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Page 1 First Point of Contact -
Malcolm Whittaker -
League General Secretary (2002-2013)
18 Sherwood Road, Hall Green, Birmingham B28 0HB
Mobile : 07896 636 829 - Office : 0121 777 5840
Email: [email protected]
Our league dates right back to the early 1970‘s and was once one of the most sizeable league in Birmingham with a
dozen, or more, divisions and more cup competitions than any other of the sort. Several seasons ago the Oakbourne
League all but vanished. However, a happy band of folk resurrected the league as a truly competitive but friendly league.
During past recent seasons the league has increased to five divisions, with the expected cup competitions, invitational
and memorial finals. We are always looking to increase the numbers of teams as the word spreads about the manner in
which we operate and the exceptional importance we put in providing what our member teams express interest in.
In this day and age, in general, Sunday football seems to be in decline, probably due to the coverage now available on
television all through the weekend and more and more Premier matches being staged on Sundays. All similar leagues
have suffered through a lack of referees. In keeping the league small, and select, we have been able to maintain a great
referee coverage of matches (currently running well over 90%) and, as the behaviour of teams to referees has proved
better than average, and shown even more marked improvement, throughout past seasons the league are most hopeful
of keeping hold of our existing listings and possibly attracting even more referees for the playing season 2015-16.
Handbooks, rules, directives, team details, all the
fixtures, results, contact details, current player
team appearances, goals scorers, team archives
and more is all found at www.oakbourne.co.uk It
is generally accepted that our league has the
most comprehensive, and speedily updated, web
site of any Sunday football league in this area.
Check out the league web site at
www.oakbourne.co.uk
The league Annual General Meeting will be held
in June 2015 and a league council will be elected,
by existing member teams, for the forthcoming
season. At this present time, your main contact
will be with the 2003-2015 General Secretary,
Malcolm Whittaker, who is currently collating all
of the new team applications in preparation for
the 2015-2016 playing season.
CUP FINALS & SPECIAL EVENTS In the 2013‐14 season, the league forged a new partnership that saw all Cup Finals and special events move to Coleshill Town They has great aspirations for the future of their "grass
roots" Football Club, with great plans for advancement and
improvements over the coming seasons, and the Solihull
and District Oakbourne League are pleased to be associated
with them as they themselves take massive steps forward in
advancing their own league standing, and reputation, in the
local and surrounding areas. The deal spells out good news
for, allowing vast improvements of our league structure. Page 2 You may well have expected this section to be at the end of the league presentation, after telling you all
about the good things that we can offer, but we don’t work like that, we need you to know the truth and to be
fully aware of all the expense you are facing when you set up a new team and join a competitive league.
NEW TEAM LEAGUE FEES ………… £125.00 (will be required to be paid at a date set by the ruling league
council following team interviews for any specific competitive season)
NEW TEAM BOND ……. £75.00
All New teams must lodge a bond with the league which is held until the
team leaves the league. The bond is returnable provided that there are no monies owing to the league by the
departing team, that their behaviour record throughout the previous season has been acceptable and, also,
assuming that they have completed all of there league and cup fixtures. This particular fee must be paid
when applying to join the league. Should a teams application, to join the league, be unsuccessful, the bond
is immediately refunded. Cheques must be payable to “The Oakbourne Football League”
LEAGUE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION FEES ….. Each match played in our league is recorded in a special team
behaviour system, where points are awarded to the teams by match officials. The administration fee for this
is just £2 per match. The League “Fair Play” system is explained in detail on the league web site together
with the resultant benefits and prizes awarded to teams that fair well in the behavioural tables produced. The
league administration fees are collected, monthly, at league meetings.
COUNTY AFFILIATION .. This particular fee was £70.00 (for new teams for season 2013/14)
payable to the Birmingham County Football Association. Existing teams who have already
been affiliated to the County pay slightly less than the new teams and existing teams who do
not register with the County FA before their deadline pay an additional figure (Usually £20)
The affiliation fee is reviewed each season, by Birmingham County F. A., and generally
shows a small increase each season. Figures we show are a guideline only. Please note that
the league insist that all their member teams pay this affiliation fee earlier than the dates
given by BCFA, to assist with BCFA league paperwork, and generally want the receipt / affiliation number
forwarded to them by 1st July in any given season.
TEAM INSURANCE .. All teams must be insured to the specific level required by
Birmingham County FA and, to those ends, an Insurance deal has been made
between BCFA & Sportsguard to give all teams the cheapest policies available.
These insurance details appear within the County Affiliation forms.
REFEREE FEES .. These fees are set by Birmingham County F. A. each season. For season 2013-2014 they
were set at £28.00 (In our league the referee fees are shared by the competing teams at every match).
