MOF Leagues and Friendlies FAQ (part of Terms & Conditions)
Our FAQ questions & answers are below (please scroll below, very important to read & know, and are also part of our Terms and Conditions – see also http://ministryoffootball.com.sg/friendlies-this-weekend/!).
But first, a word about your team’s playing skill level and how we strive to make it a great experience for you: For YOU and YOUR TEAM’s playing pleasure, we at MOF monitor the football scene in Singapore very very carefully – from social recreational, to social competitive, to semi-professional, to professional! We classify all teams as Leisure, Minor, Major, Super. As far as possible, you should play against a team at your level. OR you can request for a higher level team to test yourselves. Do take note though: due to changes in manpower week to week, the standard of some teams can fall or rise – we will do our best to match you close but cannot guarantee, sorry!
Leisure, Minor, Major standard Friendlies and Leagues Teams.
But what do they mean, you ask? The below will explain some. To be sure, play our friendlies with our existing leagues or friendly teams so we can test our your level!
Leisure: 80 to 90% of all teams in Singapore belong to this category. Such teams can be of any age, and can be new or been playing for a long time (like >10 years), and are made up of a bunch of guys who may play twice a month or up to 3 times a week, without any group play training or fitness sessions. You come together to embrace your football passion and to execute teamwork through old and new friendship and teammate bonds. Do note: if you are a group of former or even existing secondary or ‘A’ division or U21 school team players, chances are (unless you guys were champions or near-champions for many years), you should still start off at Leisure level.
Minor: about 10% of all teams in Singapore belong to this category. these are semi-competitive teams whose members have been playing together for many years, and whose fitness level are high. They participate fairly regularly in social recreational competitions and while not always well placed (for example: top 5), they are considered experienced footballers.
Major: about 5% of all teams in Singapore belong to this category. these are social/recreational competitive teams whose members have been playing together for many years, and whose fitness level are high, and who have a constant supply of new blood who are passionate and fit and well-experienced in competitions. Players play up 2 to 4 times a week, and participate very regularly in social recreational competitions and are often well placed (for example: top 2).
Super: teams in this category are made up primarily of former professional or semi-professional players still in the playing prime. These are the best social-recreational-semi-pro mixed teams in Singapore.
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Our FAQ questions & answers
(Participation & playing in any of our leagues or friendly games or activities constitute acceptance of the below, thank you!)
- What is the procedure in the event of rain/lightning alert/inclement weather/other types of delay (like gate locked)?
In the event of lightning alert, heavy rain or inclement weather or other delay (like locked gate) BEFORE your game kicks off, please note you are still required to be present at the field, as will our referee official and the opponent. Please present yourself to the referee to avoid any doubt that you are walking over.
Teams are not to leave until we give the all clear that game has been cancelled if inclement weather persists/lightning alert is still on after waiting out time for weather to clear’. Teams are to present yourself to the referees to ensure that your team are present at/near the field in the eventuality that the game is able to kick off after weather has cleared/lightning alert is off. The cut-off time for this waiting will be 35min before the end of the two-hour time slot, or 85min from scheduled kick off time. In any case, MOF Hotlines will let u know the waiting time cut-off has been reached. Please DO NOT LEAVE the venue until then. Once the weather clears up and kick off is possible, the game MUST kick off and is not up to the discretion of the teams,
– Do note: In bad weather situations, there may be no complimentary photography as our photographer may not be able to wait (or bad weather prevents decent pictures from being taken) *not complimentary photography during COVID
– if any teams depart assuming that there is ‘no game’ without getting all clear/confirmation from MOF, then that team will be liable for a walkover where they will bear the costs for both sides of the game in the eventuality that the game is able to kick off when weather clears up/lightning alert goes off after waiting out time.
Below is the procedure in the event that your game is called off mid-way due to rain/lightning alert/inclement weather/other delay/any sort of delay:
FOR LEAGUE GAMES
1. If the game does not kick off, there will be no charges for the game, scores are voided and teams are to replay the game on a later date
2. If less than 35 minutes are played after kick off, half the game fees will be held on credit for the team.
3. 35 minutes and above played, teams are to pay full amount of game and scores are considered as is. No further games will be replayed. Game stands as full game.
4. There will be no further compensation or refund or credit besides those mentioned above.
*to note exactly HOW MINUTES THE GAME HAS PROGRESSED before play was stopped, our MOF hotline will brief you after the game. Please do not check with the referee (as many cases of miscommunication has happened. If MOF is late in informing you, payment can be delayed, not a problem. So wait to hear from our MOF Hotline!
