to the semi-finals and play a two-leg knock out competition to determine the two clubs that will qualify for the finals.

Final

The Two Winners of the Semi-final shall play a one off match at a venue to be determined by the GFA. If the Final ends in a draw at the end of full time, the Winner shall be determined by penalty shootout. For the avoidance of doubt there shall be no extra time if the match ends in a draw.

There shall be no third placed match.

At the knock out stage, the winner shall be the club that has the higher aggregate points or goals over the two legs. An away goal shall be counted as a double in the event of there being a tie after both games. If no winner emerges, there shall be a penalty shoot out to determine the winner. There shall be no extra time prior to the penalty shoot-out.

Trophy

There shall be a Trophy donated by the FA/Sponsor which shall be given to the Club which emerges victorious at the Finals. The Club that wins the Trophy shall keep it in good shape and return same to the GFA before the commencement of the next competition.

Players & Officials

Clubs are allowed to use both registered and unregistered players. Provided however that in the case of an unregistered player, the Club shall be required to show evidence that it is in the process of registering the player and in addition, it must have the consent of the player’s last Club to use him in the competition.

Clubs shall each present a list of not more than 35 players and 8 technical team officials, who will participate in the Competition to the FA before the end of the second round of the competition.

Any player or official not so listed shall be deemed ineligible.

Any player or official whose name is submitted by a club shall be presumed to be a bonafide player or official of the said Club.

The GFA shall not be liable for the use of any Player or Official who is not a bonafide player or official of the said Club.

The GFA shall circulate a master-list of all such players to all the Clubs and designated match officials.

Fees

The GFA shall pay each club an amount of money for participation at every given round. The amount to be paid shall be determined and communicated to the Clubs before the commencement of the competition. This shall cover the transportation and other related operational costs.

The two Clubs that play in any given match shall be entitled to 60% of the net gate proceeds. This amount shall be split in equal parts between the two Clubs. The FA shall retain the remaining 40% of the net gate proceeds

Cautions & Expulsions

A Players who receives three yellow cards shall be suspended from playing the next match.

A player who receives 2 yellow cards in the same match (followed automatically by a red) shall miss the next game, besides being sent off in that particular match.

A Player who receives a straight red card in a match shall be suspended for 2 matches including the match in which he was shown the red card. Provided however, that if the match officials report indicate that the offence was a grievous one or violent conduct then he shall be suspended for three matches including the match in which he played. His Club and all other competing clubs shall be informed of the decision and the stipulated sanction.

All ineligible players shall be announced at the pre match technical meetings by the Match Commissioner or in his absence the match referee.

Any Club that fields a player who is suspended by virtue of having received a red card in preceding matches or two yellow cards in preceding matches shall be declared the loser and its opponent shall proceed to the next round. Any sanctions received in this competition that has not been fully served during the competition must be served in the next match (es) of any competition sanctioned by the FA e.g the FA Cup and League competitions.

Carrying over match suspensions Sanctions not served for expulsion shall be carried over into the next Competition whenever the said player so qualified participates, for the avoidance of doubt. However, where a player has one or two yellow cards shall however not be counted against the affected player.

Withdrawal Any Club, which either withdraws from the Competition by refusing to turn up for a match or abandons a match, shall be sanctioned in accordance with the rules and regulations of the FA. The Club shall lose all financial entitlements due it, and shall be made to refund any monies it had collected in respect of the match that it abandoned or refused to turn up

Jerseys

Clubs shall be at liberty to use any jersey of their choice. In the event of a clash of Jerseys, Shorts and Hoses, the away club shall change into an alternate strip. Away teams shall always be required to travel with more than one set of jerseys, shorts, and hoses.

Where a participating cub has a sponsor, the participating club can have its sponsors logo engraved at its own expense on the front of the jersey.

Pre Match Technical Meeting/Match

Pre–Match Technical Meetings shall be held between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on the day of the match. Any participating club that reports late for a pre-match technical meeting shall pay a fine of GH¢500.00.

Any participating club that fails to attend a pre-match technical meeting shall pay a fine of GH¢1000.00.

Reporting time for all matches shall be 2:00 p.m. unless otherwise announced.

All matches shall kick-off at 3.00 pm unless otherwise announced.

Any club that delays the kick off a match shall be liable for a fine of GH¢ 2000.00.

Post Match Press Conference There shall be a post-match press conference, twenty minutes after each match where the coach and one other player of the two Clubs shall be obliged to attend.

Any club that fails/refuses to attend a post-match press conference shall be liable to a fine of GH¢1000.00

Any club that reports late for a post-match press conference shall be liable to a fine of GH¢500.00.

Protests and Disciplinary Cases

All protests in respect of any match shall be handed over to the Match Commissioner by the end of the said match and shall form an integral part of the Match Commissioner’s report. Such protest shall be accompanied by the appropriate protest fee of GH¢200.00.

Upon receipt of a protest, the Match Commissioner shall notify the offending club.

All protests shall be heard and determined within 48 hours by the Disciplinary Committee of the GFA purposely for the Competition.

Any protest not accompanied by the appropriate protest fee shall not be heard.

Appeals

Any club, official or player who is dissatisfied or aggrieved by a decision of the Disciplinary Committee shall within 24 hours of being notified in writing, appeal against the decision to the Appeals Committee.

An appeal against a decision of the Disciplinary Committee shall attract a fee of GH¢300.00.

All Appeals shall be heard and determined within 48 hours.

The decision of the Appeals Committee in any matter shall be final provided that the appeals Committee shall have the power to review its own decision either suo moto or upon application by an aggrieved club, officials or player, provided a review fee of GH GH¢500.00 is paid by the club(s), player(s) or official(s).

Where any participating club misconducts itself the matter shall be referred to the Disciplinary Committee of the GFA.

 

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