TDYL January 2026 Newsletter
By Martyn Lever
Dear All,
NEXT LEAGUE MEETING
The next club league meeting will be on Tuesday 31st March at Taunton Town FC - 7.30pm start. Please make sure your club is represented.
All league trophies are to be returned at this meeting. Please make sure that trophies have been engraved and also cleaned.
FUTURE FIT
The FA Future fit will soon be with us. Information on Future Fit can be found here: https://futurefit.englandfootball.com/futurefit/index.html
The league Committee are working behind the scenes to get Future Fit ready. A League document is being prepared and will be shared with its members when ready.
MINI LEAGUE FIXTURES
It has been brought to the attention of the league that some clubs and teams are not setting up and playing their fixtures using the correct format. All clubs and teams must play their scheduled fixtures in accordance with league rules.
MINI LEAGUE CUP
The Mini League Cup - Round 2 is on Saturday the 14th of March 2026.
The league is looking to set up a mini tournament for those teams that were knocked out in Round 1. The plan is to use the Tournify Cup System for this additional competition.
The Mini League Cup Finals are being held on Saturday 23rd May at Minehead Town FC.
UNDER 11 & UNDER 12 FINALS
Finals day for the U11 and U12s will be on Saturday 9th May and will be held at Bishops Lydeard FC.
UNDER 13 & 14 CUP FINALS
Finals day for the U13 and U14s will be on Sunday 19th April and will be held at Taunton Town FC.
UNDER 15 & 16 CUP FINALS
Finals day for the U15 and U16s will be on Sunday 26th April and will be held at Taunton Town FC.
ASSITANT REFEREES
If a club Official or parent spectator volunteers to carry out the role of the assistant referee, then the assistant referee must not coach the players whilst running the line. The role of the assistant referee is very clear – link to guidance information here: https://www.tdyl.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/assistant-referee-pre-match-instruction-guidance.pdf
THE FA MATCHDAY APP
Please do not use the FA Matchday App as it does not feed all required stats into the FA Fulltime system. If the App is used, then club officials MUST also check the FA Fulltime system to ensure that all information has been correctly populated. Please note that fines will be levied where there is missing stats information where the FA Match Day App has been used.
PREMATCH NOTIFICATION BETWEEN TEAMS
When contacting your opposition please communicate your goalkeeper colours. We are seeing several clashes of goal keeper colours where a keeper is in the same colour as the opposition team.
MATCH DAY BEHAVIOUR
The league would like to remind all clubs about match day behaviour and ask that all clubs and their members (club officials, players, parents/guardians) review current respect codes of conduct set by your club and also set by the league. The league respect codes of conduct will be available in the knowledge base on the TDYL website shortly.
Maintaining a Positive Environment – SFA Traffic Light System
It is our collective responsibility to ensure that every child experiences football in a positive and supportive environment. Disruptive or negative behaviour from the sidelines directly undermines this goal and often result in league or Somerset FA sanctions being imposed.
Studies have consistently shown that players who feel positive and unpressured on the pitch play better! Let's ensure we provide that environment for them.
Examples of Behaviour Resulting in Sanctions
The following actions could trigger sanctions:
- Shouting Negatively at Match Officials
- Arguing amongst Spectators
- Abusing a Coach
- Shouting at Players (or trying to coach from the sidelines by shouting instructions)
- Entering the Field of Play or Not Staying Behind the Respect Barrier
(Please note that this list provides examples, and behaviour resulting in sanctions is not limited to the above.)
If you See Something, then Say Something!
Guidance on how to report observations and/or incidents.
- All observations / incidents should be reported to your club first so that your club can take appropriate action or advise on the correct course of action. Report to your Club Welfare Officer or Secretary.
- Depending on the nature of the observation or incident will depend on whether it should be reported to the league or reported direct to Somerset FA.
- If reporting to the league, then please use the support hub message system - https://www.tdyl.co.uk/support/
- You can also report using this smart form - https://app.smartsheet.eu/b/form/df358a0a39574fac82c5d8e940450520
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