2. FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT

2.1 THE FA NATIONAL FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

The Football Development team direct their activities towards the growth of football and the safeguarding of the game's future. It aims to increase participation at all levels and put in place the platform to allow players of all standards to realise their potential.

At the turn of the century, evidence existed to suggest that the grassroots game had fallen into decline in terms of both participation and the standard of facilities.

The FA’s response was to launch The FA Football Development Strategy, through the newly formed National Game division, to address these issues.

The Strategy identified four priority areas which have seen the national game move from strength to strength over the last four years:

• 14% growth in mini-soccer • 38% growth in boys’ youth football • 49% growth in girls’ football • 43% growth in small-sided (5/6/7-a-side football)

2.1.1 CLUB DEVELOPMENT

The two-tier FA Charter Standard Club award was introduced as a ‘kite-marking’ scheme to recognise best practice in delivering football within clubs.

2000 clubs have now attained FA Charter Standard Club status signifying the provision of qualified coaches, child protection training and policies, codes of conduct and a development plan of their own.

Sitting above the basic FA Charter Standard award, The FA Charter Standard Development award represents the pinnacle of the club development pathway and aims to develop a network of high quality, multi team (a minimum of 10) FA Community Clubs with excellent social, training and playing facilities. These clubs form the ‘hub’ for the community – a focal point for all those who play, coach, administer and provide volunteer support.

FA Community Clubs are the ideal medium where football can deliver in line with the broader social agenda. Therefore FA Community Clubs, and thus facility developments, operate a system of prioritised investment in areas of the greatest need – i.e. in inner city areas and areas of deprivation.

200 clubs have now reached the pinnacle of the club development pathway by achieving The FA Community Club award.

2.1.2 EDUCATION

All children, whatever their circumstances or abilities, should be able to participate in and enjoy physical education and sport. Accordingly the Strategy aims to develop football provision from Primary Schools right the way through to Higher Education. FA CHARTER STANDARD SCHOOLS A similar award to the club development Charter Standard award scheme has been developed to recognise best practice in delivering football within schools.

The FA Charter Standard Schools award focuses on coaching qualifications, equal opportunities for boys and girls, delivering the FA TOP Sport Football Programme at Key Stages 2 and forming school/club links to provide pathways for children wanting to progress into playing within the club sector. Over 2,500 schools have now achieved the award.

THE DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION AND SKILLS (DFES) DfES is currently promoting the vision of maintained secondary schools developing their own distinctive character and ethos and has set a target of 400 schools achieving Sports College status by 2005. The FA’s target is that 30% of these Sports Colleges deliver football to both boys and girls as a focus sport both in curriculum and out of school hours.

OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS LEARNING (OSHL) This programme aims to engage primary aged students in football activity from specific target groups that may otherwise not participate in physical activity. This could include students with low physical literacy skills or young people with disabilities. The programme will be integrally linked to the School-Club Link strategies within the counties to support the transition from school to club football. The programme offers coaches working in education and teachers further skills and resources to support OSHL programmes.

SCHOOL-CLUB LINKS A fundamental theme underpinning all football development is supporting young people to move from school-based football to a suitable club opportunity. The FA provides funding and resources, via the 3 Lions FC programme, to help schools and clubs broker sustainable relationships and develop high quality school-club links. Delivery takes place within School Sport Partnership areas across the country, with many key sporting and football agencies engaged in the programme.

JUNIOR FOOTBALL ORGANISERS COURSE The FA’s Junior Football Organisers course is designed to support teachers to offer training to young people aged 14-18 to provide specific knowledge and skills for working with players aged 6-11 to deliver safe, fun and progressive football practices and mini-soccer games. County FAs provide local training courses for teachers to enable them to familiarise themselves with the course before delivering to their students. 10,000 young leaders have now completed the course.

THE CHARTER STANDARD COLLEGE SCHEME The FA continues its support through to further and higher levels of education ensuring that people do not stop playing the game once they leave school.

The FA Charter Standard Colleges programme supports FE colleges and Sixth Form colleges in England who are committed to using football as a medium to deliver sport and raise academic achievement.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 14 The FA Charter Standard Colleges programme has been designed to support colleges to:

• Encourage young people to return or continue in education using football as the medium toengage them • Raise standards in academic achievement • Engage young people in learning through sport • Provide opportunities for males and females to continue playing after leaving school • Provide opportunities for males and females to pursue FA coaching award so they may play a valued role with the development of community football • Provide links to quality FA kitemarked clubs • Provide life long learning skills such as teamwork, discipline and cooperation

The FA is keen to recognise and reward Charter Standard Colleges both on a national and a local level and they will be highlighted and invited to participate in various events at every opportunity. Some of the benefits of being a Charter Standard College are:

• Free equipment • Tickets to youth and women’s games for students • Charter Standard newsletter • Regional and national awards • Individual student awards • Use of the FA Charter Standard Logo • Projecting a positive commitment to sport in your community to parents/carers, students and teachers.

Further Education Colleges, Sixth Form Colleges and Higher Education (non university status) institutions are eligible to apply.

UP FOR THE CUP Up For The Cup is a comprehensive cross-curricular resource supporting the Key Stage 2 Curriculum for History, Geography, Art and Design, the framework for PSHE and the Literacy and Numeracy strategies.

ENGLISH SCHOOLS FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (ESFA) The ESFA is the governing body which organises schools football throughout the country in partnership with The FA. The ESFA aims to provide enjoyable soccer experiences for both Primary and Secondary school children by offering competitions ranging from mini-soccer for under-11 footballers through to the 11-a-side game for older pupils from Year 8 upwards.

Further information on the work of the ESFA can be found here: www.esfa.co.uk 2.1.3 DEVELOPING VOLUNTEERS

Chancellor Gordon Brown designated 2005 as the Year of the Volunteer and football relies heavily on the support of volunteers, especially at National Game level. Recent research from Sport England estimated that there are 431,000 volunteers, comprising nearly half of all sports volunteers in the country.

The FA has twice won Sport England’s award for the Best Volunteer Programme.

THE FOOTBALL WORKFORCE The Football Workforce helps clubs to: recruit more volunteers into football; retain volunteers within the sport and help them to work smarter, not harder.

Over 6,000 clubs and 50,000 volunteers have already benefited from the programme. Participating clubs can access certificates for their volunteers as well as being able to nominate volunteers for Regional and National Awards.

A mother-of-four who plays a vital role in running a youth football club in North London and a 17-year-old who set up a new team for youngsters at his local club in Gateshead were among the 2005 winners of the FA Football Workforce awards.

To support the programme, every County FA has a Football Workforce co-ordinator to provide practical help.

EFFECTIVE FOOTBALL CLUB ADMINISTRATOR COURSE To further help the development of volunteers, The FA also provides seven short courses, which are delivered locally by the County FAs.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 16 2.1.4 EQUITY AND INCLUSION

The Football Association is determined to ensure that everyone has a chance to be involved in football, regardless of ability, race or religion.

Full details of our ‘Football for All’ campaign can be found in a separate section within this resource.

2.1.5 SIR TREVOR BROOKING Q&A – CHARTER STANDARD

There are now 2,700 Clubs and 2,500 schools who have been awarded the Charter Standard status by The FA. The Charter Standard gives parents a clear sign of a quality football environment for their child and also helps Clubs and Schools to attract funding.

The FA’s Director of Football Development Sir Trevor Brooking explains the importance of Charter Standard in developing the next generation of footballers.

Q. What is the role of Charter Standard in developing football in England?

A. We need to set standards of delivery in the grassroots game. We need to give youngsters the opportunities to improve and qualified coaches are the best people to do this. If the opportunities to keep playing are available, then their skill level will improve. We need a workforce that understands encouragement and support rather than having a representation of the worst elements of the men’s game.

Q. Can the Charter Standard scheme help develop better players?

A. Absolutely. Charter Standard gives us the opportunity to focus on the coaching workforce, whether it’s a mum or dad at Level 1 or someone at the higher levels. We are looking at how we offer skills coaching expertise into Charter Standard clubs as a clear benefit to those who have achieved the Award. Thanks to Charter Standard, there has been a huge growth in the number of boys and in particular girls playing mini soccer but we still have a challenge to stop the massive drop-out at the ages of 16 to 25.

Q. Why is it important to target good coaching in junior clubs specifically?

A. Well, I do believe the technical aspect is a crucial one. We need to get five to 11-year- olds to the level where they are as good as they can be. That might mean ensuring someone who is bad gets to the level of not bad. If the player at the age of 11 has improved their technical skills through good coaching then they are more likely to stay in the game long term either as a player, coach or volunteer. We are seeing players dropping out at Secondary School level because they have not been taught how to develop their skills – and five to 11 is such a crucial learning time for all children playing sport. Q. How important is the Charter Standard as a mark of quality for parents?

A. Parents should always look for the Charter Standard when choosing a club. Most parents do want an organised, safe structure and want us to help them improve clubs. We are not going to get back to the culture of my generation of parents letting their children play on their own in the park for hours. We need to have structured opportunities to play, like after school clubs and quality club training sessions.

Q. What role can parents play in Charter Standard clubs?

A. A key part of Charter Standard Clubs is the Constitution. This Code of Conduct tells parents and club officials to show respect to players, other teams and referees. We do look to work with the parents to support us in that area.

Q. How can Charter Standard status help a club?

A. One of the big issues for clubs is funding. A lot of government funding is based on the European model of multi-team clubs. We have a tradition in England of football clubs not having many teams and often a club is just made up of one team. Those clubs just cannot attract funding anymore from a lot of the lottery and government schemes. It is the multi- team and multi-sport clubs that offer community use of facilities that now get the funding. The Charter Standard model is our way of helping the clubs to achieve high standards of delivery for the benefit of the players and coaches, but also of ensuring they can access funding by following the multi-team model. The clubs that have followed this route have been able to attract more funding.

Q. How does The FA support Charter Standard Clubs?

A. We have a massive workforce out there in the Counties helping Clubs to achieve the Charter Standard and then supporting them as they develop. We provide equipment when clubs reach the Charter, free or subsidised coaching courses and tickets to international matches.

