HAMPSHIRE side Basingstoke Town have been removed from the North Hampshire Cup. The decision was made due to the club allegedly fielding two ineligible players from their academy against Broughton in the semi final.
The club stated: ‘We are very surprised by this decision and disagree with the outcome. The matter relates to the eligibility of two academy players. Both players, who featured against Broughton F.C. in the semi-final, also featured in the previous round of the competition in our victory over Whitchurch United F.C. We acted throughout in line with our understanding of the rules as written in the North Hants Divisional Football Association Handbook 2025/26.’
Despite both players being ruled ineligible, Challenge Cup Rule 15 states: “A player having played in one match in the Competition for which he was qualified, shall be entitled to play for the same team in any subsequent match in the competition, provided he is not rendered ineligible by the Rules of the Competition.”
Both players played in the previous round of the North Hampshire Cup which they were qualified for as per Rule 42. This was the only previous round of this competition that the club were drawn in.
Rule 42: “In this competition, a registered player is one who is either, on the case of a player who is under written contract, registered with The Football Association, or in the case of a player without a written contract, registered with a league in which his club competes in the current season.“
Both players are registered with the Southern League which Basingstoke play in.
The club will be making a formal appeal to Hampshire FA and won’t be making any further comments.
