East of Scotland Soccer Development Association

ESSDA Nines 9s

The SFA/SYFA Player Pathway says Nines 9s (9v9) football for the 12s age group (2013 year group) for their transition season in 2025 First Half
and for the 11s age group (2014 year group) for the 2025 Second Half.

Age 12 teams are not allowed to play friendly 11 v 11 matches until after the SFA Player Pathway course in May 2025 - see SFA Page for details

Referees are optional for SYFA small-sided 9v9 games, but if referees are used, please follow the agreed process with Edinburgh Referee.
Please read the and follow the update from ESSDA Disciplinary Officer Darren McGinnis

9 Aside update

Last season (2024 First Half) as Disciplinary Secretary I received an unprecedented volume of complaints relating to teams breaching multiple playing and player approach rules.  We also received an alarming number of reports from match Referees that related to unacceptable conduct from players, coaches & volunteers that ultimately led to the Referee department withdrawing their members from covering the ESSDA matches at 9 aside..

With the new season fast approaching I want to ensure that we create an environment across ESSDA that holds true to the rules and creates a fun and developmental environment for all players. I have spent time discussing the challenges with the Refereeing department and Roger (ESSDA General Secretary) and we have collectively agreed to a set of rules that will ensure that ESSDA 9 aside games can once again have referees appointed. This is fantastic news, and I want to thank EDRA for working with me to resolve common issues.

With that in mind I want to share some key information and changes that we are making to the 9 aside leagues that starts on the 17/18^th August 2024.

Booking a Referee

·         When using referees for 9 aside fixtures you MUST book your referee directly with EDRA using this form https://www.edinburghanddistrictreferees.co.uk/appointments/
·         Bookings should be submitted no later than Wednesday at 18:00 for a match that is to be played on a Sunday.
·         The fee for a 9 aside game is normally £40 which is payable directly to the referee on match day
·         NOTE – I am aware that some teams use “Local referees” for their games. The only way to ensure that your Referee has the appropriate safeguarding check in place and are competent in the up-to-date laws of the game is to book using this process so please always follow it.  

Team lines 

·         Team lines are now mandatory and must be handed to your referee prior to kick off (your referee will not facilitate the match without team lines being presented to them) At present we are unable to use the normal Team line function on Comet so please follow the steps below.

·         To produce your team lines, you should use the following steps on SFA Comet –
o    Log in to SFA Comet using this link - https://www.scottishfacomet.co.uk/ (You may need your Club secretary to provide you the appropriate access)
o    In the left menu, select Competitions, then My Competitions
o    Find the appropriate League from the list (ESSDA U11s) and click on it
o    At the top of the page select “Clubs” and then find the name of your Club on the list
o    You will see a small picture of a printer aligned with your team’s name, click on the printer, and select Players in Catalogue
o    This will create a PDF showing all the players registered in your year group. Print this PDF.
o    Once printed you must score out the players that are not participating in your match leaving only the players that are taking part.
o    At the top of the page, you must then write the following –
  §  Coaches name and Qualification level e.g. Coach name – Darren McGinnis 1:3 Children’s
  §  First Aiders name – e.g. First aider – David Beckham
  §  2nd Volunteers name e.g. 2^nd Volunteer name – David Beckham
o    NOTE – You MUST have a minimum of 2 volunteers who are registered AND approved on Comet present during all matches. One volunteer must be at least a 1:2 accredited coach;  one must be a qualified First aider. One Volunteer can carry out a maximum of 2 roles only. Referees will NOT facilitate a match for teams that do not meet this requirement.  

Red Cards and inappropriate conduct from spectator

·         Red cards will now be reported back to myself at the end of each match. The Club will then be notified of any appropriate sanction on the Player or coach by email prior to the next match. These sanctions will be in line with the SYFA disciplinary rules and procedures and must be adhered to by the Club to avoid and further repercussions.
·         NOTE – It is the Coaches responsibility to manage the behaviour of spectators associated to their team, in circumstances that spectators act inappropriately, and the behaviour is not appropriately challenged and eradicated, it will the Coach who could receive a sanction on behalf of the team.

I appreciate this is a lot of information and new steps to take however following these steps will help ensure that we remain compliant of the rules, we create a fun and developmental environment for all our players and volunteers, and we create a relationship with our referees that shows mutual respect which hopefully we can maintain through in to 11 aside football.  

If you have any questions or need any support, please get in touch with me at discipline@essda.co.uk .  

Rules for playing Nines 9s

    Age Group 2013 playing Nines 9s

    Age Group 2014 playing Soccer 7s will move to Nines 9s for 2025 Second Half

All age groups playing Nines 9s will have a choice of 5 divisions

•   Pele (Strongest)
•   Iniesta
•   Maradona
•   Zidane
•   Beckham

Teams must select a division, and an alternate division should their chosen division not be available. This is unlikely except for the newest Iniesta division.
The alternate for Pele will always be Iniesta. The alternate for Beckham will always be Zidane.

Please use the Match Monitoring Form to report good / bad conduct at matches.

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Last modified on: 07/11/2024