But we also need to make it meaningful for those individuals who take on the Charter Standard philosophy and ensure the sustainability of their delivery. Of course, it becomes harder when clubs grow their number of teams and there is a bigger need for pitches.

We are looking to local authorities and schools to give more support to Charter Standard Clubs by offering them more sites for teams to play on.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 18 2.2 GET INTO FOOTBALL

The FA launched a national campaign at the end of May which aims to inspire football fans of all ages to do more than just watch the Three Lions this summer from the comfort of their own sofa.

Get into Football is the first campaign aimed at promoting The FA’s football development work and will make sure everyone has a chance of being involved in the national game, whether as a player, coach, referee or volunteer. The campaign also encompasses disability football, football in schools, girls’ and women’s football and small-sided football.

Every four years, television companies unveil their viewing figures, telling us that between 20-25 million football 'fans' stop what they're doing to watch England games on TV, but The FA is aware that only a small percentage of those people actively take any part in the national game.

The Get into Football campaign features 10 'faces of the game' from England vice captain Michael Owen, England women’s player Eniola Aluko and David Clarke of the England Blind Team, to real people from football - local coaches, volunteers, first-aiders and mums.

Their images feature on posters, advertising and postcards which will be seen around the country in McDonald’s restaurants, JJB Sports stores, sports centres and cinemas. Football is great for maintaining fitness, but with increasing numbers of children and families opting to play on their computers or watch their televisions, it’s easy to forget there’s nothing like playing the game for real.

The FA has called on its 270 football development officers from all over the country to publicise, coordinate and facilitate local opportunities through their roles at the local County Football Association. Everyone, regardless of race, age, religion or gender will be invited to sign up for the campaign and Get into Football this summer.

As well as getting more people into the game, The FA is using the campaign to teach kids ‘fair play’ so they recognise the importance of respecting their opponents and the officials on the pitch. Parents who support their sons and daughters from the sidelines will also be targeted.

Sir Trevor Brooking, The FA’s Head of Technical Development, is fully behind the initiative. Speaking before Sven took his side to Germany, he said: “This is a hugely important campaign for The FA which we hope will encourage and inspire boys, girls, men and women from all walks to get involved in the game.

“Theo Walcott was 10 years old before he took up the game and at the age of 17 he is going to the World Cup. That should act as an inspiration to millions of children, but the game can be equally rewarding whatever your ability, as well as being a way of forming friendships that can last a lifetime.”

For more information on Get into Football please visit www.TheFA.com/getintofootball 2.3 ETHICS & EQUITY

THE FA ‘FOOTBALL FOR ALL’ CAMPAIGN To help communicate The FA’s ethics and sports equity portfolio we created Football For All. This proudly sits under The FA crest and encompasses our work in areas such as race equality, diversity, faith, social inclusion, anti-homophobia and our opposition to abuse and discrimination.

Not everyone can play for England, but everyone must have the chance to be involved in football, regardless of ability, race or religion. It’s about encouraging and increasing the involvement of groups at all levels of football by recognising that inequalities exist and taking steps to address them.

In practice this means, for example, ensuring abuse and discrimination is reported, investigated and punished. It means providing guidance on disability access to grounds or County FAs and then going beyond the statutory requirements by providing examples of best practice that allow those with a disability to not only watch games but also to participate as players, administrators or in other roles.

Football for All also means delivering on other agendas such as health, building safer and stronger communities and fostering social inclusion. The campaign also plays a key role in representation, campaigning, lobbying and governance – investigating abuse cases for example. The FA’s Football for All campaign is ultimately about ensuring that diversity and fairness are welcomed and embraced so that The FA is truly representative of the community it serves.

The campaign has provided guidance on the Disability Discrimination Act, ensuring everyone can access facilities. Furthermore, it has targeted coaching and refereeing courses in areas where there is under-representation of women, people with a disability and ethnic minorities.

Our Ethics & Sports Equity Strategy outlines in detail the work that The FA is doing to combat discrimination, and to promote diversity and opportunity at all levels of the game. Summaries of the various strands of the Football for All campaign taken from the Ethics & Sports Equity Strategy are provided below.

2.3.1 RACE EQUALITY

The fight against racism in football in England has had many successes. Football stadiums are no longer seen as places where expressions of racism are as frequently heard. The practice of political parties of the far-right using football as a propaganda tool has been broken. A great deal of work is also underway to encourage community groups and clubs to work with ethnic minority communities to use the power of football to overcome social and racial exclusion.

The FA is one of a number of funding agencies who support Kick it Out. This organisation has taken the campaign to kick racism out of football forward by working with partners at national, regional and local levels, from the biggest professional clubs, through to community-based amateur clubs, to local schools and education authorities.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 20 However, football in England still faces a number of challenges. For example, some ethnic groups are under-represented as professional players, such as those from an Asian background - descendants of migrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka.

The councils and committees at The FA and in the counties are under-represented by ethnic minorities (as well as women and people with a disability).

Whilst we have a long history of professional black players, stretching back over a hundred years to Arthur Wharton in the 1880s - a goalkeeper from the 'Gold Coast', now Ghana - there is a need to ensure that black players are given support worthy of their talents to make the transition into coaching and management. One notable exception to this is the appointment of Hope Powell as the first black coach to manage the England women’s team in 1998.

In addition, xenophobia and racism expressed by some England fans when travelling abroad represent attitudes that need to be addressed as part of longer-term campaigning work.

A great deal of progress has been made, but there is no room for complacency. The FA is committed to continuing our work in this area and reaching out to achieve the ideals of a game free of racial prejudice and intolerance that reflects our changing society.

LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT The FA is unequivocal about its commitment to tackling racism and its support for racial equality. Equality underpins all FA policy and thinking and is also a key factor in all FA strategic planning. The FA signed the Sporting Equals Racial Equality Charter in 2002, achieving the Preliminary Level in January 2003 and the Intermediate Level in 2005.

As one of the four funding partners of ‘Kick It Out’, we have played a key role in supporting the huge range of activities undertaken in the past years, including:

• Annual national anti-racism weeks of action which, in 2003, featured more than 200 events around the country and included contributions from the England manager. • Taking the campaign to young people through educational initiatives: we have contributed to Kick It Out's wide range of publications and played a major role in a conference on Football, Citizenship and Anti-racism in May 2002, where 250 delegates discussed the role football can play in delivering key educational messages for children. • Supporting grants under the Community Chest scheme for race equality projects

Many groups and organisations are now directly benefiting from The FA's commitment to tackling racism. A recent example was a conference organised by the Martin Shaw King Trust at Highbury in London. Colin King, the conference organiser, praised The FA in his introduction and cited The FA's Ethics and Sports Equity Strategy as one of the most far- reaching in sport.

NATIONAL GAME DIVISION Racial equality action plans are being developed at all levels of the game with objectives and strategies that set clear and appropriate racial equality targets and looking at creative ways of addressing the problems of racism in grassroots football. To recognise and reward good practice across all areas of the Football Development Strategy, The FA established a National Award Scheme in 2002. The categories included best practice in developing football in ethnic minority communities and disability football.

Many County FAs have been involved in supporting the development of football within ethnic minority communities. Just a few of the many examples are shown below.

• Leicestershire and Rutland County FA has pioneered a Level One McDonald's Coaching Course specifically for minority ethnic communities. This involves the development of women coaches from black and Asian communities. The work in Leicester builds on the success of the mini-soccer programme run with Leicester City's Football in the Community. • In Cambridgeshire the County FA has helped the local Chinese community establish a team that is now playing affiliated football in the Cambridge University league. The club is now working towards Charter Standard and in particular wants to focus on developing opportunities for children. The County FA has also worked with Chinese refugees and the homeless in Cambridge to create a new football festival. • Working with Manchester City Council, the County FA used football to bring together refugee communities. An adult team with players from countries such as Iraq, Iran and Bosnia first came together for a tournament and has now moved on to become a successful 11-a-side team in an affiliated league. The club, Unity FC, includes several players who have represented their countries at international level and a number are now working on Level 2 coaching awards. • The success of London FA's Asians in Football mini soccer at West Ham has now seen the idea reproduced and developed. Partnership between the County FAs and Football in the Community has seen projects blossom at West Bromwich Albion, Bradford City and Leicester City. In Bedford, the County FA has taken the concept into schools leading to greater awareness and respect of different communities. • In Birmingham, the County FA has pioneered a Girls' Schools League in the inner-city area with high representation from minority ethnic communities. With teams competing at under 13 and under 15, the league is now in its second full year with 32 teams and nearly 500 girls involved.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 22 INTERNATIONAL ACTION The FA has made the clearest possible statement on its opposition to racism at international level. Football is the world game, played in every nation by every race, colour and creed. But in England, as in many other European countries, it has also played host to some of the worst racial abuse and harassment in society.

ANTI-RACISM AND VIOLENCE ACTIVITIES AT ENGLAND GAMES The FA believes fans' behaviour is improving. There are more families, more women and girls at matches. There is also a belief that The FA is working to eliminate racism.

We have confirmed publicly that we will hand over to the Police all CCTV footage and still camera footage of anyone we believe to be committing racist or violent acts inside the stadium before, during or after the match.

In order to raise the profile of anti-racism messages for an international friendly with Serbia and Montenegro at Leicester City in 2003, The FA used Sven Goran Eriksson's and Michael Owen's pre-match news conferences on Sunday 1 June 2003 and Monday 2 June 2003 respectively to make clear the potentially serious consequences of further bad behaviour from England fans. These messages received widespread publicity.

In a further unprecedented step, David Beckham made a direct TV and radio appeal to fans in a specially recorded 60 second message which was released to all TV and radio networks on 2 June 2003, at 5pm. This unique appeal received widespread print and broadcast media pre-publicity.

In a direct appeal to the fans in the stadium, a special leaflet was attached to every one of the 32,000 seats. This leaflet was also circulated to the media with the taped message from David Beckham.

Also within the stadium, we converted some of our regular perimeter boards to carry our anti-racism message, while our match programme re-iterated our theme in Sven's message.

