- Exclusive Regional Workshops
- Access to Child Protection Training
- Kit and Equipment Grants
- National and Regional Awards
- Subsidies for 1st 4 Sport Level 1 and other courses
- Certificates
- Starter Pack, including posters, Codes of Conduct, Certificates
- First Aid Kit
(www.nwfds.co.uk/charter_mark.htm)
The map (Figure 2) shows where provision is available in the local area.
Participation at grass roots level is quite high with,
(Figures provided by www.the-fa.org)
- 3million affiliated participants
- 40,000 affiliated clubs
- 2200 leagues
With such a high participation rate at grass roots level it could be difficult for talented players to be noticed and potentially become a professional elite performer. So routes have been made to ensure the future success of the National squad (Figure 1).
“The FA plays a lead role in encouraging promoting and nurturing the talented players of tomorrow. The game’s future, from a domestic point as well as from the perspective of a successful England senior side, depends upon ensuring that the best young players are given every opportunity to fulfil their talent and potential” (www.the-fa.org).
The Charter for quality programme, run by the FA helps this as it, “ensures best practise in terms of coaching and education received by young players. As part of the Charter for quality, all Premier League clubs must have academies and all football league clubs must have centres of excellence.”(www.the-fa.org).
Some of the additional agencies and bodies which also provide development and funding are:
DCMS and Sport England both help in developing funding for the Football Foundation.
The National lottery donates 28% of its money to good causes one of which is the sports council which splits its money between 5 distributing bodies Sport England, The Sports Council for Wales, Sportscotland, Sports Council for Northern Ireland and UK Sport. Some of this money which is to develop sports goes into developing provisions locally and nationally.
Males are the dominating gender within football as there are over 40,000 clubs in the UK of which only 800 have a women’s 11-a-side team (www.the-fa.org)however, “Football is not only the biggest female sport in England, it is also the fastest growing.” (www.the-fa.org). However women still do not have all the opportunities men receive because availability is restricted, so the FA must help improve the situation. To do this “The principle aims of the FA are to maximise participation, increase opportunities and increase quality (for players, administrators, officials and coaches).” (www.the-fa.org) The FA has also stated “The FA is committed to the development of the women’s game from grass roots to the very top level.” (www.the-fa.org). To ensure the long term survival of women’s football the FA is already working to professionalize the game at all levels, from pitches to ticketing and the general promotion of the game to allowing the opportunity where talented and committed girls can make a career out of their sport. (www.the-fa.org)
Despite large and increasing numbers of females becoming involved in football, disabled participants may find the provisions available are few and far between, however the FA says it believes in the philosophy of “Football is for all”. This is why many initiatives have been put into place to try and rectify the situation.
In the year 2000 the FA launched a major initiative aimed at making wholesale improvements to the state of disabled football in this country. To ensure results
“The FA aims to maximise participation, increase opportunities and increase the quality of support available for players, fans, administrators, officials and coaches,” explained Adam Crozier, the ex chief executive of the FA. “Football is the national game and should be available to the whole nation, regardless of ability of disability.” (Adam Crozier)
To do this the FA is backing the One 2 One Ability counts scheme, matching the amount One 2 One are putting up and committing resources for the initial three year scheme. The institute of sports sponsorship, through its Sports Match scheme, is also committed to the scheme, which will be run and administered by the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS). The EFDS are the national organisation responsible for the development of sport for the disabled in England. As well as financial support, the main aim of the FA’s involvement at grass roots level will be in offering specialist coaching courses and qualifications specifically for those wanting to coach disabled players. (www.the-fa.org) and (www.efds.net).
There is a great need for all these initiatives as the current statistics supplied by research carried out by the EFDS (www.efds.net)show that:
- 554 full and part-time Football in the community coaches, only 7% have so far received specific training in coaching disabled players.
- Of the 90 clubs in the premiership and football league, only 6% currently make provision for players with disabilities.
- 98% said they are prepared to take part in the One 2 One ability counts scheme.
But it is not just at grass roots level that improvements need to be made this is why at a national level, the FA wants to establish a proper competitive structure based on club competitions and regional tournaments. This in turn should lead to the development of a regional squad with a clear path for the best players to progress to the national team.
My view on the provision of football in the UK locally as well as nationally is very important as football is a very sociable as well as competitive game and the more participants the better, as it also improves fitness levels thus improving health and decreasing obesity levels as well as lowering youth crime rates. The provision available at the moment is not up to standard considering football is the national sport, but with all the initiatives which have been put into place by many different organisations to improve equality between genders and the availability of provision for disabled players etc, soon football will be of a very high standard in terms of provision.
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Bibliography/ Webliography:
www.streetmap.co.uk
www.the-fa.org
www.footballfoundation.org.uk
www.southportfcjuniors.org/meaning.htm
www.nwfds.co.uk/charter_mark.htm
www.efds.net
www.sportengland.org
www.culture.gov.uk
Emma Bawn
Candidate Number:
