A LITTLE-KNOW FA rule has seen football in England BANNED ahead of Euro 2024.
The England national team is gearing up for its European Championship campaign in Germany as it looks to go one better than runners-up at Euro 2020.
That has seen two friendlies - one a 3-0 win against Bosnia & Herzegovina and a second against Iceland - booked before the tournament proper begins on June 14.
However, fans wanting to play football of their own will not be able to do so until after June 30, at least in an 11-a-side capacity.
This is thanks to an FA rule which stops all competitive 11-a-side matches during the "Close Season" - including grassroots and youth level.
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Under the rules, no affiliated teams or referees are allowed to participate in games unless they are expressly given permission to do so.
The rules state: "The Close Season shall be defined as the period between June 1 and June 30 inclusive each year...
"No matches other than those permitted and played in accordance with paragraph (c) of these rules may be played in the Close Season."
They add that only 9v9 and below matches are allowed in June, including festival and single matches.
Among the other allowances to play 11v11 are fixtures organised privately as a clubs sports day, matches played between the Army, Navy, RAF and Auxiliary Forces whilst in camp and for charity events.
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That means Soccer Aid is obviously not under threat.
Matches for national representative teams under Fifa or Uefa are permitted too, hence why the Three Lions and Lionesses are able to play international matches this month.
Gareth Southgate's squad have their final warm-up match this Friday, before kicking off the tournament on June 16th against Serbia.
In that time, Southgate will need to cut his provisional 33-player team down to 26.
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The likes of Eberechi Eze and Cole Palmer laid down their credentials for a spot on the plane in the 3-0 win in last night's match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