COLLABORATION The FA has met with the ‘Kick it Out’ anti-racism campaign managers and with supporter groups to discuss the issue of anti-social behaviour at our matches. We will continue to work with ‘Kick it Out’ and other groups - as we have done in the past – as they have important roles to play in this campaign. The FA cannot solve the problems it faces on its own and is grateful for the help it receives.

Likewise, we intend to step up our co-operation and collaboration with the Government, Police and the National Criminal Intelligence Service to ensure that they have access to key information, photographic images and, where appropriate CCTV.

We are urging the Courts to impose the maximum sentences and punishments on anyone convicted of a racist, violent or anti-social offence at our matches.

We have also established partnerships with many clubs and their own anti-racism groups, for example Foxes Against Racism at Leicester City.

The FA has also made a clear commitment to working with minority ethnic community media outlets. For example a number of interviews have been undertaken with the BBC Asian Network, Sunrise Radio, Sabras Sound as well as newspapers and magazines The FA is absolutely determined to rid the game of football of racist, violent and anti-social behaviour and therefore intends to keep the pressure on as best we can. Our campaign will continue and much of this activity will be repeated or varied for future games.

EUROPE The FA has in recent years sought to play a strong role in Europe by encouraging a greater awareness of the need to deal with racism in the game at the European level. As a member of the FARE network the governing body was represented at both the inaugural conference in Vienna in 1999 and at the launch at the European parliament in 2000.

The FA has taken an active role in working with UEFA and other authorities to address incidents of racist abuse at matches involving English teams. Examples include a European Under-21 international fixture in Barcelona in 2000 and games involving English teams in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup during the current season. FA security advisors attending matches have a specific brief to provide evidence for UEFA’s disciplinary process.

In March 2003 The FA hosted the UEFA conference Unite Against Racism. This was held at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground with over 50 countries represented. Europe's top clubs were united in their condemnation of racism and determination to promote common solutions across the continent. The delegates heard from Gerhard Eigner, the UEFA chief executive and Piara Power from Kick It Out. England is considered to be leading the way in fighting racism in football.

RULES AND REGULATIONS The FA has a direct role to play in tackling racism through the application of rules and regulations. We have introduced a number of amendments to our rules and regulations to ensure that effective measures can be taken against racist behaviour in the game, both on and off the pitch. FA Rules specifically cover discrimination in all its forms as a key element concerning conduct, as follows:

LAWS OF THE GAME Guidance has been issued to referees that racist remarks constitute a dismissal offence in accord with Law 12. The use of offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures and must be punished accordingly.

RULES OF THE ASSOCIATION RULE E.2: A Participant shall not use any one or combination of the following: violent, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.

RULE E.3: A Participant shall not carry out any act which is discriminatory by reason of ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disability.

GUIDANCE FOR PUNISHMENTS FOR DISCIPLINARY COMMISSIONS Guidance for offences under Rule E2 are listed in The FA’s Handbook and circulated directly to every player in the FA Premier League and the Football League. Where a racist factor has been accepted or proved, then for the first offence the suspension and fine is doubled, and for a second offence, trebled. Any subsequent offence proved should result in a substantial period of suspension from all football-related activities together with a fine.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 24 The Guidance for Punishments for Disciplinary Commissions outlines measures for dealing with cases where discrimination is proved: "the discrimination offence should be seen as serious, with double the penalty being the minimum for the discrimination charge being proved."

RESEARCH The FA has commissioned research in a number of areas to ensure that we are as informed as possible and have valid evidence on which to base our plans. These include:

• Research that explores the England experience from a fan’s perspective • Child protection research which includes information on racist attitudes and the experience of children with a disability • Football Trends • Junior Football Surveys

What is clear from the research is that The FA's work is being noticed and has an effect. The long-term strategy of tackling racism at all levels underpins The FA's position.

2.3.2 HOMOPHOBIA

The FA is totally committed to tackling all forms of discrimination and harassment, including homophobia. We have already made considerable progress in tackling discrimination and have been working hard to ensure equality at all levels of the game.

The FA’s opposition to homophobia has been clearly set out. Along with race and disability discrimination, it is punishable with sanctions which include abusive players being banned from the game.

However, The FA stress that running alongside the threat of any sanctions, is a belief in encouraging inclusion.

Organisations such as UEFA, the Dutch Sport Federation (NCS) and the Spanish Football Association have asked for guidance from The FA on our approach, which operates under the Football for All banner.

The Council of Europe is also calling for all 42 members to sign up to a clear policy opposing homophobia. In addition, The FA has been praised by the European and British Gay and Lesbian Sport Federations for making clear our policies on tackling homophobia.

The FA’s commitment to opposing homophobia at all levels of football has led to the backing of ‘Gaffer!’ a play which raises issues around homophobia and has been widely praised by critics and audiences.

THE FA’S HOMOPHOBIA SUMMIT The FA recently provided a lead on combating homophobia in football at the Moving Football Forward conference at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry last November. The summit aimed to promote a more tolerant footballing society, as well as challenging existing stereotypes.

A recent survey found that 59% of European citizens feel that sport is a way of countering all forms of discrimination and thus football clubs have an obligation to break down barriers and stamp out prejudice. Speaking at the conference Brighton & Hove Albion FC’s Chief Executive, Martin Perry, explained that the aim is not to remove the passion or humour from the game but instead to improve the spectator experience as a whole and lose the ‘blokey’ image.

He went on to suggest that this would require a cultural change that could be facilitated by introducing proposals such as:

• Requiring Premier League and Football League clubs to amend the standard Ground Regulations displayed at all clubs in Licensed Football Grounds to ensure that homophobicchanting, like racist abuse and the use of foul and abusive language, is an offence. • Encourage clubs to issue guidelines to all staff, including players, coaching and administrators. Brighton & Hove Albion FC has issued a document called ‘Dignity at Work’ to all of its employees. • Ensuring all coaching courses, including ‘UEFA’ licence and stewards training courses, have modules on homophobia and discrimination.

Brighton & Hove Albion FC is not the only club to have taken the message on board. Manchester City FC has established the "One City" initiative to encourage social inclusion amongst diverse communities throughout Greater Manchester. Manchester City FC work with the local lesbian and gay community by offering football coaching for Village Manchester FC (one of England’s premier gay football clubs) and tours of the City of Manchester Stadium during the city’s annual Pride event.

The FA hopes that summits such as this help to change perceptions in football and that the messages portrayed find a wider audience in modern society.

Our overall Ethics and Sports Equity Strategy has a section on Sexual Identity and the need to ensure compliance with the new sexual identity legislation. This refers to the belief that a holistic approach is best for football in England with the aim of making the game inclusive to all members of the community.

2.3.3 LUCY FAULKNER, FA EQUALITY MANAGER Q&A – HOMOPHOBIA & DISCRIMINATION

Q. What is your personal opinion on homophobia and discrimination against homosexuals?

A. It is unacceptable in all forms. In both in my professional and personal life I believe passionately in fairness. That means discrimination of any kind is wrong. I don’t draw a distinction between homophobia, religious hatred, racial abuse or discrimination on the grounds of disability or sex. There are different ways in effectively tackling these issues, but the principle of equality underpins them all.

Q. Is The FA aware of the effect that homophobia has on individuals?

A. We can’t really speak about the wider society but within football the answer is yes, though we would welcome more studies and reliable testimonies. Very few within football – across the whole spectrum of the game – have raised this issue in the past. The FA has taken a clear lead in saying homophobia is wrong and unacceptable whilst putting it in the wider context of abuse and discrimination.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 26 Q. What policy is there in place to prevent homophobia?

A. Please see the Homophobia booklet referenced in the bibliography which sets out The FA’s position.

Q. Do you think enough is being done to prevent homophobia or should there be more people brave enough to speak up for gay rights within sport?

A. The FA is changing the culture of the sport so that homophobia ceases to be an issue. We are not calling for people to speak up for gay rights. But our view is clear: any individual who does suffer homophobic abuse or discrimination will be supported and action will be taken against those who initiate and perpetrate the abuse. Within the booklet you will see quotes from some professional clubs and we featured Spurs on our website recently praising their stance against homophobia.

Q. Why do you think there aren’t any publicised policies against homophobia like there are against racism, such as Stand Up Speak Up?

A. There are. The FA has taken the lead with our homophobia summits, which have drawn attention to the issues. After discussions with many parties, a softer approach to that taken in racism was advocated. The FA speaks out and makes clear its position, but the feeling from those within the gay community and those groups advocating change, was for a programme that retained a sense of humour. This was raised with regards to some of the homophobic chants on the terraces. It’s a difficult balance but we are moving things forward.

2.3.4 THE FA CHILD PROTECTION CAMPAIGN – ‘GOAL’

‘Goal’ is about allowing children to enjoy the game without abuse of any kind. That means bullying, physical, emotional or sexual abuse and neglect.

The FA takes its role as guardian of the game at all levels very seriously and is committed to using the power of football to build a better future. We have set ourselves the target of installing a level of awareness of child protection and best practice at every club in the country, whether it’s a club at the highest level of the professional game or a local Sunday morning park team.

With this in mind, The FA is working towards qualifications for all. However, it must be understood that immediate introduction would in all likelihood necessitate a substantial loss in the number of volunteers within the game. We rely heavily on the support of volunteers especially at National Game level. Recent research from Sport England estimated that there are 431,000 volunteers working a total of 96 million hours for the benefit of the game.

We have moved to the position of mandatory qualifications at Charter Standard level clubs and this initiative is raising standards. In addition, The FA has made attendance at The FA Child Protection and Best Practice Workshop compulsory for new coaches, referees and medical support staff. This will also apply retrospectively to those who have already qualified. The FA Child Protection and Best Practice Workshop has now been completed by over 100,000 people. In addition, The FA provides Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks for all those in football with access to children. This is another part of the safeguarding jigsaw which ensures football puts children first and makes the welfare of children a priority.

