The FA Publishes EDI Strategy ‘A Game Free From Discrimination’
The FA has published its new four-year equality, diversity, and inclusion [EDI] strategy, titled A Game Free From Discrimination, which sets out its long-term commitment to celebrate and promote diversity within English football, as well as their ambition to tackle all forms of discrimination in the game.
A Game Free From Discrimination will run until the end of the 2027/28 season, and focuses on three core pillars:
Boosting representation by improving the diversity of officials, coaches, volunteers, players and our employees
Driving inclusion by ensuring everybody involved in the game, in whichever capacity, feels welcome
Tackling discrimination by creating a culture where prejudice and abuse is routinely challenged and addressed, from grassroots through to the elite level of the game
The new strategy represents the collective efforts across The FA, with the three areas of focus deeply embedded within the grassroots game, disability football, the women’s and girls’ game, FA Learning and the County FA network.
The key deliverables outlined within A Game Free From Discrimination are to:
Increase the number of players, coaches and referees from underrepresented groups
Unite leaders across professional football to tackle big EDI challenges
Deliver meaningful and impactful campaigns across the game
Drive EDI best practice into the County FA network
Continue to increase the diversity of the FA workforce and its leaders
Mark Bullingham, FA Chief Executive, said: “Tackling discrimination is one of our core ambitions so we will continue to unite the game to confront this societal issue.
“Through our new strategy, we will work with our partners across football to boost representation, drive inclusion and tackle discrimination at all levels of our game.
“We have seen how the power of football can bring communities together and celebrate diversity, and we want to continue to use our influence to deliver positive and lasting change that we can all be proud of.”
Yasir Mirza, FA Equality Diversity & Inclusion Director, added: “We know the challenge is big, but through collaboration, impactful campaigns, an effective sanctioning framework and education, we can make real progress.
“Our focus over the next four years will be on three core areas of boosting representation, driving inclusion, and tackling discrimination.
“From grassroots football, coach education, and the women’s and girls’ game to disability football, our England teams, and our own workforce, we will ensure this is ingrained into everything we do, to ultimately help create an environment where everybody feels welcome to take part in our game.”