FOR FRIENDLY GAMES
1. payment for the friendly can be rolled over or refunded if the game is not able to kick off at all.
2. payment for the friendly will be refunded in half if the game is played for less than 35 minutes in total prior to the game being rained/called off. This refund will take the form of credit held by MOF for the team and can be utilized for future games. However, this credit must be utilized within 6 months.
3. There will be no refund in the event that the total game time reaches or exceeds 35 minutes prior to the game being rained off.
4. There will be no further compensation or refund or credit besides those mentioned above.
*to note exactly HOW MINUTES THE GAME HAS PROGRESSED before play s stopped, our MOF hotline will brief you after the game. Please do not check with the referee (as many cases of miscommunication has happened. If MOF is late in informing you, payment can be delayed, not a problem. So wait to hear from our MOF Hotline!
2. Why is my team not allowed to play even though there is no rain or lightning?
if the lightning alert at the field is ON, the game is not allowed to proceed for safety reasons. this is per rules and policy mandated by Sport Singapore who are in charge of the fields. Flouting of this policy puts all parties involved and MOF at risk with the authorities (chargeable offence). Safety of our teams and players are our number 1 priority.
3. If we are too tired physically, or losing by a big margin, can we just stop playing?
The answer is a clear NO: you may NOT stop playing. This constitutes GAME ABANDONMENT, and will cause your team to not only lose the game but also bear the costs of both teams (even if there is one minute left to go before the final whistle is blown)
The only situation where the game may be abandoned is the referee decides so in the situation of dangerous behavior by a team or some players or even a single player. There must be a strong case of endangerment to the referee or others. In such a case, the MOF hotline must be alerted immediately to enforce against such dangerous individual(s). Pending a decision from MOF, both teams must still pay for their games.
4. Are water-breaks given during the game?
Yes, quarterly water breaks are given when temperature reaches 31 degrees celcius on the day of the game, following FIFA water protocols in hot weather/climate gameplay. However, it is contingent on every team manager to ensure their players are fit for game play and unfit players who are not well rested, injured or not sufficiently hydrated should not be allowed to play.
5. Is photography guaranteed for my game?
*No complimentary photography during COVID.
Photography for all MOF games is complimentary, i.e not included in the cost. a photographer is assigned for all league and friendly games, and in the event of lighting alert, inclement weather, bad traffic conditions or any unforeseen circumstances that render the photographers unable to be at the venue, there will be not be a discount for the cost of the game.
Please also kindly note: participation in any MOF activity will mean giving your consent to your image(s) being taken and used on social media or any other medium by us for any purposes we deemed necessary.
6. Are there linesmen provided for the game?
Only one center referee is provided for all leagues and friendly games. no linesmen are provided for social football games to keep costs of games affordable for everyone. (Adding two linesmen will increase the cost per team per game – and will make the cost of playing prohibitive for you). Referee calls may be less accurate because of the lack of linesmen (even international games with VAR can be controversial), and teams playing in our games are deemed to accept these facts and willing to play nevertheless. -Every Team Manager and Participant of MOF games accept the lack of linesmen in keeping social football affordable, and undertake not to demand for referee calls to be reversed or the scoreline changed. A breach of this condition shall render the Team Manager and Team banned from all MOF activities and the Team Manager subject to a fine of $200.
7A. What if both my team and my opponents did not bring balls for the game?
Every team at every MOF game must bring TWO SIZE 5 fully inflated soccer balls. This is to cut down on stoppage time. In this case if both teams are unable to obtain a properly inflated size 5 ball in time to kick off the game for it to be played in its full duration, both teams will still be required to bear the costs for their side of the game. If only one ball is able to be obtained in this scenario, and the ball goes over the fence or into the school compound and cannot be retrieved, both teams will still be required to bear the costs for their side of the game if the game cannot continue as a result. To keep costs affordable to social teams, we do not deploy manpower to every game to bring balls to you – that will make the cost of playing prohibitive for you.
7B. What if my team balls are kicked out by ourselves or by our opponents?
If the ball is kicked out of bounds and cannot be retrieved, we seek your understanding that lost balls are part and parcel of urban soccer playing. It is impossible (and our referee have strict instructions not to be involved) to determine who is responsible for the ball being out of bounds/irretrievable – especially in the intensity of gameplay. The solution we offer is a good training ball for sale at a low price. You may contact us for more information. Under no circumstances are you permitted to enter, trespass schools or other private property – there has been a past incident where two footballers did so, and were called up and investigated by the police, after the school caught them on CCTV footage.
