Have players left your club without paying back their debt? You are not alone. Every season a number of clubs are left out of pocket by players who haven't paid their debts. Over time, this can have huge financial impact on clubs and causes many to fold.

At East Riding FA we operate a system to collect football debts on behalf of our affiliated clubs and leagues. 

As described under FA Regulations, football debts are defined as those where actual monies have been expended arising from football activity and as such would include:

- Match costs (e.g. match fees)

- Fines from discipline cases

- Playing expenses (e.g. pitch hire)

- League costs (e.g. repairs to cups)

The following are not considered to be football debts:

- Club subscriptions

- Fund raising activities

- League fines

- Kit and equipment

- End of season trip costs

There are strict timelines and criteria under which football debts can be chased and we're unable to deal with any debts that do not conform to FA regulations. We therefore recommend that all Clubs familiarise themselves with the procedures, the key points of which are highlighted below:

Reasonable steps:

Clubs / Leagues should take reasonable steps to recover the debt before asking East Riding FA to take action, including:

- Approaching debtor personally and contacting them in writing to seek payment

- Not playing the player as soon as it becomes obvious that there is an issue with recovering monies

When writing to the player the club should advise the debtor that the debt will rise once it is referred to East Riding FA as a Football Debt Recovery claim. This consists of the £25 creditor fee.

Timescales:

East Riding FA should be approached as soon as it is clear that there is a problem. In all cases this should be within 28 days of formal payment being requested, and 56 days of the debt being incurred.

Requesting debt recovery:

When requesting Football Debt Recovery the creditor must supply the following:

- Full Name

- Date of Birth

- Last known address

- Contact number of the individual(s) responsible for debt

- Leagues should provide a list of all registered players for the club/team they wish to place on Football Debt Recovery

- Evidence of the debt and efforts made by the club to recover the debt (e.g. copies of letters sent to players)

Upon receipt of a Football Debt Recovery claim, East Riding FA will verify the validity of the debt and notify the Club and Player, by way of the debt recovery letter, of its decision. On an annual basis any debt created more than 7 years ago will be deactivated and removed from the system. All monies and suspensions will be cleared and removed.