Preliminary
ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS
1) Accounting policies. The specific principles, bases, conventions, rules and practices adopted by an entity in preparing and presenting its financial statements.
2) Annual financial statements. A complete set of financial statements prepared as at the statutory closing date, normally including a balance sheet, profit and loss account, a statement of cash flows and those notes, other statements and explanatory material that are an integral part of the financial statements.
3) Audit. The objective of an audit of financial statements is to enable the auditor to express an opinion whether the financial statements are prepared, in all material respect, in accordance with an identified financial reporting framework. The phrases used to express the auditor’s opinion are “give a true and fair view” or “present fairly, in all material respects”, which are equivalent terms. A similar objective applies to the audit of financial or other information prepared in accordance with appropriate criteria. In an audit engagement, the auditor provides a high but not absolute, level of assurance that the information subject to audit is free of material misstatement. This is expressed positively in the audit report as reasonable assurance.
4) Budget. The schedules containing an entity’s future financial information, based on management’s assumptions about events that may occur in the future and possible actions by an entity.
5) Cash and cash equivalents. Cash comprises cash on hand and demand deposits. Cash equivalents are short term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and which are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.
6) CAF. Means the “Confederation Africaine de Football”.
7) CAF Interclub Competitions. Means the club competitions organized by CAF.
8) CAF Stadium Regulations. Regulations which stipulate the requirements for stadiums to be used by clubs for CAF club competition matches.
9) CAF Club Licensing Quality Standard. A document that defines the minimum requirements with which licensors must comply in order to operate the CAF Club Licensing System.
10) Performance Analyst. A club designated person, trained and qualified by FUFA for handling and operating CATAPULT system at the club.
11) Club Licensing Online Platform “CLOP”. The CAF Club Licensing Online Platform is an online tool for managing the club licensing process. The Clop is an IT system developed by CAF for the purpose of gathering information from Applicants/Licensees and for sharing information with Licensors concerning their affiliated clubs, within the scope of the implementation, assessment, and enforcement of these Regulations.
12) Coach: an individual employed in a football-specific occupation by a professional club whose:
i) Employment duties consist of one or more of the following: training and coaching players, selecting players for matches and competitions, making tactical choices during matches and competitions; and/or
ii) Employment requires the holding of a coaching license in accordance with a domestic or continental licensing regulation.
13) Consolidated financial statement. Consolidated financial statements are financial statements of an entity with multiple divisions or subsidiaries.
14) Continental License. The license an applicant club applies for to compete in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.
15) Continental Criteria. Requirements divided into five categories (sporting, infrastructure, personnel and administrative, legal and financial) to be fulfilled by a Applicant for it to be granted a license to participate in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.
16) Core process. Minimum requirements that the licensor must put in place for verification of compliance with the criteria described in the regulations as a basis for the issue of a license to an applicant.
17) Criteria. These regulations have requirements divided into three categories, A, B, and C.
“A” – Club Licensing Criteria Gradation; MANDATORY: If the Applicant does not fulfil any A criteria requirements, then it shall not be granted with a license to participate in FUFA organized competitions.
“B” – Club Licensing Criteria Gradation; OBLIGATORY: these are the A and C criteria graduation requirements against which the applicant was issued a license and that should be upheld throughout the license period. If the Applicant does not fulfil any B criteria gradation, then it may be sanctioned, however the Applicant may still hold the license to continue to play in the FUFA organized competitions.
“C” – Club Licensing Criteria Gradation; BEST PRACTICE: these requirements are best practice recommendations. The applicant will score points if these requirements are fulfilled and failure to obtain a pass mark score may lead to refusal to grant a license. Non-fulfilment of any C – criteria does not lead to any sanction.
18) Deadline for submission of the application to the licensor. The date by which each licensor requires Applicants to have submitted all relevant information for their applications for a license.
19) Domestic Criteria. Requirements divided into categories to be fulfilled by an Applicant for it to be granted a license to participate in the Member Association national competitions.
20) Employees. All professional players according to the FUFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, the administrative, technical, medical and security staff specified in the regulations
21) FIFA. Federation Internationale de Football Association.
22) Financial year. The financial reporting period as defined in the entity’s founding documents, ending on the date defined as the financial year end.
23) FIFA Club Licensing Programme. An effective guideline for the implementation of club licensing and is part of FIFA repositioning club licensing from a regulatory instrument to a flexible and principle-based vehicle for the professionalization of club football.
24) FIFA Connect System. An information online system designed and implemented by FIFA that provides the FIFA ID and the API that provides the technical interface between electronic domestic transfer systems, electronic player registration systems and TMS for the electronic exchange of information.
25) Electronic player registration system. an online electronic information system with the ability to record the registration of all players at their association. The electronic player registration system must be integrated with the FIFA Connect ID Service and the FIFA Connect Interface in order to exchange information electronically. The electronic player registration system must provide all registration information for all players from the age of 12 through the FIFA Connect Interface and, in particular, must assign each player a FIFA ID utilizing the FIFA Connect ID Service.