8. What if the gate at the field is locked?
if the gate at the field is locked, please WhatsApp us and our league managers will contact the Sports Centre in charge of the field to contact the warden. Do not call as we need to make outbound calls and in case (though very rare more than one venue is affected). Please allow us some time to do this and update you as the wardens are not under MOF, but under Sport Singapore who are the ones who will be contacting the wardens in these cases.
9. What if I don’t see the referee or what if the referee is late?
If the referee is late or if you do not see the referee, please check the changing room at the field in case the referee might be getting ready in there. if you still do not see the referee after checking, please WhatsApp us, do not call us as our league managers might be attending to similar requests/matters, on WhatsApp we would be able to deal with these requests simultaneously.
10A. What if both teams are wearing the same colour?
If the clash of jersey colours is caused because one team did not stick to the pre-assigned jersey colours, that team will be required to bear the costs of both sides for the game should the game not be able to proceed due to the clash of colours, unless said team is able to find another alternative for their kits which does not clash with the opponents.
If the clash of jersey colours is caused by both teams not sticking to the pre-assigned jersey colours, both teams will be required to bear the costs of their side of the game should the game not be able to proceed due to the clash of colours, unless one or both of teams are able to find another alternative for their kits which does not clash with each other.
10B. How many substitutes are allowed?
*Substitution is subject to prevailing social distancing rules.
In social recreational games, MOF allows unlimited substitution in any game. We have teams numbering 11 to 45 players. We understand the social nature of our teams and games, to allow for manpower shortage we have unlimited substitution. However, players must be updated in our ecosystem to allow for red card enforcement. That having been said, so long as a player is fielded by a team, the team managers are responsible for their conduct and behavior, regardless of whether they are updated in the manager login.
11. Complaints against referees
If you wish to make a complaint against the referee, please inform us via WhatsApp and indicate your reasons behind your complaint. We will initiate our protocol if you wish to make a formal complaint, where we will seek the views of all parties involved in the game – your team, your opponents and the photographer if he/she was present at the time of the incident(s). And also allow the referee a chance to explain his view of the said incident(s). Under no circumstances are any players permitted to verbally abuse, argue, challenge the referee’s decision. The referee does not have the aid of linesmen (this allows you to enjoy an affordable social game), and hence there may be close calls that appear challengeable to you – nevertheless the referee’s decision is final.
Have a look at our expectations of referees to: http://ministryoffootball.com.sg/commandments-of-an-mof-referee/
Also, pls note: if you are a ‘noisy team’ or aggressive team prone to verbal abuse or complaints or big rally cries – some referees may fear for their safety and stay a bit away – and this may lead to him being unable to see calls properly, and make bad calls. Referees are human beings too, like you and us, and they do their jobs for a small fee. If they sense that a team might be aggressive, they will stay away – and report bad behavior to us, and we will investigate and warn or ban the teams, as we do without hesitation. Our number one priority is to create and maintain a safe league that will improve social football standards. We stick to the fundamental belief that when overall social football etiquette and standards rise, so will semi- and professional football standards in Singapore.
Almost always, complaints against the referees come from the losing teams. We seek all teams to exercise a policy of restraint when unhappiness sets in. In addition, kindly accept that we are unable to solely take your word – we need to be fair and obtain viewpoints from the referee and the opposing team.
12A. MOF’s stance towards violence during our games
MOF strongly reiterates that any form of improper, violent and uncouth conduct during our games will not be tolerated – verbal or physical abuse towards the referee/starting or instigating altercations during the game. Every action of abuse/violence towards any parties (referee, opponent, spectator, even own teammate) will subject the Team Manager to a fine of $250 per action. Guilty teams/players have been dealt with harshly and will continue to be the case for the safety and integrity of the participants in MOF games – http://ministryoffootball.com.sg/teams-expelled-from-mof-leaguescups/
Very bad fouls or very bad tackles by any player, poor referee decision, ‘trash talking’ towards any one, are not excuses for pushing, or punching, or verbal abuse. Anyone caught pushing or punching will be banned, and anyone caught verbally abusing any player or official or the MOF Hotline will be warned or banned. Excuses like “ball call” “bad referee” “opponent started it” are not sufficient reasons, and player and team bans as well as financial penalties per our terms and conditions will still apply.
