Parent's Guide to Basketball England Junior National League U12-U18 2026/27

Playing up. A player can play in their own age group and any older one, but each age group has a minimum age:

More than one team. An under-18 player can be licensed for at most two teams at once, across all competitions (Junior NBL, Senior NBL and the British championships). The two teams must be in different age groups or competitions. They can change during the season through an intra-club transfer.

A junior player whose club also has a "parent" senior team may only play senior National League basketball for that senior team.

Fielding a player who breaks these rules means the fixture is forfeited and the club is fined.

Two things, both arranged through the club on Basketball England's online registration system:

1. Individual membership of Basketball England.
2. A National Competitions Licence for their team.

Basketball England normally processes a complete licence application within seven business days, and may ask for extra documents, such as a transfer request if your child is moving from another club (a parent or guardian must request this for players under 18) or international clearance if they were registered with a federation outside England.

Fees are non-refundable once the season has started. eScoring is mandatory in the NBL, so only eligible, licensed players can be added to the scoresheet.

The Junior NBL has Under 18, Under 16, Under 14 and Under 12 leagues, with boys' (or men's) and girls' (or women's) competitions, plus an Under 12 Mixed league. There are also Under 18 and Under 16 national cups.

Some rules (zone defence, pressing and All Must Play) differ between these levels, so check which level your child's team is in.

Junior NBL games are played under the FIBA Official Basketball Rules unless Basketball England's regulations say otherwise:

• Four quarters of 10 minutes, with 2-minute breaks after the 1st and 3rd quarters.
• Half-time: 10 minutes for junior fixtures (15 for seniors). Both teams can agree with the officials to shorten it; if they disagree, the longer time asked for applies, up to the maximum.
• Time-outs: 2 in the first half and 3 in the second half (no more than 2 of these once the clock shows 2:00 or less in the 4th quarter), plus 1 in each overtime. Unused time-outs don't carry over.
• Shot clock: a visible 24/14-second shot clock is required in Under 18 and Under 16 Premier leagues.

Games are normally played on Saturdays or Sundays, and the court must be available for warm-up 20 minutes before tip-off.

In some leagues, yes: Basketball England's All Must Play rule applies in Under 12 Girls, Under 12 Mixed, Under 14 Girls Conference, Under 14 Boys Conference and Under 16 Boys Regional. It doesn't apply in promotion playoffs or cup games between a Conference team and a Premier team. In other leagues, playing time is the coach's decision.

How All Must Play works:

• The 1st and 3rd quarters are split into two 5-minute periods. The clock stops at 5:00 for substitutions only (it isn't a time-out), and the team that had the ball keeps it.
• 10 players: every player must play one 5-minute period in both the 1st and 3rd quarters. Nobody can play both periods of those quarters.
• 11 or 12 players: the coach decides when (or whether) to use the 11th and 12th players, outside the 1st and 3rd quarters.
• 9 or fewer: the team follows Basketball England's rotational schedule for the 1st and 3rd quarters, giving each numbered player their periods. The coach hands the list to the table officials before the game.
• If a player is injured or fouls out and the team has fewer than 10, the coach chooses who fills the place, sharing minutes equally.

A team that plays a fixture with fewer than 8 players can be fined.

It depends on the age group and level:

Zone (or combination) defence

• Under 16 and Under 18 Conference: zone allowed in the 1st and 3rd quarters only. Man-to-man is compulsory in the 2nd and 4th quarters.
• Under 16 and Under 18 Premier: no restrictions. This also applies to girls' junior leagues where there is only one tier.
• Under 16 Regional, all Under 14 and all Under 12: no zone at all. Man-to-man is compulsory.

Full-court press

• A team may not full-court press while leading by 20 points or more in Under 16 Conference and Regional, Under 14 Conference, and all Under 12 competitions.

When a Conference team plays a Premier team in a playoff or cup game, the higher league's rules apply, so zone and pressing are allowed throughout.

Basketball England uses an in-game sanction, applied by the referees:

1. First breach: the crew chief calls an "officials' time-out", brings both coaches and the other referee to the centre circle, and gives a verbal warning to stop the zone or full-court press. The coaches then get an extra 30 seconds to pass this on to their players.
2. Any further breach: the coach is given a bench technical foul ("B"). The other team gets one free throw, then play resumes.
3. Ejection: a coach is not ejected until they have three "B" technical fouls on the scoresheet.

All National League games must use Basketball England's official Wilson match ball in these sizes:

Teams bring their own practice balls, which must also be the relevant Wilson official game ball. The crew chief approves the match ball at least 20 minutes before tip-off, and a ball from a different competition can't be used.

The home club appoints the referees and table officials, to these minimums:

Table officials (including the shot clock operator) range from two Level 1 officials at Under 12 games to three officials (Level 3+, Level 2 and Level 1) at Under 18 and Under 16 Premier games.

Rules for home-appointed referees:

• They must be fully licensed with Basketball England.
• A referee under 18 must work with a co-official who is at least 18, licensed and qualified to Level 2 or above.
• No siblings or family members taking part in the fixture, and nobody registered to play in the same competition.
• The crew chief must be independent of the home club.

Basketball England may appoint the crew chief itself, and appoints neutral referees from the playoff quarter-finals and junior national cup semi-finals onwards. If a home club breaks these rules, the game is forfeited to the other team and the club is fined.

For Basketball England's National League competitions (including the Junior NBL):

• Coaching award: every coach, including assistant coaches, must hold at least the Basketball England Level 2 Coach Award.
• DBS check: anyone registering in regulated activity with children (coaches, assistant coaches, accompanying delegation members and officials) needs a clear enhanced DBS check, valid for three years. An unclear certificate is risk assessed individually.
• Safeguarding training: the same people must complete Basketball England safeguarding training, unless previously approved training is already validated on their member profile.
• Membership and licence: coaches, like players, must be individual members of Basketball England and hold a National Competitions Licence.

Players. Under the FIBA rules, a player who reaches 5 fouls must leave the game. A player is disqualified for two flagrant fouls, two category 1 technical fouls, one of each, or a disqualifying foul.

When a Junior NBL player (of any age) is disqualified, a coach or bench person licensed to that team and club must take them out of the sports hall and stay with them. If nobody is available, the player must stay in the hall on the opposite side of the court from their bench and must not communicate with either team or the officials. Any further incident is taken into account in a later disciplinary investigation.

Coaches. If a coach is disqualified and no suitably qualified, licensed assistant coach is listed on the scoresheet, the game is stopped and the team loses by default. If the other team was ahead, the score at that point stands; otherwise the result is recorded as 2-0 to them.

Junior NBL teams are expected to travel with at least two appropriate adults, in line with Basketball England's Safeguarding Policy.

Bleeding: the referees must send any player who is bleeding or has an open wound off the court. They can come back only once the bleeding has stopped and the wound is completely and securely covered.

Head injury: if a player shows signs of a head injury, the referees must stop the game straight away, whichever team has the ball and wherever it is. A player showing signs or symptoms of concussion must be taken out of the game by their coach, and coaches must follow Basketball England's concussion guidance.

Yes. Spectators may not use air horns (including vuvuzelas) or whistles at Junior NBL games. The crew chief (lead referee) has the authority to stop the game and tell the game day delegate or home team to remove them.