The Old Quality League (O45s/O55s) – Season Overview

Lewes FC Vets will again run the Over-45s/Over-55s Old Quality Leagues on Sundays, 4–6pm, from September to May. The season usually ends with a tournament, and in previous years one has been hosted at the Dripping Pan.

The League offers Veteran players a different kind of football experience: well-organised, great fun, competitive in the right way, and built on our core values of compassion, fairness and inclusivity. We expect 4–6 teams in each category.

Conduct – The Old Quality Spirit

All players are asked to read our Club–Player Contract. By taking part in an OQL fixture, players are considered to have agreed to it.

Matches must be played in the Old Quality Spirit:

• Stay on your feet – no slide tackles.

• Remember the poem “We Build Friendship Here.”

• Prioritise safety, respect and enjoyment.

• A simple guiding principle applies: Don’t be a dick.

Old Quality football is not about shithousery, verbal aggro or unnecessary physicality. We are not FA-affiliated and have no disciplinary machinery behind us – we only have each other. Your teammates and opponents all have families, jobs and responsibilities to return to. Physical or psychological harm is the opposite of what we’re here to create.

Players who cannot uphold Old Quality Spirit will not be selected for the League. Referees are encouraged to use sin bins and cards freely to support learning and maintain the culture. Players must be willing to resolve conflict, own their mistakes, and shake hands at the end.

At the same time, we absolutely want competitive, joyful, witty, good-humoured football. Banter, camaraderie, consensual hugs and gentlemanly conduct are strongly encouraged.
This is how we nurture Old Quality Spirit.
We build friendship here.

Nuts and Bolts

• Match fees: £100 per team. Any surplus after 3G hire and referee costs goes to the Lewes Football Foundation, supporting community teams and improving local football facilities.

• Managers: Must pass on League communications, confirm squad availability by Thursday, and work cooperatively in any conflict-resolution processes.

• Poem: Teams take turns reading the poem before kick-off. Players are expected to arrive on time for this – dropping in late undermines the shared effort that makes the League work.

• Care and safety: Players should look after each other if injuries occur. Each team will have a nominated first-aider.

• Match duties: Teams must provide a linesperson, collect any balls that go over the fence, and return equipment at the end.

• Appearance: Kits should be uniform, smart, and worn with pride.

• Game structure: Matches pause briefly at 30 and 60 minutes, plus half-time. Squads may use rolling substitutions, shared fairly among up to 16 appropriately-aged players.

We Build Friendship Here

Sunday afternoon

Down at the 3G

Playing Football Together

We Build Friendship Here

We face one another

As our bodies decay

The spectre of sickness and death is upon us

We Build Friendship Here

Can we get fitter?

Maybe, maybe not….

Can we run faster?

Maybe, maybe not…

We Build Friendship Here

Can we learn to pass?

To talk kindly?

To listen?

To read each other and the game?

We Build Friendship Here

Scoring matters, yes, it is good

But the score is not the win

The victory is us, still playing each time

Together

That’s how We Build Friendship Here