Vision: Offering everybody in grassroots football a high quality, safe, enjoyable experience, that is nationally recognised
The Programme will help to:
Target investment
Deliver an improved service and support structure to leagues
Improve communication with leagues
Ensure succession planning within leagues
Rationalise existing league structures
Help implement the principles of Long Term Player Development
Grow football for underrepresented groups
Improve efficiency and sustainability of leagues
Deliver on the Respect Programme
The Charter Standard League Programme will assess the ability of leagues to provide a high quality, safe and enjoyable football experience against a standard set of criteria. It will also encourage leagues to continuously develop, through on-going support from County FA staff and the review and on-going development of a league development plan, as part of an annual health check process.
Pilot of the Programme in the 2008/09 season
To ensure that The FA Charter Standard League Programme is relevant, of the right standard and appropriately supported, to ensure maximum possible impact and achievement of The National Game Strategy target of 30% of leagues to achieve The FA Charter Standard League Award by 2012, the Programme will be piloted with 50 leagues across the country in the 2008/2009 season. The purpose of the pilot is to test the draft criteria, assessment process and support services of the Programme.
It is anticipated that The FA Charter Standard League Programme will by launched fully in the Spring of 2009. Until this time, the Programme will be restricted to the 50 pilot leagues but if you are not one of the 50, you can still be developing good practice in your league by ensuring that you have the policies, procedures and approaches proposed by the Charter Standard League Programme in place. The Charter Standard League downloadable resources section provides useful information and templates to support the development of your league. This will ensure that you are well placed to achieve Charter Standard League status once the Programme is launched fully in the Spring of 2009.
Charter Standard League criteria for the pilot
The criteria for the Programme are divided into 6 development areas, reflecting the approach of the National Game Strategy:
Growth and Retention
Raising Standards and Addressing Behaviour
Better Players
Running the Game
Workforce Development
All Goals and Enablers
Growth and Retention
Evidence of how the league plans to retain/grow the number of male, female and disability teams (mini-soccer, small sided and 11v11) as appropriate
Raising Standards and Addressing Behaviour
At least 60% of teams in the league have Charter Standard Club status*
* All other teams must have Enhanced FA CRB checks for all welfare officers, coaches and managers working with children in youth football or with vulnerable adults.
The league will have two years to ensure that all participating clubs have Charter Standard Club status. Any new clubs entering the league after Charter Standard League Status is granted will have 12 months to attain Charter Standard Club status.
The league actively promotes the Respect Programme through implementation of:
The Respect codes of conduct
Designated spectator areas for games (optional for adult leagues)
Captains taking more responsibility for the behaviour of their players
Referee managing the game
The league has an equality policy and complaints procedure that adheres to The FA equality policy and complaints procedure template
The league has a safeguarding children policy and procedures that adheres to FA requirements (youth leagues only)
The league has a named Youth League Welfare Officer who has an Enhanced FA CRB check and has been on the Safeguarding Children and Welfare Officer Workshops (youth leagues only)
Better Players
The league is committed to reviewing existing and developing appropriate competition and training programmes for youth players in line with the principles of Long Term Player Development by evidence of :
A commitment to encouraging greater use of small sided football formats (3v3, 4v4, 5v5, 7v7, 9v9 etc)
Promoting a culture of learning where there is an emphasis on player development over results by:
From the 2009/10 season, no division to exceed 10 teams [Unless permission granted in exceptional circumstances]
No league tables at u7,u8 age groups
Provision of flexible format festivals
A coach education programme to include: Level 1, One Day Introduction to Age Appropriate module, FA Youth Module 1 (this can be linked to the CFA Coaching Programme) (Note: Adult leagues only required to deliver FA Coaching Adults)
Plus two technical in service days per season of which one must be aimed at coaches working with under 11s. (Note: Adult leagues not required to deliver under 11 in-service)
Running the Game
The league is sanctioned by The FA or CFA, as appropriate
The league is signed up to The FA Standard Code of Rules
The league has a Charter Standard League agenda item at league meetings
The Youth League Welfare Officer and Charter Standard League Co-ordinator sit on the league committee
The league uses Full-Time to manage league fixtures / referee appointments and for Respect monitoring
Workforce Development
The league has a named volunteer Charter Standard League Co-ordinator
The league provides a minimum of three continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities per season for league volunteers and member clubs ideally on days when there are no fixtures (flexible programmes to include mentoring for club and league secretaries)
All Goals and Enablers
The league has a development plan that identifies key development objectives and targets linked to the National Game Strategy key goals and enablers
The league has an agreed support package with the CFA
Benefits to leagues
By signing up to working towards Charter Standard League status, leagues will be demonstrating that they are willing to work towards a minimum operating standard and to raising standards and addressing poor behaviour within the league and member clubs by encouraging teams to gain Charter Standard Club status as part of the Charter Standard League criteria. Leagues will also be demonstrating, by reviewing what they do well, what they want to do better and by identifying how they can improve, that they are committed to developing better players and to investing in the workforce.
The benefits of achieving Charter Standard League status, are that leagues will have a clear development plan in place, together with an agreed support package with their County FA. Charter Standard Leagues will also be demonstrating that they are committed to the Respect programme and will have procedures in place to improve standards and address poor behaviour in the game, a key priority for all those involved in Football. Leagues will also gain recognition that they are committed to a quality experience for all and that they are a well run league.
A range of incentives and benefits will be tested and developed during the pilot of the Programme.
Gaining Charter Standard League status
An on-line registration and assessment process is being developed to support The FA Charter Standard League Programme. Once leagues have registered their interest in working towards Charter Standard League status, they will be supported to an agreed level by County FA staff, who will be able to sign off criteria as they are met by the league.
Once the league can demonstrate that it meets all the criteria through an evidence portfolio, the County FA will sign off the league and Charter Standard League status will be awarded. Leagues will then be expected to undertake an annual health check as part of the process, a key element of which will be the review and update of a league development plan.
For more information
Contact the Charter Standard Lead Officer Kelly Ellis e-mail kelly.ellis@Leicestershirefa.com