COST OF PITCHES – Obviously this is initially down to you, what pitch you find
and how much it is worth. If you have your own pitch, all well and good. If you
need a parks pitch, you need to contact Sport Birmingham or your local council as
quickly as possible. The league do not provide pitches but will try to assist all new
teams to find a suitable venue for their first year. Our Fixtures Secretary attends
the Midland Leagues Parks Meetings, each year, and is generally successful in
finding pitches for teams that have joined the league and have been unable to
locate a pitch themselves. However, choices become very limited and you may find that your pitch is a fair
way from your desired location. We, therefore, suggest that you make every effort to find your own pitch. The
sooner you start looking and making applications the better. Individual team payments for Birmingham
based parks pitches are collected by the Solihull and District Oakbourne League and passed on to the hirer.
You will see that it is not cheap to set up a new team. On top of all these obvious costs, you will still have kit
and basic equipment to provide. It is essential that you prepare for all of your outgoing figures and have a
good plan for team member subscriptions. You need your whole team to be committed to the proposal to
enter a team into a competitive league.
Page 3 The Oakbourne league fixtures normally commence on the first Sunday of September. However, the council have the
right to start in August, if they deem it necessary. With the changes in the British climate causing the precipitation levels
to increase on a yearly basis, more and more leagues are suffering with called off games due to unfit pitches. It is most
generally felt that an August start will be more than necessary to complete all fixtures within the league. Unfortunately,
with some teams using parks pitches, we have major problems persuading the local councils to set up their football
pitches prior to September. The short term answer will probably be to restrict the numbers in each division to be fairly
certain of completing all of the league division and cup competition schedules. The League Council can, again if they
feel it to be necessary, stage any of their invitational finals prior to the actual start of the season, although It must be
said that this is an unusual occurrence. The actual start date, for each season. is always indicated and agreed upon at
the Annual General Meeting of the Solihull and District Oakbourne League, however it is normally as stated above.
Fixtures meetings are held once a month, during the time designated as the league football season. They are normally
held on the last Monday of each month, but this may be a ruling that is changed at any given AGM.
League meeting attendance is mandatory for each club. If any club secretary can
not get to any particular meeting, they must ensure that someone is there on
their behalf. There is a “very heavy fine” levied against any member team who is
not represented at a meeting. (It should be noted that this particular fine was
initially suggested and, then, sanctioned by the member clubs themselves !)
All of the league meetings are held at the Holy Souls Club, Warwick Road,
Acocks Green B27 6RG, the current headquarters of the Solihull and District
Oakbourne Football League. League Meetings will commence at 20.00 unless
team secretaries are advised to the contrary. The Council expects everyone to
be punctual, and all of the team representatives are required to sign in on arrival.
Apart from the Annual General Meeting, and any other special meeting that is called for a specific purpose, the league
try to make the meetings as open as possible. The Council encourage teams to talk openly about problems they may
have encountered, ideas they may have for possible improvement within the league and anything that they need to get
off their chests. It is important that the committee is able to deal with all teams in a fair, and caring, manner and, so, the
more they are told the better they are able to deal quickly with any problems that may arise.
One of the league committee members is designated as a “team liaison” officer, and this person is available to talk
“one on one” with team managers or team secretaries about any issues that the team does not wish to be brought up in
an open meeting. The officer will then report back to the committee who will discuss the issue and decide on whatever
course of action is to be taken. We also have a “Player Liaison” officer to give team members a real voice.
The league council expect all their teams, managers and club secretaries to show exemplary behaviour on any, and all,
occasions that they attend meetings or any other visits to their headquarters.
Why have you been told all about this ? The committee want you to have some insight into the manner in which they
run the league for the clubs.
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All relevant contact details for each of the current council members can be found on the League Web Site,
together with contact details for all listed referees and all of the club officials of our current member teams.
Page 4 This trophy is open to
all teams in the league
and is generally the
last final played in any
given season.
THE
OAKBOURNE
SUPER CUP
THE
JOHN
SMITH CUP
This trophy is played
for by teams currently
placed in the Premier
Division of the league.
This trophy is
played for by teams
currently placed in
League Division 2.
ALAN
WALKER CUP
MARLENE
ASHLEY CUP
This special memorial
trophy is played for by
teams currently placed
in League Division 1.
This special memorial
trophy is played for by
teams currently placed
in League Division 3.
THE
CHALLENGE
TROPHY
PRESIDENTS
TROPHY
FAIR PLAY
TROPHY
The Eaglesfield Trophy
is awarded to the team
who tops league referee
markings for the season
in all round fair play.
