Regulations of the Third Division League Competition

Chapter 1: Preliminary Provisions

Article 1: Scope of Application and Interpretation

    1. The definitions and terms contained in the Regulation of Competitions and Championships shall apply to this Regulation, unless otherwise stated.
    1. Without prejudice to the provisions of this Regulation; the provisions contained in the Regulation of Competitions and Championships shall apply to all matters not addressed in this Regulation.
    1. Any reference to the Federation's Charter or any of its regulations shall be a reference to those systems and regulations in force at the time of application.
    1. This Regulation stipulates the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the Federation, clubs, officials, and players in the competition.
    1. This Regulation, along with all decisions, instructions, and circulars approved by the Federation's Board of Directors related to the competition, shall be binding on all persons subject to this Regulation.
    1. The Federation shall organize and manage the competition and shall handle the commercial, marketing, and media affairs of the competition in accordance with the Federation's Charter, the Regulation of Competitions and Championships, this Regulation, and other Federation regulations.

Chapter 2: Participation, Competition Law

Article 2: Participation

    1. Forty (40) clubs participate in the competition, divided into four groups, each group comprising ten (10) clubs.
    1. The Committee shall determine the clubs eligible to participate in the competition in accordance with the mechanism stipulated in the relevant Federation regulations.
    1. In the event of approval to increase or decrease the number of clubs in the competition, the Committee shall issue its decision regarding the implementation mechanism and the commencement date thereof.
    1. In the event of a club’s withdrawal due to force majeure, or before the official competition schedule is issued, the following shall apply:
    • 1/4: If the withdrawing club is one of the clubs promoted to the competition, the club next in ranking shall be promoted.
    • 2/4: If the withdrawing club is one of the competition clubs or one of the relegated clubs, the highest-ranked club among the relegated clubs in the group stage shall participate.
    1. Subject to the sanctions stipulated in the Disciplinary and Ethics Regulations regarding a club’s withdrawal or abstention after the official competition schedule is issued, the subparagraphs of paragraph (4) of this article shall apply to the mechanism for selecting a replacement club for the withdrawing club from this competition.

Chapter 3: Technical Procedures

Article 4: Suspension Due to Warnings (Yellow Cards) and Expulsion (Red Cards)

    1. Without prejudice to the provisions of the Discipline and Ethics Regulations, the following shall apply:
    • 1/1: If a player or official receives (4) four warnings in different matches in the competition; they shall be automatically suspended from participating in the next match.
    • 2/1: If a player or official is sent off with a red card (direct or indirect dismissal); they shall be automatically suspended from participating in the next match unless a decision is issued by the Discipline and Ethics Committee specifying the details of the penalty.
    1. In the event of cancellation, replay, or non-completion of any match, the relevant articles in the Discipline and Ethics Regulations concerning warnings and dismissals shall apply.
    1. Each club shall be responsible for monitoring the number of warnings and dismissals of its players and officials and ensuring their eligibility to participate in matches.
    1. If any player or official transfers or is loaned to another club, they shall retain their record of yellow and red cards during the competition matches.
    1. The remaining provisions contained in the Discipline and Ethics Regulations shall apply in this regard, including but not limited to: the mechanism for transferring cards between different competitions and the mechanism for transferring cards from one season to another.

Chapter 4: Team Roster

Article 5: Eligibility of Players

  1. Each club must register no fewer than (16) sixteen players and no more than (25) twenty-five players in the team roster, through the Federation's electronic system (MySAFF), taking into account the conditions related to the ages and numbers of players in accordance with paragraph (4) of Article (30) of the Competitions and Championships Regulations.

  2. Each club may include any player classified in the rosters of lower divisions than the first team grade in each match of the competition, whether they are Saudi, born players, professionals, or amateurs (with no upper limit), provided that the number of born players does not exceed the allowed limit in the championship roster as stated in paragraph (1) of this article.

  3. The number of substitute players in the match roster shall be a minimum of (5) five players and a maximum of (9) nine players.

Chapter 5: Financial Costs

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