League Policies & Regulations

ZERO TOLERANCE ON DISCRIMINATORY LANGUAGE OR CONDUCT

COVID-19 Procedures

The following COVID-19 procedures shall be in effect:

1. The CSL will follow all CDC, federal and state health departments requirements.
2. The CSL expects all players and club officials to be fully vaccinated and boostered, if eligible, unless medically unable or there is a bona fide religious objection.
3. If a player or club official tests positive for COVID-19, the league must be notified, provided with verification, and that player or official must quarantine in accordance with CDC policies.
4. Any person who had come into contact with the exposed player as defined by CDC guidelines must also quarantine if required by the CDC (see below)
5. As vaccinated and boostered persons who do not show symptoms do not need to be quarantined and players and officials are expected to be fully vaccinated and boostered, if eligible, there will not be a valid postponement due to COVID unless more than 40% of the team players who have been fully vaccinated and boostered, if eligible, test postive or show symptoms of COVID.
6. If a club cannot field a team due to COVID and unless there is a valid postponement as defined above, the team will forfeit its match.

 CDC Policy on When Quarantine is not Required:

1. You are ages 18 or older and have received all recommended vaccine doses, including boosters and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people;
2. You are ages 5-17 and completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines; or 
3. You had confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days (you tested positive using a viral test).

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/quarantine-isolation.html

A team requesting a postponement due to COVID-19 must verify that 40% of its match eligible players are unable to play due to postive tests or exposure as defined by the CDC.

CLUB DELEGATES

A delegate may only represent one club at any league meeting.

FEES FOR PLAYOFFS AND FINALS

In all divisional and league finals, the League shall cover the costs of a three-person referee crew. The final shall be played at a League designed field and the field costs shall be covered by the League.

In any other playoff match, the two competing teams shall equally split the cost of a three-person referee crew. The match shall be played at the higher seeded team's home ground. The visiting team shall cover half of the costs of the field up to $50.00.

FINES

In addition to any fines designated in the Bylaws, the following fines shall be in effect:

• Failure to report score by 12:00 noon on Monday..... $25.00
• Improper field conditions..... $25.00
• Insufficient match balls..... $25.00
• No corner flags..... $25.00
• Non-matching or improper uniforms..... $25.00

HOME FIELDS

All teams must provide the league office with the name and location of their home field prior to the start of the season.

INDOOR TOURNAMENT

Any league team participating in an indoor tournament not organized by this league, must also participate in the CSL's indoor tournament.

MARKINGS OF FIELD, GOAL NETS, BALLS & CORNER FLAGS

The home team shall be responsible for visible, correct and clear markings of the playing field; proper goal nets; providing at minimum three match quality balls; and corner flags. If a home team fails to have the field properly marked and have proper goal nets, match balls and have corner flags placed after the referee has given the team the necessary time, the team may be punished by losing the game, fined, or both.

MATCH PROCEDURES - AFTER MATCH

After each match, the team managers or coaches should confer with the referee(s) and verify the players who were carded or injured as well as any goal scorers. If there are any discrepancies, the league office must be advised by 12:00 on Monday for weekend matches and 12:00 the day following the match for midweek matches.

OVERTIME (EXTRA TIME) & KICKS FROM THE PENALTY MARK

Any league playoff, championship or league cup match which ends in a draw at the end of regulation, shall proceed to kicks from the penalty mark. There is no overtime period.

PLAYER & COACH PASSES

This league uses a paper player pass system where the player pass is part of the computer generated match day roster form.

All teams must submit a match day roster form with clear, colored player pictures without any hats or headgear, before the start of any league or cup match. If a player picture is unclear, the referee has the authority to ask for an additional form of identification. 

To be eligible to play in any and all matches under the jurisdiction of this league, each player's name and picture must appear on the match day roster form. Any player whose name and/or picture does not appear on the match day roster form is ineligible to play.

POSTPONEMENTS

No scheduled game shall be postponed without the consent of the League Office and both clubs involved. As a general rule, postponed matches need to be played within two weeks of the orginally scheduled date.

PRIZE MONEY

The champions of the divisions will receive the following prize money:

• 1st Division - $2,000.00 (split between regular season and playoff champions) and $500 (runner-up)
• 1st Division Reserves - $750.00
• 2nd Division - $1,000 (champion) and $750.00 (2nd promoted team)
• 2nd Division Reserves - $500.00
• 3rd Division - $750.00
• 4th Division - $500.00
• Over-30 Division - $500.00
• Over-40 Division - $500.00

PROMOTION & RELEGATION - 2024/2025 SEASON

Relegation and promotion exists between the open divisions. In order to play in the 1st Division or 2nd Division, a club must field both a first team and reserve team. Therefore, if a club wins the 3rd Division and is unable to field a reserve team, the club cannot move to the 2nd Division.

