At the annual assembly in Cologne, the regulations of play were changed considerably, so we would like to briefly explain these changes.
Changes of Teams
The first change concerns the subject of team changes of players. In the new version, the usual transfer of players to another team is no longer possible. Instead, players can help out a team of the same or higher season once and then have to return to the original team.
It was considered unfair that teams in lower levels were reinforced by players from higher levels on the first day of play. Clubs with many teams in different levels were able to use the old system to gain a performance advantage for their teams in lower levels.
It is still possible to change teams before the start of the season. The beginning and end of a season are now also defined beyond doubt.
The new rule is defined in the revised paragraph 4.6 of the Regulations of Play. Please familiarize yourself with it so that your games are not considered invalid.
4.6 Changes of teams by players
- All players are registered for one team in the current season and are entitled to participate in all matches of their team. Players may only play for a whole matchday on another team and must then continue to play for the team originally registered. The use of players in a team other than the original team must be reported to the board.
- Players are not permitted to help out in a lower level.
- If the player concerned has already helped out once during the season, the matches are considered lost “to zero” after his second participation.
- Team changes at the beginning of the new season (between the original registration and the starting whistle of the first match of the season) are not considered changes within the meaning of this regulation.
- The current season begins with the first matchday – regardless of level – and ends with the last matchday – regardless of level – of the league.
Point system in the tables
In addition, the sanctions for failing to appear on matchdays have been tightened in paragraph 2.3 of Regulations of Play.
From now on, it will be sufficient to fail to appear on a matchday just once in order to slide to the last place in the final table and be eliminated from the table.