DIVISION
SHIELDS
These trophies are
awarded as a prize
in each of the competing divisions
that are staged in addition to the
Premier League Division.
CLUB
SECRETARY
AWARD
A special trophy that
is made to the club
secretary who has been adjudged to
have been the best in any one season.
THE
WHITTAKER
AWARD
A special trophy that
is awarded to a player, or official,
that in the opinion of the General Sec
warrants recognition of achievement.
This trophy is played
for by the “16” teams selected by
the markings of league referees.
(See Page 6 For details)
PREMIER
TROPHY
The prize on offer for
finishing as the leading
team in the Premier
League Division in any
given playing season.
EXTRA CUPS
The League will add as
many extra cups to the
schedule as they deem
necessary to cover any
additional competition
that may be included.
ARCHIVES & CURRENT DATA There is a vast amount of current data available on the league web site and full archives that show the progress of the league together with specific details requested by teams and players themselves. CHECK IT OUT AT Page 5 HOW DO YOU REGISTER YOUR PLAYERS ?
The Solihull & District Oakbourne League were the first “open age” Sunday league
to move into the world of identity registration cards for players, that show a current
photo of that player, in an attempt to cut out all possibilities of cheating within the
game. This was brought in to the league quite a few seasons ago and has proved
to be extremely effective. Other Sunday leagues, having originally taken note of
what the Oakbourne were doing, have now followed the same pathway, although
their systems are not exactly foolproof. With our computer methods of checking
player signatures, our ID card system still remains at the top of the pile.
When registering players, there is a standard registration form to be filled in that shows name, address, date
of birth etc: Passport sized, and quality, colour photograph must accompany application for registration.
(This photograph must be current and of “head and shoulders” form. It can not be a scanned image. The
registrations secretary will accept digital photographs by email) Once it is accepted, by the registrations
secretary, a player identity card will be issued. (See example below) Members of teams can not play in any
game if their ID card is not available for inspection. For 2014/15 may register up to a maximum 24 players.
Pic. left is a sample 2014-2015 identity card. (Actual Size)
When established, a team may have players whose features
do not alter much. These specific players can then be then
re-registered without another photo. Younger players are
not so lucky !
With the league fixtures generally starting at the beginning
of September, the BULK of each teams player registrations
must be in by mid-August to ensure that they are available
in time for the first matches. Each season, the registrations
secretary will advise teams of all relevant deadline dates.
During the season itself, if a team requires a player to be eligible to play on a particular Sunday, the specific
registration forms (with an acceptable photograph) must be delivered to league registrations secretary by
the preceding Wednesday. It should be noted that teams will need to arrange to collect identity cards, so
prepared, on the Friday in any given week, in order to ensure that they are then available to be played in
games as required by the team.
We suggest to teams that they invest in a “business card” book to hold the player identity cards. That way
they stay drier and don’t get lost !
ID CARD SYSTEM and PHOTOGRAPH REQUIREMENTS
Full details of the system used, and full procedures at league match fixtures, with respect
to Player ID cards can be found within the “directives” section of the League Web Site, as
can details that show the actual requirements of the pictures that teams need to supply.
REGISTRATION OF CLUB OFFICIALS
There are also registration forms for club officials. These are supplied as the new teams are accepted into
membership and will need to be completed and returned quickly as some information shown on these forms
is transferred to the teams own club details page of the League Web Site and are also circulated to all of the
ruling Council Members.
Page 6 Throughout the season, every referee that you have will mark your team. When joining the
league you will be given a full breakdown of categories that marks are awarded for. All teams
have to pay individually for this referee marking system. (explained below) These marks add
up through the season and the top team is adjudged the winner of the league fair play award.
(The Eaglesfield Trophy – pictured left )
That is not all ….… The marks given by the league referees also determine the
teams that compete in the Challenge Cup Competition. At the beginning of
January, the top sixteen teams in the “referees marking” list will be placed into
the Challenge Cup Competition.
(Challenge Trophy .. pictured right)
That is not all … The marks given by the league referees and the resultant places of the league member
teams allows the league to award prizes of varying nature to the teams at the top of the lists. This can be
FREE LEAGUE MEMBERSHIP for the season ahead, some smaller reduction in league fees, equipment
prizes and much more. At the conclusion of season 2012-2013, THIRTY TEAMS had cash amounts awarded
totalling over £1360 which were deducted from their league fees for the 2013-2014 season.
Our team marking system, being the league “Fair Play System”,
was introduced into the league in conjunction with, and in support
of, the “RESPECT” programme initiated by the FA.