Whilst the point has been made that this administrative process may act as a deterrent for potential coaches, referees or medical staff, we believe the loss is worth it in order to protect children. Indeed, The FA is keen to encourage those in football to wear their CRB and safeguarding credentials as a badge of pride and not see safeguarding children as a chore.

FREEPHONE LINES The FA, in partnership with the NSPCC, provides a 24hr child protection helpline for those needing to report abuse or raise issues on a confidential basis on 0808 800 5000.

The FA also provides a child protection and CRB enquiry line on 0800 085 0506. This provides general information such as where to get guidance on best practice, advice on who needs to get a CRB check completed and how.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 28 THE FA CHILD PROTECTION POLICY Children deserve the chance to play football in a safe and supportive environment that’s free from abuse. Naturally, every parent or carer wants their child to play at a club that does things properly. By having someone who’s successfully completed The FA’s workshop and CRB checks, a club can reflect best practice. By completing the workshop or the guide everyone becomes part of The FA’s campaign to raise standards in football.

The aims of The FA’s Child Protection Policy are:

• To develop a positive and proactive position in order to protect children and young people involved in the game, enabling them to participate in an enjoyable and safe environment. • To deliver quality-assured child protection training with a network of tutors to facilitate this delivery in conjunction with the NSPCC. • To demonstrate best practice in all areas of child protection. • To promote high moral and ethical standards.

The FA Child Protection Policy, Procedures Handbook and further help and guidance are available for download from http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/GOALChildProtection/

2.3.4.1 SUE LAW, HEAD OF EQUALITY & CHILD PROTECTION Q&A

Q. How would you describe the role of your department?

A. It's all about ensuring a safe and enjoyable environment. We want everyone to have a positive experience in football, no matter what their age or ability. We work with key partners to drive football’s policies and strategies to address child protection and the wide range of equality issues in relation to race, gender, disability, homophobia and social inclusion.

Q. What is The FA's philosophy when it comes to equality?

A. The philosophy is simple; it's about Football For All. It's about creating opportunities for more people from different communities to get involved in football at whatever level they aspire to. We want to support people to improve, by gaining football qualifications in coaching and refereeing, and ensure that people know and have access to information on how they can be considered to represent clubs and leagues on committees and councils.

Q. How much progress do you think has been made in this area?

A. We’ve been listening to the views of people from many different groups such as the National Asians in Football Forum and the PFA’s Black Coaches and Managers Forum. We also have advisory groups set up to discuss issues in the areas of race and disability. County FAs are also working to implement positive actions suggested by these groups.

Q. In what ways has The FA made its commitment to child protection?

A. Our approach is two fold - to prevent poor practice and abuse, and to deal with those concerns that are brought to our attention. Prevention is really about raising awareness, building confidence and educating people to ensure that everyone involved in football knows what to do and is ready to act if they have a concern about a child’s welfare. To date 150,000 people have been through FA Child Protection training programmes. Everyone has a responsibility when it comes to child protection, being mindful of our own behaviour (particularly when on the touchline – something many of us easily forget!), and never ignoring a potential concern.

There are clear robust systems in place for individuals to report their concerns to their local County FA who work closely with The FA’s Case Management Team.

Q. What areas are The FA focusing on and what are the main targets for the future?

A. A major focus for us this year is on supporting the County FAs with implementing their equality policies. We have recruited an Equality Coordinator, who will assist Counties with this process.

We're very excited about the appointment of this position. We’re delighted that Brendon Batson will be working with us and the Football Development division to support our commitment to increase the number of black coaches and managers as well as Asian players in the game.

The Abuse and Discrimination reporting line (0800 085 0506) for reporting racist, homophobic abuse for example, is working well and we're working to ensure that we have robust case management procedures, to deal with any harassment, discrimination and abuse complaints that come through.

In Child Protection, we are encouraging all clubs to appoint and train a Child Welfare Officer. (You can read more about that on page 36.) Rolling out further CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checks in football is also a major part of our strategy. It’s vital that people understand that the whole idea of CRB is to ensure that people who have a history of conviction data which indicates that they pose a risk to children are prevented from having access to children in football. 62,000 have been checked to date and this has resulted in a number of permanent suspensions. All of our equality and child protection work is underpinned by our education programme to raise awareness and support change.

2.3.5 ASIANS IN FOOTBALL

The FA is unequivocal about its role in determining that football is free from discrimination and harassment and in promoting the involvement of people from all backgrounds in football.

After the FA Board approved the broad Ethics & Sports Equity Strategy, The FA went on to produce a 5-year development strategy with a clear vision of increasing participation within all sections of society, ensuring that football truly provides opportunities for all. The issue of Asians in football is high on the agenda and needs to be addressed across the game.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 30 2.3.5.1 CO-ORDINATION OF POLICY AND PLANNING

ALL AGENCY REVIEW TEAM The FA leads quarterly meetings, including PFA, LMA, FL and FAPL to look at the implementation of Ethics and Sports Equity with a focus on equal opportunities and race equality. The group has produced a 10-point Action Plan with action and targets agreed for all agencies.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL RACE EQUALITY STANDARD The FA has recently achieved the Intermediate Level of the Sporting Equals Race Equality Standard. Sporting Equals is a project funded by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and Sport England to monitor race equality issues in governing bodies of sport. We are now working to achieve the Foundation and Preliminary levels of the new Equality Standard.

WHOLE SPORT PLAN Football is a priority sport for Sport England and in order to receive grant aid The FA has produced a Whole Sport Plan that includes targets for ethnicity.

2.3.5.2 OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE AND PROGRESS

BURNS REVIEW/CO-OPTIONS/EXPERT ADVISORS AND ADVISORY GROUPS The FA recognises that there is a lack of representation from black and minority ethnic communities on boards, councils and committees. As well as encouraging individuals from the whole community to stand for election, The FA started a programme of co-options onto committees where there are gaps in skills, knowledge and experience. This is on hold pending the outcome of the Burns Review.

The Burns review has a central theme of the need to ensure that the decision-making structures are representative of football and the diverse communities in England. The work done on the co-options project has fed into the review process.

In order to improve the consultative process and support our Committees with their decision-making we have established an FA Advisory Group for Race, reporting to the Football Development Committee – a key committee within The FA.

ASIANS IN GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL PROJECT We are currently working on a survey of Asian clubs and leagues in the country to build a network of contacts and to determine the number of Asian leagues and clubs. In addition, we are asking what links those clubs have with pro’ clubs; what provision they have for young people; any barriers they have identified to progression and what help they need to develop further.

YOUNG, MALE ASIAN TALENT We are working with members of the Asian community and talent scouts to identify what training could be offered to talent scouts; what can be done to improve and/or develop good relationships between the pro’ clubs and the Asian community and we will develop an action plan as a result of this.

We have an MBA student working on a research project about Indians and football and from this we will be developing some models of best practice for professional clubs to adopt with regards to young male, Asian talent. We are also documenting examples of good practice from Football in the Community schemes to share with clubs at customer service training during the year. For example, the Bradford Cohesion in Football project running school holiday schemes for youngsters aged 5-13 has now submitted a bid for a cohesion officer to work in the poorer areas of Bradford, which happen to have a large percentage of Asian inhabitants, to identify talent and to recommend youngsters to their school of excellence.

HAT-TRICK PROJECT The FA has secured partnership funding from both UEFA and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) for its Hat-Trick regeneration programme, a three-year scheme that will see the appointment of 19 community football workers. They will be working in 19 of the country’s most deprived wards, which also have a high ethnic minority population. Their role will be to provide a range of football opportunities for young people aged 7-16, while helping to address issues such as health, social exclusion and anti-social behaviour.

SCHOOLS We have developed an anti-racism resource for teachers to use in Key stages 2 and 3.

COUNTY FOOTBALL ASSOCIATIONS The FA grant aids the County FAs to deliver against key performance indicators and this includes targets for ethnicity in all programmes. There are approximately 100 projects run through the CFAs that will have some impact on the Asian community and a large number specifically targeted at the Asian community. We have highlighted a few examples of these below:

• Manchester – the County FA runs football tournaments for the Asian community including one to celebrate Eid; organises football festivals at the local Melas; runs a 5-a- side league specially for the Asian community • London – The FA is supporting the establishing of an Asian Football Forum to share best practice between members of the Asian community, to provide networking opportunities and to run coaching schemes with the intention of setting up clubs to play in local leagues • Leicestershire and Rutland – the CFA runs a School to Club link programme with Bharat FC • Birmingham – the County FA worked with an unaffiliated Asian league to support their development and affiliation; CFA and Aston Villa FC run a football league for mainly Asian youngsters (85% Asian); CFA organised an Asian and Muslim girls coaching project leading to the formation of new club • West Riding – an Asian representative now sits on the CFA Council; they have established a Race Equality Development group and action plan; Bradford City Football in the Community run holiday coaching schemes for Asian boys and girls – over 500 attend with large number of Asian coaches, one boy now signed on as youth trainee and two in school of excellence • Hampshire – the County FA has set up a late night league in Southampton for 16-24 year olds, mixture of Asian and Somalian. Designed as a diversionary activity in an area where there had been racial tensions, many players now represent clubs in mainstream leagues • Oxford – Pakistani and Bangladeshi adults previously playing ‘kickabout’, supported by CFA to train coaches, increase numbers and supporting them to develop and join a Sunday league • Bedfordshire – CFA working with local community groups including Bangladeshi Youth League and Asian community leaders to support clubs to apply for Football Foundation grants

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 32 In addition, The FA has supported a number of projects within clubs such as:

• The Leicester Soccer for All scheme, which offers coaching courses for the local community, and development centres targeting areas of high Asian population. The most talented players are referred to the Leicester City FC Academy. The club has now appointed an Asians in Football Officer at the club to work in the community • West Ham United Asians in Football project. A major scheme to work with the local Asian community, based around a new community sports facility. Development schemes operate in the local community and the best youngsters are referred to the Academy.

The project has recently been successful in attracting a major grant from the Football Foundation to develop its activities.

REFEREEING We have set up a working group to develop an Equality Action Plan which will set targets for the involvement of ethnic minorities in refereeing.

