LATEST FAW - Player registration update

The FAW’s Professional and Amateur Registration Periods opened on 27th July and the FAW have been working their way through the registrations. These are processed in the order in which they have been submitted via COMET.

The FAW is mindful that Clubs are keen to register their players as quickly as possible, but the FAW’s ability to confirm Player registrations has been hampered due to a high % of the registrations that have been submitted to date, having to be rejected, with the most common reasons detailed below.

We would therefore be grateful if you could please read this document and ensure that all future Player registration requests submitted to FAW do not breach any of the points referred to below:
1. Player’s registration being submitted by Club B within 28 days of the player’s registration with Club A having been terminated on COMET
Under FAW Rule 79(A), a Player cannot register for a different Club until at least 28 days have elapsed since the date of the Player’s registration having been terminated by his/her former Club.

If a player wishes to transfer to another Club, then this should be processed as a transfer on COMET and will ensure that the player can move Clubs much quicker – to find out how to request a transfer on COMET PLEASE CLICK HERE and refer to FAW Rule 79 with regards to notice of approach.

2. Registration was submitted to FAW prior to 27th July 2020
A Player can only be registered during a Professional Registration Period or Amateur Registration Period, as applicable to the Club concerned.

All registrations submitted to the FAW prior to the opening of the player registration window have therefore been rejected.
The affected Clubs have been requested to ask these Players to re-sign and date new registration forms and to then re-submit the registration requests to FAW.

3. Registration was submitted to FAW during the player registration window but the registration form was signed by the player prior to the registration window opening
A Player can only be registered during the applicable registration period.

If a Player signed the registration form before the applicable registration period opened, then the registration has been rejected.

The affected Clubs have been requested to ask these Players to re-sign and date new registration forms and to then re-submit the registration requests to FAW.

4. Registration form submitted to FAW more than 5 Business Days after the Player signed the form

In accordance with Paragraphs 7.3, 8.3 and 9.3 (as applicable) of the FAW COMET Regulations, Clubs must submit a Player’s registration to the FAW within 5 Business Days of the date the Player signed the registration form. Any registrations submitted in breach of this rule have been rejected.

The affected Clubs have been requested to ask these Players to re-sign and date new registration forms and to then re-submit the registration request to FAW within 5 business days of the date of the Player’s new signature.

5. Registration forms not being signed correctly by the player
A Player registration form must be correctly signed by the Player - the form should contain the Player’s name, the signature of the Player (or parent/guardian if the Player is a junior), and contain the date of signature. If any of these three requirements are missing, the registration will be rejected.

Please also note that whilst accept electronically (as well as physical) signatures, we will reject the registration if the Player’s signature has just been hand-typed onto the form.
Prior to the start of the 2019/20 season, the FAW introduced continuous registration for all Amateur Players. This change means that an Amateur Player registered on COMET during the 2019/20 season, remains registered with the same Club until such time as that Player’s registration is terminated or the Player transfers to another club.

The reason for introducing this change was to reduce workload for clubs who in previous seasons, had to re-register all of their Players before the start of every season.
However, based on the registrations that have been submitted to the FAW over the past 3 weeks, we have identified the following problems:

a. Club A has submitted a registration request to register a Player that is already registered to Club A.

b. Club A terminates a Player’s registration (as the Player has not yet paid the registration fee to his/her Club for the 2020/21 season) and then a few days later (presumably after the Player has paid the fee to his/her Club), Club A immediately submits a new registration request to the FAW in order to re-register this same Player.

Please note the following:
- In respect of point a. above, for a Player that is intending to remain registered to your Club, you do not need to take any action. Clubs are reminded that a Player with a CONFIRMED status on COMET is registered for your Club and you do not need to re-register this Player for your Club.

- In respect of point b. above, the FAW is allowing Clubs until midnight on 31st August 2020 to terminate an existing Player’s registration without being charged a fee for the 2020/21 season.
We therefore kindly ask that if you are concerned about being charged for Players that may not return for the 2020/21 season, please spend the next two weeks speaking to your Players and then only terminate the registrations once you definitely know whether they are intending to stay with your club for the 2020/21 season. Please however be reminded that FAW Rule 79(A) will apply with respect to any Amateur Players whose registrations are terminated and who are seeking to register with another Club.

- Clubs are encouraged to carefully review the list of their registered Players via COMET and pay particular attention to those who are and who are not registered for your Club. As a reminder, only registered Players are eligible to participate in Official Matches and Open Friendly Matches (subject to FAW Rule 70) in accordance with the applicable FAW Rules and/or Regulations.