12B. BANNED TEAMS
Any teams banned based on MOF rules for whatever reason (violence, referee abuse, hotline abuse, smoking, trespassing, will forfeit any payment already made to MOF, beyond having to pay for any fines or fees as a result of the non-compliance with MOF rules. All teams and managers and players in paying or playing our games also agree to have the team name, full name and picture posted on our website for ensuring banned individuals are no longer permitted in participating in any of our games and leagues and activities, and ensuring other teams participating in them do not include such banned individuals, managers and teams.
13. Illegal players
Professional or semi professional (S league, NFL, Prime, COE leagues players – or the present iteration of these pro and semi-pro formats) are not permitted in MOF Major, Minor, Leisure leagues. Such players who have ended their contract less than TWENTY FOUR (24)* months ago are ALSO considered to be illegal players.
NFL players (or the present iteration of these pro and semi-pro formats) are permitted in MOF Super leagues. All other categories are not permitted.
The consequence of fielding such a player, even if the manager ‘did not know’, is $300 per player per game, increasing to $500 per player per game from second incident onwards. Game Results where applicable will be overturned and will also be awarded to the opponent 3-0 (or in the event the offending league team lost, their points will be deducted 3 points).
*effective 8Mar2023
14. Additional Information for FRIENDLIES (paying and/or playing in our games is deemed acceptance of the below):
– Payment and NRIC (both sides with the number, picture, fingerprint and barcode blanked out except for Last 3 digits + letter, and showing your residential address so u can be located ) must be submitted before the friendly before we can confirm your team (we have been advised by police authorities to obtain the NRIC of one team manager per team in order to assist the police authorities with identification in the rare event of an altercation. Your NRIC is not stored manually and resides only in the encrypted whatsapp chat message channel which you have transmitted through, and remains deletable by you or upon request by you through the same whatsapp chat message channel.
– in the event of a walkover where your team fails to turn up or fails to show up in the stated jersey colour or fails to change jersey colour where advised by MOF thus rendering the game unplayable due to a clash of jersey colours, you are also liable to pay for the other team’s fees, where unpaid fees will be claimed via Small Claims Tribunal.
– the first team to confirm their slot with payment are given the first right of refusal to jersey colours (i.e if both teams’ jersey colours clash, the team that confirmed their slot first will get to choose wear that particular jersey colour and the other team has to wear another jersey colour that does not clash with the particular jersey colour)
– cancellation/withdrawal from friendly game is not allowed once payment has been made and/or confirmation message has been sent to you.
– in the event that your team decides to withdraw from the friendly, payment will for the friendly will not be refunded and the forfeiting team is liable to pay for the other team’s fee.
– In the event of non-payment and Debt collector/Courts/Small Claims Tribunal action is commenced, a further collection fee of $300 or 20% of the outstanding amount (whichever is higher) will be levied.
– we have a very strong NO FIGHTING policy and reserve all rights to pass all relevant details and pictures to the police authorities should there be any altercations / verbal abuse towards any player or referee.
– we have a very strong NO SMOKING policy at the venues. Fines of $250 per person/incident and bans will be imposed on players and teams if caught, and if requested, all relevant details and pictures will be passed to the police authorities.
– We reserve the right to award to the team that makes full payment and provide full ID documents first.
– In the event of lightning alert, inclement weather (torrential downpour rendering the game not be able to be played/continued), or any other instruction from venue warden:
- payment for the friendly can be rolled over or refunded if the game is not able to kick off at all.
- payment for the friendly will be refunded in half if the game is played for 35 minutes or less prior to the game being rained off. This refund will take the form of credit held by MOF for the team and can be utilized for future games. However, this credit must be utilized within 6 months.
- There will be no refund in the event that the total game time reach or exceeds 35 minutes prior to the game being rained off.
– In the event of instances where an unfortunate death or unforeseen life threatening injury results in teams not being able to field enough players for a match and this incident occurs less than 72 hours before the scheduled game. In this instant, Team Manager(s) are required to submit a valid death certificate or medical report within 48 hours after the scheduled game. Upon receipt of the valid document, MOF will charge the team the full game cost for the team only and reschedule the match to another date. If no valid documents are received, the team will then bear the full game costs of both teams and the match will then be awarded as a walkover in favour of the opposing team.
– photography is complimentary and MOF will always make fullest effort to capture photography of your friendly game. However, in situations of bad weather (DSLR cameras cannot work in wet weather; traffic congestion; unpredictable circumstances etc) photography may not be provided. In the event photography is not provided, as it is complimentary, there is no discounting of the game fee.