COACHING We are in the process of producing a Coaching Development strategy which will contain targets for ethnic minorities as coaches and coach educators.

2.3.5.3 RAISING AWARENESS

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY • We have a detailed communication strategy which sets out our priorities to engage minority ethnic communities, including media and community groups; this includes the distribution of job opportunities and news. • The FA.com has a ‘Football for All’ section and regularly features stories in relation to ethnic minorities and football. • The FA contributes a monthly ‘Football for All’ column in The Voice – the leading black newspaper, Eastern Eye and AWAAZ news. • The FA has established communications groups with black and minority ethnic community representatives to hear a more diverse set of views. In addition we have developed a data base of ethnic media journalists with whom we communicate regularly. • The FA has appointed high-profile ambassadors to support our work in Ethics and Spots Equity. Aman Dosanj, the first British Asian to represent England, was among the first to accept the invitation. • We produce information cards, leaflets and reports to publicise the work we do.

‘FOOTBALL FOR ALL’ CONFERENCE The FA has held two ‘Football for All’ Conferences aimed at minority ethnic community groups, one in Derby and one in Bradford. Both conferences have allowed us the opportunity to hear the issues direct from community groups working with ethnic minorities and for The FA to give an update on progress.

ENGLAND TEAM England matches feature banners in support of tackling racism, match programmes have information on our stance on racism and we printed a special photo of the EURO 2004 squad featuring an ‘England against racism’ banner. Sven Goran Eriksson and members of the squad have given quotes and been filmed talking about racism. The team wore anti- racism t-shirts prior to the match against Spain.

2.3.5.4 EDUCATION AND TRAINING

DIVERSITY AND SPORTS EQUITY TRAINING We have developed a three-hour workshop to be delivered throughout football. The first cohort of 50 tutors have been identified and partly trained. The workshop is being formally launched in early autumn.

RACE EQUALITY SPECIFIC TRAINING We have piloted an addition to the Basic Referees Training where racist language and gestures are defined, so that it is clear to every referee what could be deemed as racist. This falls under Law 12 - offensive, insulting and abusive language or gestures. Referee Instructors have been working with the new guidance from January 2005 with existing referees being targeted through the regional refereeing seminars.

We have also developed a module about racism and dealing with it in the training course for matchday stewards.

FA LEARNING The FA has completed a broad audit of the Level 1 Coaching award against ethnicity, disability and social inclusion to provide a best practice framework for use in football. This is complete and we are now looking at the recommendations from that project within FA Learning. The FA has developed an action plan to encourage more ethnic minorities to become coaches at all levels of the game and are undertaking an audit of Coach Educators to establish targets for ethnic minority representation.

DIVERSITY COMPETENCE TRAINING STRATEGY The FA, FAPL and FL have agreed a collaborative approach to diversity competence training across the whole of the football industry. Competencies have been agreed at three levels and The FA is about to finalise the training package for grassroots clubs, having trained 24 tutors and 3 mentors to deliver this product. We are also looking at providing training and awareness-raising in the specific area of race equality to build on the generic training.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 34 2.3.5.5 RULES AND REGULATIONS

REVIEW OF THE FA HANDBOOK We have started a review of The FA Articles of Association, Rules, policies and procedures against ethics and sports equity principles. This will include a review of the standardisation of sanctions and enforcement. Rule B5 (regarding the playing of football on religious holidays) has been redrafted for Council’s consideration at the AGM in 2005 to be more inclusive.

REPORT RACISM PROJECT The FA launched this project at Millwall FC prior to the Club’s FA Cup semi-final appearance in 2004. It started as a partnership between The FA, the Met Police and Millwall FC. The focus of this is the reporting of racial abuse at all levels of the game, but particularly at the grassroots level. It involves a freephone Report Racism number, an email reporting line and posters and cards with information on reporting abuse on them. It has now developed into a national project with posters and cards being distributed to every club in the country.

We are working with the Association of Chief Police Officers to develop the same sort of relationship with all police authorities as we have in London.This project also involves an information sharing agreement with the Met Police and their training for the freephone telephone operators. A film accompanies the project which has received extensive praise and been shown on national and local TV. The Report Racism line is 0800 085 0508 or [email protected]

The FA has appointed a Case Manager to manage any discrimination or harassment cases within The FA.

SANCTIONS OF CLUBS AND LEAGUES CONSTITUTIONS The FA is currently reviewing all the competitions we sanction which have any form of restrictive practice in their rules.

RELIGIOUS GUIDANCE The FA changed a rule at the last AGM to ensure that the rules are inclusive and as up to date as they can be. The change means that no player (unless under written contract) shall be forced to play on dates of bona fide religious festivals. Previously this had been restricted to Christian festivals, and it was in direct response to an issue in grassroots football with regards to Ramadan.

The FA regularly provides guidance on areas where there is religious or cultural sensitivity, such as the wearing of shorts.

2.3.5.6 MONITORING AND EVALUATION

SPORTS EQUITY MONITORING Monitoring is undertaken annually for members of the FA Coaches Association, referees and ‘englandfans’. In addition, The FA is now implementing monitoring for contracted players and coaches as well. In addition we are undertaking a major survey of all 37,500 clubs in the country to ascertain the ethnic make up of grassroots football.

RESEARCH In a joint project with University of Leicester we are looking at how cultural change has been promoted nationally by The FA and its implementation at grassroots level. 2.4 DISABILITY FOOTBALL

The Football Association is committed to addressing all areas of equity and is currently working towards the mainstreaming of disability football. With this in mind, The FA has set itself the target of becoming ‘the world’s leading governing body in the development of disability football’.

Disability football exists so that disabled people can play football at a level suitable to their needs and abilities. It is based on the belief that everybody has a right to play football and that everybody should be encouraged to play football.

ABILITY COUNTS Following an approach by the English Federation of Disability Sports (EFDS), The FA became a partner in the national disability programme, Ability Counts. The programme targets grassroots participation and supports the provision of local, regional or national playing opportunities.

In the past, disabled football in England has suffered from the absence of any structured development plan, both locally and nationally. With very few clubs affiliating to their County Football Associations and even fewer leagues catering exclusively for the disabled, players have had to resort to informal games with other disabled players. Many have been lost to football for good.

Ability Counts aims to change that by making use of the existing professional club structure and encouraging the clubs, many of whom have already made great strides in community work, to extend this to the disabled. By 2004, 45 clubs had been established with over 14 000 participants in Ability Counts coaching sessions.

Players wishing to play competitively are required to find a team representing their impairment. There are currently national and some regional leagues for blind people, visually impaired people, amputees, people with learning difficulties, deaf people and

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 36 people with cerebral palsy. Each County FA will hold details of all disabled football leagues and competitions within its remit.

Pan Disability Ability Counts Regional Competitions There are eight regional competitions being developed which, based on an ability banding, are split into the following:

PREMIERSHIP LEVEL – players are able to cope physically, good levels of spatial awareness, excellent ability to understand tactics and good level of physical strength and fitness.

CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL – players would be mobile, have spatial and tactical awareness, knowledge of the Laws of the Game and have a good level of fitness.

LEAGUE LEVEL – 5-a-side, players have limited mobility, spatial awareness and fitness.

CLASSIFICATION & RULE ADAPTATIONS Disabled football has, like other sports such as boxing, a system of classification in place. Players are classified according to their impairment and the rules are adapted to accommodate where necessary.

CEREBRAL PALSY (CP) Cerebral palsy football is available to players who are ambulant and are within the CP classification.

Matches consist of two halves of 30 minutes played between teams of seven players with no offside and adjusted pitch and goal sizes. Players are allowed to roll the ball into play as well as throw it, in order to assist players with hemiplegia (i.e. paralysis of one side of the body).

International competitions for Cerebral Palsy football are based on a four year cycle. The Paralympic Games are played in year one, the World Games in year two, the World Championships in year three and the European Games in year four.

AMPUTEES Outfield players are either above or below the knee single-leg amputees who play without prostheses on aluminium wrist crutches. Goalkeepers are single-arm amputees.

Games are played over two halves of 25 minutes with no offside. Teams are made up of seven players each and are allowed unlimited substitutions.

Players are not allowed to strike the ball or any other player with their crutches. An infringement would result in a ‘hand ball’ decision being made against the player with the opposition receiving a direct free-kick. No slide tackles are allowed and players may kick the ball into play instead of throwing.

Goalkeepers are not allowed outside of the penalty area and cannot save the ball with the stump; a penalty is awarded if this rule is broken.

There are currently six teams in England who compete in a league structure, playing in monthly tournaments on a round robin basis. In addition there are World and European Championships that take place every two years. BLIND & VISUALLY IMPAIRED Visually impaired people who take part in football are classified according to their level of sight as B1, B2 or B3. Players who have B1 classification are blind whilst players who are B2 and B3 are classed as partially sighted.

BLIND (B1) Matches are played on a solid surface with five players on each team and no offside rule. The match ball contains ball bearings ensuring a sound is made when the ball moves.

Goalkeepers are sighted but all outfield players are blind. Some may have a degree of light perception; however, eye shields and blindfolds are worn during games to counter this.

There is currently no competition structure in existence in the UK. However, European and World Championships are held on a two-year cyclical basis and blind football has been recognised as a Paralympic event since the 2004 Games.

PARTIALLY SIGHTED (B2 & B3) Rules for partially sighted football run along the same lines as 5-a-side football with the ball kept under head height. In competition matches the playing area must be free of all other markings. There are 12 teams in England competing in a league structure. The teams play in monthly tournaments on a round robin basis. Various one-day competitions are held as well as bi-annual European and World Championships.

LEARNING DISABILITY In order to be eligible to play learning disability football, players must have a mental/intellectual disability as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This is currently anyone who has an IQ range of less than 70. Intellectual disability must be evident during the developmental period (this is generally considered to be from conception to 18 years of age). A player must have a statement of educational needs or have been identified as School Action plus.

There are no rule adaptations for learning disability football. Games are played between two teams of 11 players with FIFA rules applying.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 38 There are various local, regional and national competitions held by organisations such as Gateway and the Special Olympics. The Ability Counts programme also includes regional and national competitions while the International Sports Federation for persons with an Intellectual Disability (INAS-FID) stage European Championships every two years and World Championships every four years.