In the first seasons of this “marking system” there has been a marked downturn in abuse and decent to
referees and the teams, knowing what is at stake, have been performing “off pitch” and “on pitch” at a much
higher standard than in previous years. The provision of a full compliment of referees has always been a
major problem in Sunday football and, when there is obvious lack of respect being shown, keeping them is
even harder. The new system is working well ...
TEAM PAYMENTS TO THE MARKING SYSTEM. All teams pay a set figure per referee that marks them, to
cover basic administration of the system, throughout the season with all data and results within the system
being kept and administered by Mr Malcolm Whitehouse. Team payments are collected at each fixtures
meeting by the league treasurer. It is expected that the payment for this, as per late 2014-2015, will be £2 per
match. Further comprehensive details of the system will be made available to teams as they join the league
and are also available, in depth, on the league web site.
The Solihull and District Oakbourne Football League Benevolent Fund was introduced to provide a safety
net that can be kept in place to give support to anyone within the league deemed to be deserving of financial
assistance. Full details of this fund are shown on the League Web Site.
Teams pay just £1 or £2 per month into this fund, with payments being made at the league fixtures meetings.
The actual payment figure is set at the League Annual General Meeting that is held prior to the start of any
given season.
Annual General Meetings.
New teams are not awarded a vote in the AGM pertinent to the season prior to them actually joining the
league but are invited to attend. It is a good opportunity to meet other secretaries, and team managers, and
there is always a crash course in league paperwork given to all of the new team officials.
Page 7 At the end of the 2012-2013 season, the Oak Rep Team took on
the might of Birmingham City All Stars in a special Charity game
and came away with a more than respectable 2-2 draw.
With current manager, Chris Earp, working hard in selecting the
players that deserve the honour of being part of the squad, the
plans are being formulated to increase the number of games to
be played throughout the seasons.
This is an ongoing aim of the league who have planned carefully
to set up, run and keep the Rep Team as an integral part of the
League schedules.
The initial application form to join the Solihull & District Oakbourne League is
within this booklet. If you print out pages 9 & 10, you should fill it in and return it,
with the bond/deposit fee, to the League General Secretary – Malcolm Whittaker,
18 Sherwood Road, Hall Green, Birmingham B28 0HB.
You will then be notified of a date, and time, to come to meet the league committee.
Team secretaries / managers will be interviewed as to the team’s suitability to join
the league, the playing standard of the team to decide which division they should
be entered into and that the league rulings are completely understood. The meeting is also used as a tool to
give you an insight into registrations, match forms, referee assessment and general running of the league.
In some cases, the committee will be able to accept or decline a team at this interview stage. However, if
this is not the case (if certain members of the council are not in able to be in attendance) you will, then, be
advised of the decision within 7 working days.
Whatever you query, you should contact the current League General Secretary – Malcolm Whittaker who will
willingly discuss matters with you regarding the league. Address for post is as above and all phone and
email contacts are shown on page one. If you are not sure about something, it is better to ask than ignore it.
We only have limited spaces each season and all the applications are dealt with on a
‘first come first served’ basis. It follows, then, that the sooner you apply the more
chance you have of securing a place in the Solihull & District Oakbourne League for
the oncoming season.
Page 8 INTERVIEW APPLICATION FORM
Season 2015-2016
Please fill in form in BLOCK letters
TEAM NAME
TEAM SECRETARY NAME
ADDRESS
POST CODE
HOME PHONE
MOBILE PHONE
EMAIL ADDRESS
TEAM MANAGER NAME
ADDRESS
POST CODE
HOME PHONE
MOBILE PHONE
EMAIL ADDRESS
PREVIOUS TEAM NAMES
PREVIOUS LEAGUES PLAYED IN
COUNTY CLUB NUMBER (if known)
Page 9 INTERVIEW APPLICATION FORM
Season 2015-2016
Please fill in form in BLOCK letters
TEAM 1st COLOURS
TEAM 2nd COLOURS
SHIRTS
SHIRTS
SHORTS
SHORTS
SOCKS
SOCKS
If you have not decided on kit already, please leave clear
HOME PITCH NAME / ADDRESS
AZ Ref:
If you have not arranged a pitch already, please leave clear
ANY OTHER INFORMATION YOU WISH US TO HAVE (Sponsor names etc:)
DOCUMENT TO BE SIGNED
I the undersigned, on behalf of _______________________________________________________________ F. C.
apply for a team membership of the Solihull and District Oakbourne Football League for season 2015-2016.
I enclose the bond fee required (£75) and understand that if the application is unsuccessful this will be returned.
Please remember to make your cheques payable to “The Oakbourne Football League”
SIGNATURE
DATE
NAME (Capitals)
POSITION HELD WITH CLUB
Page 10