County Cup games are a thing. In theory, as well as opening/closing dates for whatever leagues you do, you should also be closing dates with County FA for any games (such as county cups) that they appoint for.
You're right to say that their knowledge of your availability for grassroots leagues can be a bit hit-and-miss - depending on how your CFA runs things, all my availability goes through Central Appointments, which has up and down sides. But without that, it only makes any issues with county games stand out even more, as having to come off one of those will be one negative data point in a much smaller pool of positive interactions.