DEAF All players must have a hearing loss of 55% in their better ear to qualify for games specifically for deaf people.

As with learning disability football there are no rule adaptations. Players are not permitted to wear hearing aids during the game.

There are 15 deaf football clubs in operation in England playing in mainstream leagues at weekends. Two national cup competitions are run annually for male and female deaf players whilst numerous 5-a-side and Futsal competitions are held throughout the year. European and World Championships, like the Deaflympics Games, are held every four years.

WHEELCHAIR FOOTBALL The game is open to people who use manual or powered wheelchairs.

Matches are played over two halves of 20 minutes and take place between two teams of four with no goalkeepers participating. The playing area is 28m x 15m as defined by a standard basketball court. The ball is leather and 50cm in diameter. Goals are scored when the ball crosses the goal line between the goal posts (6m apart).

There are three alternative versions of the game – powered, manual and dual wheelchair football.

No formal competition structure for wheelchair football exists in England, although the game is being developed through ASPIRE and the County FAs. Indeed County FA affiliated tournaments and festivals are held throughout the UK.

NATIONAL SQUADS At the national level The FA considers the development of a proper competitive structure based on club competitions and regional tournaments a major priority. Once achieved, this should lead to the development of regional squads with a clear path for the best players to progress to the national teams.

There are currently six international disability squads for players with differing kinds of disabilities. These are: Blind, Partially Sighted, Deaf and Hearing Impaired, Cerebral Palsy, Learning Disabilities and Amputee. The FA supports these teams by covering their costs when representing England, providing coaching and medical support, organising training weekends and providing all kit and equipment in addition to representative caps.

Each one of these squads has improved their World or European ranking since The FA began its involvement with the specific impairment groups. Indeed, in August 2002, the England Learning Disability squad won the INAS FID World Championship in Japan.

Selection for the national squads is based on merit and ability. To play for England at any level an individual must represent the best person available to play in a particular position. A scouting system is in place and there are regular training weekends where potential players can be assessed. FUNDING COMMITMENT Ultimately The FA is dedicated to ensuring that all disabled people have the opportunity to participate in football activities and are able to reach their potential within the area of activity they choose. Substantial progress has been made; however, further funding has been committed to ensure:

• The continual development of competition structures • Further improvements in the quality of training and administration available to disabled people • The creation of performance pathways • That the profile of disability football is raised and highlighted • Elite performers continue to be supported

COACHING DISABLED FOOTBALL Opportunities are available for disabled people to become involved in coaching disabled players.

People who want to become coaches should undertake both formal coaching training and also attend The FA’s specialist coaching disabled footballers’ course. This is a short course that concentrates on modifying coaching styles in order that the different needs of disabled players can be addressed. In addition, there are also impairment specific courses for addressing the needs of particular players.

The FA also offers a mentoring scheme whereby disabled people who wish to become coaches are supported by people who are already qualified to coach.

CATERING FOR DISABLED SUPPORTERS As described above, the development of football opportunities for disabled people has gathered momentum, as we have begun to formulate policies that actively remove barriers to participation and create a player, coach, referee or administrator pathway.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 40 The same can also be said for The FA’s involvement with disabled football supporters:

• We have appointed a Disability Equality Advisory Group to The FA’s Football Development Committee to oversee the implementation of the Disability Strategy. • We have established a web review panel of disabled people to provide feedback on access to TheFA.com • In addition, The FA regularly attends supporters’ group meetings along with representatives from the leagues and supporters’ groups.

Progress has also been made with regard to the ticketing arrangements for England home matches. An external agency handles the sale of tickets to non-disabled supporters. But what if you happen to be in a wheelchair?Or are visually impaired?The Customer Relations Unit at The Football Association sells and distributes tickets for England matches to disabled football fans across the country.

For those supporters who are also members of the englandfans membership scheme, The FA produces a publication which is produced in-house called 'Access'.This is also available to every fan who buys tickets to The FA Community Shield, The FA Cup Semi-Finals or The FA Cup Final.

'Access' was first published in 2003 and has been evolving ever since.The main aim has always been to give the best information possible to fans travelling to the big match. This includes travel details, maps and details of local pubs and restaurants with good access facilities.

The publication itself is printed in 14 point with colour photographs and usually comes in at around 20 pages. There are also features on the teams involved, the occasional quiz and we always invite people to submit articles or pictures for inclusion.

2.5 WOMEN AND GIRLS’ FOOTBALL

The principle aims of The FA are to maximise participation through increased opportunities, increase quality (for players, administrators, officials and coaches) and to give the England teams the best chance of competing for honours on the world stage. Our work on women’s football fulfils all these objectives.

Women’s football is an integral part of the football world in England. The FA is committed to the development of the women’s game from grassroots to the very top level.

Women’s football is the biggest female sport in England with more players competing in affiliated competition than any other team sport. There has been a huge increase in the number of players, clubs, leagues and competition since 1993 when The Football Association assumed governance of the game. Previously the women’s game had been run by an amateur body, the Women’s Football Association, which, although run by enthusiastic volunteers, was unable to provide the required investment into the game at all levels. In 1993 there were 9,800 players and today there are over 130,000. Compared to netball, the traditional favourite sport of girls which has 56,000 registered players, football continues to grow at a fantastic rate since becoming the top female sport in 2002. Figures show a massive growth in participation since The FA took over the running of the sport. In 1993 when there were just 80 girls’ teams – in season 2004-05 there were over 8,000 teams.

The 2005 UEFA European Women’s Championship provided a platform to show the world the advance in the women’s game in England. With 70,000 paying fans attending three England games and attracting 8.2 million viewers to the live BBC TWO coverage, there is a clear indication that there is a market for the women’s game as a credible spectator sport.

Outside of the tournament, women’s football is already one of the most supported amateur sports in the country (14,000 at the England v Germany international, 13,000 at the 2001 FA Women’s Cup Final, and 10,000 at the 2002 and 2003 FA Women’s Cup Finals, and 12,244 at the 2004 FA Women’s Cup Final).

FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT Girls’ football is booming in England with the number of affiliated girls playing the game up 30 per cent in the past year, according to an annual FA audit. The FA works with the English Schools FA, the Independent Schools FA, the English Colleges FA, British College Sport, British Universities Sports Association, County FAs, County Sports Partnerships, School Sport Partnerships and the PFA’s Football in the Community schemes to introduce youth competition to help support the growth in demand from women and girls to play football.

SEASON ADULT TEAMS/PLAYERS GIRLS’ TEAMS/PLAYERS TOTAL 1988-99 263 7,000 n/a n/a 7,000 1993 400 9,000 80 800 9,800 1996-97 500 13,000 750 15,000 28,000 1997-98 600 15,600 850 17,000 32,600 1998-99 650 16,900 960 19,200 36,100 1999-00 700 18,200 1,150 23,000 41,200 2000-01 741 19,366 1,800 36,000 55,366 2001-02 804 20,000 2,200 41,667 61,667 2002-03 865 21,265 4,820 63,301 84,566 2003-04 1,013 17,078 6,209 84,095 101,173 2004-05 1,038 20,400 8,621 112,394 132,794

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 42 OFFICER SUPPORT Women’s football is a key part of The FA’s Development Strategy. Football is administered locally by 43 County Football Associations and The FA funds full-time football development staff in each County to deliver the development programmes. There are 47 specific Women’s and Girls’ Football Development Officers, working strategically across the country to help introduce the playing opportunities required.These posts are supported by a network of over 160 generic football staff and 9 FA Regional Development Managers (both male and female).

PLAYER PATHWAY There is a clear player pathway for girls entering the game, which provides a structure for those who are talented and committed enough to reach the top levels of the game.

FOOTBALL IN THE CURRICULUM (1) The FA is working closely with schools to develop more opportunities for girls to play within designated PE lessons. In 2002 a Sport England survey showed that only 13 per cent of girls have access to football coaching in PE lessons, yet football is the sport of choice for girls (UK Sport/Nike study, 2001). The FA’s Football Development teams, which include some specific Education Officers, provide a support network to ensure opportunities are offered, teachers achieve FA coaching qualifications and schools have access to approved equipment. So we would expect to see a significant rise in this percentage.

SCHOOLS TEAMS AND COMPETITIONS (2) Schools’ competitions, leagues and festivals for both primary and secondary aged girls are offered in every County.

SCHOOL CLUB LINK (3) The FA School–Club Link Programme is football’s commitment to the delivery of the Physical Education and School Sport Club Links (PESSCL) strategy document, which sets out to ensure that all children, whatever their circumstances or abilities, should be able to participate in and enjoy physical education and sport.

Through the delivery of The FA National Framework, the project sets out to increase the number of young people playing in an FA-accredited Charter Standard or Ability Counts Club. It also aims to develop sustainable relationships between schools and local clubs to provide a clear pathway to allow young people the chance to continue their football participation.

This programme has initiated a substantial number of girls only courses, under the banner of 3 Lions FC, all over the Country.

CLUB FOOTBALL (4) Primary school-aged girls get their first taste of playing club football with Mini-Soccer.The game is played on small pitches with small goals and can be played by mixed or single- gender teams.

Once a girl reaches secondary school age she then can progress onto 9v9 or the traditional 11-a-side football. Futsal (FIFA 5-a-side) is also just being introduced to girls and women. CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE (5) There are 51 licensed FA Centres of Excellence in operation across England. These Centres provide weekly quality coaching and a localised fixture programme for talented girls from the age of 8-18. The FA provides a substantial grant per season to each Centre to assist with the running of their programmes and give them direction. Each Centre is either attached to a County FA, a County Sports Partnership or a men’s professional club.

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE AND YOUTH TEAMS (6) In 2001 The FA launched a National Player Development Centre at Loughborough University. This national academy takes applications from approximately 20 players per academic year on a fully-funded football scholarship for up to four years. The Centre is managed by Coach Jane Ebbage and provides coaching from Monday to Friday, alongside the players continuing their education.