In the 1st division, there is a single table of 12 teams with each team playing every other team twice, home and away. The regular season winner qualifies for a playoff for promotion into the Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL). The top four teams will make the league playoffs with the 1st and 2nd placed teams hosting the semifinal matches. The bottom two teams in the table are relegated to the 2nd division. 

In the 2nd division, there is a single table of 17 teams with each team playing every other team once. The regular season winner will be promoted to the 1st division. The next four teams will make the playoffs for the second promotion spot with the 2nd and 3rd placed teams hosting the semifinal matches. 

In the 3rd division, there is a single table of 12 teams with each team playing every other team twice, home and away. The regulal season winner will be offered promotion. The 2nd and 3rd placed teams will make the playofsf for the second promotion spot. The bottom team in the table will be relegated to the 4th division. The 2nd and 3rd teams from the bottom will play in a relagation playoff matchh for the second relegation spot.

In the 4th divsion, the division winner and the playoff champion (if not the division winner) will be offered promotion to the 3rd division. If the division winner and the playoff champion are the same, then the playoff runner-up will be offered the second promotion spot.  

PROMOTION & RELEGATION WITH EPSL

If the 1st division (league champion) wishes to exercise its right to promotion to the Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL), then the team must so notify the league by May 1 in order to be vetted by the EPSL. As a champion may not be determined by that date, several teams may request to be vetted. Depending on whether or not another EPSL feeder league team also wishes to exercise its right to potential promotion, a playoff match may be scheduled to determine which league championship team is promoted. A club wishing to join the EPSL must meet all of the requirements of the EPSL.

If a team is relegated based on merit from the EPSL to the CSL, then the CSL 1st divsion shall expand by one team the following season and an additional team will be relegated at the end of that season. If a team self-relegates from the EPSL to the CSL, then the team self-relegating, shall be placed in the CSL 2nd division and others teams from the self-relagating club placed below that team.  

REFEREE FEES

The home team is responsible for the payment of the center referee fee. In the 1st division, the home team is responsible for the payment of the assistant referee fees. In all other divisions, the assistant referee fees are evenly split between the two competing teams in all matches that assistant referees are assigned.  

REGISTRATION - CLUB BALANCES

Any member club that has an outstanding balance of over $500.00 for over 30 days will not be permitted to register any additional players until the balance is below $500.00.  

REGISTRATION - MATCH DEADLINES

Player registrations must be submitted by 12:00 pm on Friday to be eligible to play the next Saturday or Sunday. 

REGISTRATION OF MINORS

In accordance with the SafeSports Act and US Soccer policies, a team may not register a minor player (player under the age of 18) unless all team personnel, including players, coaches and officials, have taken and are up-to-date with the required SafeSports educational courses and have had background screening performed.  

ROSTER FORMS

All teams must use only the designed computer generated roster form for all matches. The roster form must be printed within 48 hours of the match, i.e. Friday for a Sunday match. Failure to submit the league designated roster form will result in the offending team forfeiting the match. Submitting a roster form dated prior to the time set forth by the League, shall subject the offending team to a fine of $25.00. 

SCHEDULING

The league schedule generally starts the weekend after Labor Day and runs to the end of May or June with a winter break in January and February. The league office may schedule make up matches in January or February or midweek. Unless otherwise agreed upon, midweek matches should be played Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays starting between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM.

1st and 2nd division reserve team matches are played immediately prior to first team matches unless agreed upon by both competing teams and permission is granted by the League Office.  

SUSPENSIONS

If a player is suspended as a result of receiving a red card or an accumulation of yellow cards, he will be suspended until 24 hours after the match of the team for which he is listed on the league roster. So, for instance, if a player listed on a reserve team roster receives a two match suspension as a result of actions during a first team match, that player will be suspended until 24 hours after his team has played its next two reserve team matches, including cup matches. The player will be suspended for all league and cup matches during the suspension period, unless contrary USSF or USASA rules apply.

If a team is not notified by 12:00 noon on a Friday of a player being suspended as a result of yellow card accumulations, the player's suspension shall be carried to the following week. A player who is shown a red card is on notice that he is supended for at least one match, pending a decision of the Arbiter, and cannot play his next match.

Card accumulations are cleared at the end of the regular season and do not carry over into any playoff or championship matches. 

TRANSFERS

A player may only transfer to or be signed by a CSL club if that player was registered for another US Soccer (CSL or otherwise) affiliated club during the season until April 15.

A player may only transfer to a lower tiered team of the same club ("transfer down") until March 1.

UNIFORMS/KITS

The home team shall always wear their “home” jerseys (except white) and the away team shall wear either white jerseys or colors that do not conflict with the home team’s jersey colors. The away team must change jerseys if there is a conflict.

All players on a team must wear matching jerseys, shorts and socks.  

SPECIAL RULE FOR OVER-40 DIVISION (2024/2025 SEASON)

Only those players who have attained the age of 40 may play in the Over-40 Division, except that each team in the division may have three (3) players who have attained the age of 39 and were rostered by the that team the previous season.