26) FIFA ID. The worldwide unique identifier given by the FIFA Connect System to each football stakeholder (club, association and player…).
27) Independent auditor. An auditor who is independent of the entity, in compliance with the IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. For additional information, visit www.ifac.org. The term ‘auditor’ may also be used when describing related services or assurance engagements other than audits.
28) License. Certificate granted by the licensor confirming fulfilment of all mandatory minimum requirements by the licensee in order to participate in a CAF club competition or a National competition of the Member Association.
29) Applicant. A Legal entity fully and solely responsible for the football team participating in national and international club competitions which applies for a license.
30) Licensee. Applicant which has been granted a license by the licensor.
31) Licensing administration. The department or staff within the licensor that deals with club licensing matters.
32) Licensing season. The period of time during which a license that has been granted is valid. It commences on the day following the deadline laid down by CAF for submission of licensing decisions by the licensor to CAF and terminates on the day of the same deadline in the following year.
33) Licensing process. The process which leads to a license being granted (or denied).
34) Licensor. The Body that implements the club licensing system, grants or denies licenses and undertakes certain tasks in respect of the club monitoring process.
35) List of licensing decisions. The list submitted by the licensor to CAF containing, among other things, information about the Applicants that have undergone the licensing process and been granted or denied a license by the national decision-making bodies. The list will be in the format established and communicated by CAF.
36) League. An organization that is subordinate to an association.
37) May. Indicates a party’s discretion to do something (i.e., optional).
38) Must or shall. Indicates an obligation to do something (i.e., mandatory).
39) National License. The license an applicant club applies for, to compete in the national competitions of the Member Association.
40) Member Association. An association that has been admitted into membership of CAF.
41) Minimum criteria. Criteria to be fulfilled by an Applicant in order to be granted a license.
42) Registration: The act of making a written record containing details of a player on the FIFA Connect
System that include:
– the start date of the registration (format: dd/mm/yyyy);”
– the full name (first, middle and last names) of the player;
– date of birth, gender, nationality and status as an amateur or a professional (as per article 2 paragraph 2 of these regulations);
– the type(s) of football the player will play (eleven-a-side football / futsal / beachsoccer);
– the name of the club at the association where the player will play (including the FIFA ID of the club);
– the training categorization of the club at the moment of the registration;
– the FIFA ID of the player;
– the FIFA ID of the association.”
43) Review. A review of submitted financial information is carried out by an auditor in order to express a conclusion whether, on the basis of the review, material facts are uncovered that cause the auditor to believe that the financial information may not have been prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with an identified financial reporting framework. A review, in contrast to an audit, is not designed to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial information is free from material misstatement. A review consists of making inquiries, primarily of the persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A review may bring significant matters affecting the financial information to the auditor’s attention, but it does not provide the evidence that would be required for an audit.
44) Significant change. Means an event that is considered material to the documentation previously submitted to the licensor and that would require a different presentation if it had occurred prior to the submission of the licensing documentation.
45) Stadium. A venue at which a match is played, including the entire premises to the extent that a valid accreditation card or match ticket is required in order to gain access. This is typically the entire property inside the outer stadium perimeter fence.
46) Statutory closing date. This is the last day of the entity’s Financial Year.
47) Subsequent events. Events or conditions occurring after the licensing decision.
48) Training facilities. The venue(s) at which a club’s registered players undertake football training and/or youth development activities on a regular basis.
49) Transfermarkt. An online web platform that has footballing information of players, such as appearances, scores, results, statistics, transfer news, fixtures and player market value for transfers.
Article 1: Introduction
1) These regulations are divided into 6 main sections:
1. The first section addresses the member association as the “Licensor”, and sets out and explains its responsibilities, as well as defining the Applicant and the licensing bodies including the way the regulations are to be applied;
2. The second section outlines the mandatory criteria the Applicant must meet to be licensed to participate in the Uganda Premier League and FUFA Big League
3. The third section outlines the Obligatory Requirements that must be fulfilled by the Applicant and if not undertaken, corrective measures and deduction of the club licensing points may be applied
4. The fourth section outlines the Best Practices and if fulfilled by the applicant club licensing points are earned
5. The fifth section outlines the Evaluation Procedure
6. The sixth section outlines the final provisions of the regulations.
7. These regulations govern the rights, duties and responsibilities of all parties involved in the FUFA club licensing system and define in particular:
a) The minimum requirements to be fulfilled by FUFA to act as the licensor for its clubs;
b) The minimum procedures to be followed by FUFA in its assessment of the club licensing criteria
c) The minimum sporting, infrastructure, personnel and administrative, legal and financial criteria to be fulfilled by a club to be granted a license by its licensor as part of the admission procedure to enter the Uganda Premier League and FUFA Big League