There has been a huge success rate of players at the Centre representing England from Under-17 through to Senior level, notably Casey Stoney, Amanda Barr and most recently Karen Carney.

Since Hope Powell assumed her position as National Coach in 1998, four England youth teams have been introduced. The Under-15s side currently meets for training camps and is an early introduction to international exposure. The U17 side, managed by Jane Ebbage, plays friendlies but UEFA has announced it will be introducing a competition at this age level. The U19 side is managed by former England captain Mo Marley and qualifies regularly for annual European Finals, with a FIFA World Championship every two years. The England U19 team reached the Semi-Finals of the 2002 UEFA U19 Women’s Championship and the Quarter-Finals of the inaugural FIFA World U19 Championship of the same year.

The Under-21 side was launched in 2004 to bring England into line with the leading nations in women’s football. England has competed to good effect in the annual Nordic Cup competition alongside the Scandinavian nations, Germany and USA; the team finished third in 2005 and is managed by Assistant National Coach Brent Hills.

ENGLAND SENIOR TEAM (7) The England Senior team is ranked 12th in the world and their best tournament finish was a runners-up spot in the 1984 European Championship.

The National Coach is Hope Powell, a former player who amassed 66 caps and scored 33 goals from midfield. Hope hung up her playing boots when she took over as the first full- time manager (and The FA’s first female and first black national coach) in June 1998. Hope has received an OBE for her services to the game and was the first female coach to earn the UEFA Pro-Licence – the highest football coaching qualification available.

England qualified automatically for the WOMEN’S EURO 2005 Championship as hosts and went into the tournament on the back of a record 10-match unbeaten run, including wins against two EURO 2005 qualifiers Italy and Norway. However, the team cruelly missed out on progressing after beating Finland in their opening game, then losing to Denmark (1-2) and Sweden (0-1).

The team began its qualification process for the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in September 2005. England face France, Austria, Netherlands and Hungary in their group as they look to reach the Finals in China.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 44 COACH DEVELOPMENT The FA actively supports all female coaches who which to develop their experience and coaching qualifications.Each County FA offers a comprehensive coach development programme and many run very successful female-only courses.

The FA National Mentoring Programme has over 60 female coaches registered of which four have already achieved the prestigious UEFA A Licence, 20 the Level 3 award and 10 the Level 2. There are 9 female coaches on the FA Elite/High Performance programme of which 8 have achieved or are currently undertaking the UEFA A Licence.

SPONSORSHIP AND BROADCAST Nationwide, the world’s largest building society and previous sponsor of the England football team, became the first exclusive sponsors of women’s football when they joined the FA Partners commercial programme in August 2002 as the Partner of the women’s football pillar. The multi-million pound deal, as the first ever specific sponsors of national women’s football in England, is the biggest of its kind in Europe.

Nationwide has title sponsorship of the three flagship women’s leagues, under the banner of The FA Nationwide Women’s Premier League. Nationwide also enjoys title sponsorship of The FA Premier League Cup and partner sponsorship of The FA Women’s Community Shield, The FA Women’s Cup and the England women’s teams.

Women’s football is part of The FA’s broadcast deal with both broadcast partners showing key games through the season. Sky Sports shows at least three home England games per season as well as The FA Nationwide Premier League Cup Final. In recent years they have also televised live The FA Women’s Community Shield, when possible. The BBC has the exclusive rights to televise The FA Women’s Cup Final on BBC ONE and this has been a major success over the past four years.

PROFESSIONALISM Research has shown that professionalism in women’s football is inevitable and that The FA must lead the development to ensure it is structured and will survive long-term.

Fulham showed how standards can be raised dramatically with their three-year spell as full- time athletes between 2000-2003. There are now five sides within the 10-team National Division who pay their players to play football.

The FA is already working to professionalise the game at all levels, from pitches to ticketing and the general promotion of the game to allowing the opportunity for talented and committed girls to make a career out of their sport.

The women’s game currently faces many challenges to taking steps towards professionalism, but by increasing participation and providing platforms to generate interest in the women’s game as a spectator sport, The FA is driving forward the development of the game at the elite level.

The FA decided to treble its women’s league and cup prize funds for the 2003-04 season to give added investment directly into women’s clubs.

For more information on Women’s Football and related competitions click here. 2.6 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL SIDED FOOTBALL

The FA’s Small Sided Football (SSF) programme seeks to support the significant growth of 5, 6 and 7-a-side football in recent years. The FA’s 2004 Football Trends survey revealed that 5.7 million people play SSF in the course of a year, with 1.2 million playing regular league or cup football.

The scale of this growth can be put down to changing work and leisure patterns, easy access to local facilities and a ‘Pay and Play’ approach that is welcomed by many players. These changes are long-term shifts in the way in which people choose to play football and for this reason The FA and County FAs have begun to take increased notice in SSF.

A view is sometimes put forward that the growth of SSF has been at the expense of traditional male 11-a-side football. The FA’s research does not support this theory – rather SSF affords many players the chance to train during the week and play at weekends. It also provides an opportunity for many people to continue playing football long after they are ready to give up on 11-a-side.

Over the last year, The FA has revised and improved its affiliation and discipline processes and FA Laws of the Small Sided Game so that they better reflect the way in which SSF is played and organised – the use of ‘Sin Bins’ is now permissible, for instance.

2005 saw the introduction of a new FA Referees’ Course specifically for SSF, and the launch of a new FA Kitemark for Small Sided Football Centres. As a consequence players will have a clearer indication as to where they can expect a safe and enjoyable experience of affiliated football.

FUTSAL One of the most exciting areas of The FA’s Small Sided Football Programme is the growth of Futsal, a format of SSF that is played extensively throughout the world and as a consequence is recognised by both UEFA and FIFA.

Essentially 5-a-side with a few twists to the rules, Futsal offers Small Sided Footballers ‘somewhere to go’, with UEFA Club competitions and World and European Championships available to those with the ability and ambition to progress.

The origins of Futsal are rooted in the South American countries of Uruguay and Brazil where, in the 1930s, two versions of small sided football were being played in the cities of Montevideo and Sao Paulo respectively.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 46 In Brazil a version began to develop on the streets of Sao Paulo, leading to the publishing of the first rules of the game in 1936 from the country that would soon become the masters of the game. The skills involved in Futsal were soon evident in the 11-a-side game with Pele, Rivelino, Falcao and Zico all playing Futsal at some time in their development.

In 1989 FIFA, recognising the potential of the sport, took over as the governing body and in doing so abbreviated Futebol de Sala to ‘Futsal’ and organised the first FIFA World Championship in the Netherlands in the same year.

Under FIFA’s control, new rules were introduced aimed at improving the technical aspects of the game for players and spectators alike. The ball was made slightly larger (increased to a size 4) but still weighted to reduce bounce, the linesmen were replaced with a second referee and unlimited substitutions were introduced.

FIFA’s relationships with its member associations enabled more and more countries to gain access to Futsal knowledge and resources. This was a major factor in the increase in the number of participating nations in the fourth FIFA World Championship held in Guatemala City in 2000, in which Spain ended the dominance of Brazil in world Futsal beating them in the final.

UEFA also contributed to the growing popularity of the game by organising the first European Championship in Spain. The tournament attracted large crowds who witnessed Russia take the title after a penalty shootout. The tournament helped convince UEFA to extend the development of the game and encourage more of its member associations to take part in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Championship held in Russia in 2001 and Italy in 2003.

In 2001, encouraged by the growth in stature of the domestic leagues in Europe, UEFA created an official European competition for Futsal clubs – the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2001. Teams earn the right to compete by winning the National League or Championship organised by their own association.

The UEFA Futsal Cup continued into its fourth year with the 2004/05 competition finally seeing the dominance of the Spanish clubs ended, as Action 21 Charleroi atoned for previous disappointments by lifting the trophy at the expense of MFK Dinamo Moskova in the final.

Futsal is still in the embryonic stages of development in England. It was kick-started by the visit of the first international Futsal team to English shores, when Tranmere Victoria, one of the few English Futsal teams at the time, hosted the Iranian National Team in October 2002. The skills of the professional Iranian team were exceptional and reflected in the 30-1 scoreline!

This was followed by a pilot Futsal tournament hosted by the Sheffield & Hallamshire FA in the November of the same year. The FA then began to put plans in place to take the game forward by organising the inaugural FA National Championship.

The first National Championship was played in July 2003, drawing teams from regional qualifying competitions in London, Pendle, Cheltenham, Wirral, Sheffield and Grimsby. Sheffield Hallam Futsal Club were crowned champions after recovering from a 0-4 deficit to beat Thomas Rother College 5-4. As a means of showcasing the game, an England National Team has also been brought together to play International friendlies and the qualifying tournament for the 2005 UEFA Futsal Championship. Drawing on English Futsal players and players involved in semi- professional football the team has played against teams including Iran, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Belgium, Cyprus and Albania. The National squad train regularly at Lilleshall National Sports Centre and have the opportunity to represent their country in European and World Championships.

To support the growth of the game, The FA has initiated The FA Futsal Cup to be contested by 16 teams from 20 regional qualification leagues. As part of The FA Three Lions FC programme, schools will now have the opportunity to experience Futsal and a new FA Futsal Coaching module will be available this year.

GETTING INVOLVED The sport is in its early stages of development in England. Initially, it may be difficult to find the facilities that will allow you to play Futsal – but don’t be put off!

Any reasonable sized school or sports hall can accommodate Futsal and the floor markings can be laid down with tape – even if it is only temporary at first (make sure you seek permission). Futsal goals resemble Handball or Hockey goals, so try to use these if you can’t access the real thing. Alternatively goals used for Mini-Soccer would also be fine to start off with.

Playing surface – At an international level Futsal must be played on either a wooden floor or a suitable synthetic floor that is smooth and flat and does not restrict the roll of the ball. However, at any other level Futsal may be played on a variety of surfaces including Astroturf and tarmac.

The Ball – Futsal balls are smaller than 11-a-side balls and are made with a reduced bounce. Mitre produce an excellent range of balls available from the companies listed below.

