Staffordshire FA Launch New Grassroots Football Strategy
Staffordshire FA has shared its 2024-2028 strategy “Supporting Staffordshire Football to enhance our Communities’ which sets out their key priorities for the next four years with the focus on Supporting, Developing, Protecting and Uniting the Game within the County.
Specific to the needs within Staffordshire, whilst aligning with the Football Association’s National Grassroots Strategy, key themes have emerged both locally and nationally which will be addressed to support the continued growth and development of the game.
Chief Executive Officer of Staffordshire FA, Adam Evans, said: “Our ambition is to see as many people playing and enjoying the game as possible and do achieve this we need to create safe and inclusive environments where anyone can enjoy their football experience.
“Participation is the cornerstone of our work that we do, and this ambitious strategy will look to address the current challenges both within the game and society that may prevent this. This is a strategy written for Staffordshire Football, we are passionate about localism, and identity is vital for us to truly connect with our communities.
“‘Supporting Staffordshire Football to Enhance our communities’ follows on from ‘Uniting the Knot’ our 2021-2024 where the key theme was bringing the game together within our County. There were a number of key successes that have in turn improved relationships, perception and relevance.
“I want Staffordshire to be a leader, I want us to be a leading County out there and for us to have our own identity.”
The new strategy follows the launch of The Football Association’s [The FA] new landmark national strategy to grow and develop grassroots football in England, titled ‘A Thriving Grassroots Game’ and The FA’s overall four-year strategy, ‘Inspiring Positive Change Through Football’, to take English football forward, with a clear focus on the biggest opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed.
The FA’s new four-year grassroots strategy follows the biggest ever consultation process with the grassroots game across England and is aimed at supporting sustainable growth over the next four years, with projections anticipating a further 220,000 new players across 15,000 new teams nationally by 2028.
Staffordshire FA’s new strategy will work collaboratively with The FA’s new strategy which sets out a clear direction of travel for grassroots football in England and outlines five priority areas, including:
– Improving playing choice and opportunity – To create new and varied playing opportunities to give everyone a chance to play the game, in a way that suits them best
– Deliver equal opportunities for women and girls to play – To ensure every woman and girl who wants to play football has an opportunity to do so in a safe and enjoyable setting and in a way that suits their lifestyle
– Build more, and improve existing, facilities – To increase the quality and quantity of grassroots football pitches and facilities across England, to better meet the demand
– Tackle poor behaviour – To see a decline in cases of poor behaviour of any kind, and to increase reporting of discrimination, ensuring enjoyment is at the forefront of playing, volunteering or officiating grassroots football
– Develop a valued network of volunteers, coaches and referees – To grow the number of grassroots volunteers, coaches and referees, and ensure they all feel valued and supported to fulfil their roles in the game
Through the new strategy, the grassroots game will play a pivotal role in delivering three of the four FA ‘game-changer’ priorities over the next four years. These are to create equal opportunities for women and girls, transform the pitch landscape nationally and see a game free from discrimination.
Speaking of The FA’s new grassroots strategy, FA Director of Football Development, James Kendall, said: “This new strategy has been created for the game, by the game, and is an important moment for the future of grassroots football in England.
“We’ve made significant progress over the last strategy and we are now going even further, investing in more new quality grass pitches, increasing the number of female and disability players, tackling poor behaviours through robust sanctions and promoting positive behaviours, developing thriving community clubs, and growing our valued volunteer network so the game is sustainable in the future.
“We have a clear direction with our new strategy, and with our County FA’s and valued partners we are confident that this will help the grassroots game to thrive for years to come.”
