The Elite Academy League is composed of member clubs that represent Elite competitive clubs in their market and have shown to be of the standard and will benefit from being part of this platform. By unifying clubs from within the conferences, we have maintained the defining standards of previous elite platforms with a collective approach to making sure the platform sits atop the youth landscape.

League website: eliteacademyleague.com

EA2

The Elite Academy has now built out EA2 with expansion coming in 2023-2024. EA2 will provide a proving ground for clubs that aspire to join the Elite Academy League and mirror many of the standards that have helped the EA be successful. The club with the highest PPG for their 6 teams (U13-U19) at the end of the season will be promoted to the Elite Academy League for the following year. EA2 will also have a playoff structure for individual teams to be crowned champions of their age group, and clubs will also have access to take part in existing EA National Events.

REFEREE FRAMEWORK

Referee Fees

All costs of referees are the responsibility of the home club. If a neutral site is used, the designated home club shall pay unless it is pre-approved by the league that costs will be shared. The method of payment of appointed referees is up to the discretion of the home club. It is suggested that the home team pay the referees prior to the game upon arrival or through the arbiter system or direct deposit.

To obtain the selected document, please click on EA Standards & Rules, EA Match Day Requirements, the EA Referee Handout or the EA2 Referee Handout.

For ease of reference, please download the following:

You can also view the substitution cards the teams will be using as follows:

LAWS OF THE GAME

Unless otherwise provided in the Elite Academy Standards & Rules, all Elite Academy games shall be played in accordance with the Laws of the Game in force at the time of the competition and as laid down by the International Football Association Board.

MATCH FORMAT

  • U11, U12 – two 30-minute Halves with a 10-minute halftime
  • U13 – two 35-minute halves with a 10-minute halftime
  • U14, U15 – two 40-minute halves with 15-minute halftime
  • U16, U17, U19 – two 45-minute halves with a 15-minute halftime

* The home team will provide 3 match balls for each game.

SUBBING RULES

  •  U11-U12: Unlimited with re-entry
  • U13-U19: will operate under the FIFA-7 players “per half” substitution system. Once replaced, players cannot re-enter the game during that half of play. There shall be a maximum of 3 moments to make seven (7) substitutions in any half or in overtime of any Elite Academy League Competition. 

Substitution passes are required for U13-U19 age groups with each substitution except at halftime. If you find a player has re-entered, please note it in the match report in MOD11 and the league staff will sanction the team accordingly. 

HEAD INJURIES

Any player suspected of suffering a head injury may be substituted for an evaluation without the substitution counting against the team’s total number of allowed substitutions during the game.

  • If the club has used all their subs and/or moments when a head injury occurs, they will still be allowed to make a temporary substitute, bringing on a player that was previously subbed for.
  • If the player is deemed by the HCP or ATC to not have suffered a concussion, the player may re-enter the game at any stoppage of play and must replace the original substitute; this head injury evaluation substitution will not count as a used substitution.
  • Furthermore, the temporary substitute will be able to re-enter the game at a later time, if they had not previously played in that half.
  • If the player is not cleared to return to play by the HCP or ATC, the replacement player will no longer be considered a temporary substitution.

The EA Commissioner has clarified that the replacement player may remain on the field if the replaced player cannot return even if all substitutions were used up already. If the replacement player could have been used as a regular substitute then it will count as a substitution (1 of 7 permitted each half), but not a moment (1 of 3 permitted each half).

MODULAR11

The home team is responsible for ensuring Referees are added / have access to Modular11. Please see the tutorials of ACCESS for new referees to MOD11 as seen in video here as well as experienced Referees in MOD11 as seen in video here.

Player Check-In: Players & Staff must be viewable in MOD11 Match Details page as seen in video here.

Match Reporting: Please submit the Match Report immediately following the Match or at very least on same day as Match has played as seen in video here.

Players are checked in using the QR Code link there is no hard copy player ID card.