Referees and Timekeeper – At international level three referees and a timekeeper are responsible for officiating Futsal matches. We would recommend that for any level below, the game is played with a minimum of two referees as the game by its nature is very fast and will be difficult for one person to referee on their own.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 48 Local Leagues, Refereeing & Coaching Opportunities – The game is developing quickly and although it started off as an adult game, youth leagues are developing.

The FA, in support of the development of Futsal in England, has devised an introductory six- hour coaching course which will be delivered around the country.

In order to be certificated, candidates must hold one of the existing FA Coaching Awards. Candidates seeking certification for the course should therefore hold or have attended the following: An existing FA Coaching Qualification, FA Child Protection module, FA Emergency First Aid.

Interested candidates should contact Louise Hatch at The Football Association to book a place on one of the courses. Louise can be contacted at [email protected].

A Futsal Refereeing Qualification due to be introduced in the autumn of 2006 will provide access to quality referee training delivered by highly trained licensed or registered instructors for referees wanting to participate in the small sided game only.

Futsal Equipment – A Futsal ‘starter pack’ including balls, cones, portable goals, FIFA coaching manual and promotional resources is available to schools prepared to introduce the game through The FA’s School-Club link programme. Again, details on how to apply can be obtained from your local County FA.

As Futsal is still at its early stages of development it is sometimes difficult to purchase equipment on the High Street. However, there are a growing number of specialist companies that are now making Futsal equipment available: www.futsalengland.com www.thefpl.com www.futsal.org.uk www.sheffieldfa.com

Goalposts – To get started you could use Hockey, Handball, or Mini-Soccer goals. Futsal goals can be ordered by contacting: [email protected] www.thefpl.com [email protected] www.harrod.uk.com [email protected]

Information on the international Futsal scene can be found at: www.FutsalPlanet.com www.FIFA.com www.UEFA.com

Meanwhile you can keep up with all the latest on the game in this country and the progress of the England National Team on TheFA.com: www.TheFA.com/Grassroots/SmallSided/Futsal www.TheFA.com/England/Futsal MINI-SOCCER The principles and rules of Mini-Soccer are similar to those in Association Football, except that the pitches are smaller and there are fewer players on each team. Depending on the age group, the number of players and size of pitch can vary from four-a-side for the youngest, to seven-a-side for the under 10s.

September 1999 saw the implementation of Mini-Soccer for all children under 10 years of age. As a result of nearly three years’ consultation and co-operation between all bodies involved with children’s football, boys and girls are now introduced to the game on smaller pitches with scaled down goalposts and fewer players.

In attempting to provide quality experiences for all young players at all levels, The FA deems Mini-Soccer the most appropriate and fun introduction to football. It allows greater involvement in the game, with more touches, dribbles and passes.

The main theme running throughout Mini-Soccer is meeting the needs of children. Too often children are modified to meet the requirements of a game created for adults. Mini- Soccer modifies Association Football without losing the essence of the game. All available research and observation shows that children will have more fun and learn more playing a game with smaller teams and modified rules.

Mini-Soccer is more than just another version of 5 or 6-a-side football for a number of reasons:

1 It recognises that children do not perform as adults and therefore its Laws, researched and piloted by The FA, meet the needs of children. 2 Children will recognise all the features of ‘real’ football. 3 It doesn’t set unrealistic expectations. Many adults do not know what can be expected of children and so emphasise the result at the expense of the performance. 4 It sets a standard and a framework for behaviour on and off the pitch. 5 Mini-Soccer is for all youngsters regardless of their ability. It is intended for girls and boys, and young footballers with disabilities and learning difficulties.

GETTING INVOLVED Each County FA has a Mini-Soccer Coordinator who is the key to liaising with all the agencies involved in pitch and facility provision, e.g. Local Authorities, leagues, schools, and clubs and has acquired local expertise in Mini-Soccer.

In addition, County Associations have developed Mini-Soccer Implementation Plans based over three years so that the type of game played, the pitch and facilities used and the friendly and fun environment creates a climate that will instill a life-long love of football in the children taking part.

For children interested in playing the game there are a number of options available:

CLUBS - By joining a local club, children will be able to take part in regular games and coaching programmes.

FESTIVALS - These provide a popular format for schools and clubs who come together at a central venue with teams playing a small number of games on a friendly basis. Results are not kept and the importance is placed on fun and enjoying the next game without the pressure of league tables.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 50 Mini-Soccer Centres - These are similar to Festivals and can be organised by clubs, schools, sports centres, youth clubs and local groups. The key to Mini-Soccer Centres is offering children a programme of Mini-Soccer often over a period of six to 10 weeks in a safe and supervised environment with an emphasis on fun.

2.7 THE ADMINISTRATION OF REFEREEING

The FA is the governing body responsible for the control and management of all referees in this country. Our refereeing department is divided with Ian Blanchard heading up the team responsible for National referee development and safeguarding the interests of grassroots referees, whilst Neale Barry is responsible for referees operating from the semi-professional game through to international level.

There are 7 regional referees’ managers who are responsible for managing, advising and supporting referees at grassroots level. The department is also responsible for the appointment and development of all officials operating in the Contributory League system.

At the professional level there are 22 Select Group referees and 49 National List referees operating on behalf of the PGMO (Professional Game Match Officials). The PGMO is a tripartite body comprising The FA, Premier League and Football League who administer, appoint, train and manage referees operating at our senior level.

BECOMING A REFEREE We currently have 27,000 registered referees. In order for a referee to be registered a registration fee is payable to their parent County FA which then enables them to officiate in sanctioned games.

Potential referees are required to submit applications to The FA and the County Football Associations who are responsible for the recruitment, retention and development of referees. Attendance on a basic referees course is required, which consists of a minimum of 12 hours’ tuition, during which the Laws of the Game are covered as well as developing matchday skills. On completion of the course new referees are registered with their County FA and then allocated a league to referee in.

We currently recruit just short of 7,000 new referees each year; however, we lose a number due to age, fitness, injuries and other reasons. MENTORING Most County FAs operate a mentoring scheme to support new referees. Mentors are trained and experienced referees, who are there to help, support and advise new referees. There are also highly skilled instructors who run in-service training courses for all referees.

In addition, The FA publishes a bulletin under the name of FAMOA (Football Association Match Officials Association) which is sent to all our registered referees. There is no cost to join FAMOA; this is automatic for all new referees once they have completed 10 games and for all existing referees. FAMOA offer up to date information on all issues relating to training, education and development.

LEVELS We have a system of levels for referees from 10 to 1, level 10 being someone who officiates occasionally to level 1 being a referee who operates on the Football League or Premier League. After refereeing for one full season, a referee can apply for promotion from level 7 (Junior County referee) to level 6 (Intermediate referee). This involves completing 20 games, attending an in-service training course and passing an examination on the Laws of the Game. Thereafter promotion is reliant on receiving sufficient marks from games.

The same process is in place for referees going from level 6 to 5 (senior county referee) with the addition of officiating as an assistant referee in five games. Thereafter promotion is very much on on-field performance based on independent assessments.

Having said this, there is an enhanced promotion scheme in operation which enables committed, active and potential referees to move from level 7 to 5 within a 12-month period, provided the full promotion criteria have been completed (e.g. 20 games at each level). Nominations to gain entry onto this scheme are managed by the County Football Association.

ACADEMIES & SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE As well as a clear promotional pathway we also have academies and schools of excellence for referees. This facilitates extra training, educational and fitness enabling referees to progress and develop. Young referees aged 18 to 25 are also nominated by their respective County FAs to attend the Annual Young Referees Conference. At the senior level of our game all referees have a divisional manager or regional coach who offer advice on performance and assist with action planning.

ABUSE OF MATCH OFFICIALS Recently the PGMO, the League Managers Association (LMA) and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) produced a “Respect the Referee” campaign directed at players using the logo ‘Let your feet do the talking’. Posters have been circulated to all professional clubs and to County FAs. There are a number of local schemes which are aimed at highlighting the significance of player behaviour and the loss of referees.

It has been suggested that abuse of match officials is one of the main reasons why a referee may choose to walk away from the game. Whilst recognising the issue, it is important to note that in a recent survey conducted by the University of Gloucester (in partnership with The FA) results showed that age, decline in fitness and pursuing other interests were the top three reasons for leaving refereeing. The issue of abuse or dissent was fourth on the list.

FA STUDENT RESEARCH RESOURCE 2005-06 52 2.8 FA LEARNING

FA Learning is the Educational Division of The FA and is responsible for the delivery, co- ordination and promotion of its educational products. This includes all the courses and resources that are now available for coaches, referees, sports psychologists, medics, fitness instructors, interested football parents and teachers.

The diverse interests of those involved in the game ensure that FA Learning remains committed to providing resources and activities suitable for all.

30, 000 people completed The FA Level 1 Coaching Course in its first year, making it the most popular sports course ever. The Level 1 Course marks the first step to becoming a top coach.

An additional 5,500 people have passed through the McDonald’s Coaching Programme aimed at getting more and more young people involved in the sport.

THE FA LEARNING ONLINE ACADEMY The FA has developed the world’s first dedicated football online training centre – The FA Learning Online Academy – for coaches, teachers, medics, referees, parents, trainers and sports scientists.

FA Learning’s first online course, Psychology for Soccer Level One, has proved a resounding success, already attracting well over 2, 000 students.

Meanwhile, The FA recognises that the coaching and guidance players receive at a young age has a strong bearing on the level of enjoyment and subsequent retention of young players within the game. FA Learning addresses this issue with the provision of the Soccer Parent course, completed by over 100,000 parents, which aims to assist in extracting positive contributions from parents and instructing them in issues such as child welfare and attitudes.

Furthermore, The FA is producing a poster on behaviour to be distributed via regional leagues and County FAs. The FA is also working with five Youth Leagues around the country to pilot a Code of Conduct and family membership of clubs and leagues to enable action to be taken against abusive parents spectating at matches.

For information on FA Learning and the courses on offer visit www.TheFA.com/FALearning or call The FA Learning hotline on 0870 8500 424.