We are particularly pleased to announce the involvement of the FA's President - Prince William - in these awards. Prince William has a special interest in Respect and wishes to publicise and celebrate those leagues, clubs and individuals that have taken a proactive approach to supporting the Respect programme and establishing high standards of fair play and behaviour.
What do we Want to Recognise? Clubs, leagues, grassroots organisations or individuals that are making a significant contribution to improving the behavioural standards in football and looking after referees. This might be achieved through the following approaches:
- educating teams, coaches, spectators or players
- encouraging players, coaches, spectators or teams to strive for high standards of behaviour
- dealing with poor behaviour
- incentivising good behaviour
- valuing referees
- improving a situation of established poor behaviour
- captains who work well with referees to help manage on pitch behaviour
- referees who excel in the management of a game
Who are These Awards For? Respect is vital for all levels of the game from the Premier League to a local club or a grassroots referee. There will be different categories of award to reflect the diversity of the English game and the need for all levels to take collective responsibility to create a fair, safe and enjoyable environment in which the game can take place.
Award Categories
- Professional Game Fair Play Award Winners
- National League System Leagues (Steps 1-4)
- National League System Leagues (Steps 5-7)
- National League System Club (Steps 1-4)
- National League System Club (Steps 5-7)
- Women’s Pyramid of Football - League
- Women’s Pyramid of Football - Clubs
- Grassroots Adult League
- Grassroots Youth League or organisation
- Grassroots Club
- The Bobby Moore Award
The Bobby Moore Award will recognise an individual that by their conduct, provides an excellent example of the way in which the game should be played or administered.
Application Process: Leagues, clubs, grassroots organisations or individuals can nominate themselves or others for an FA Respect Award by completing an application form. Please try to provide as much detail as possible.
Assessment Process: FA Staff will assess applications and, where appropriate, seek the endorsement of the local CFA, league or club. A shortlist for each category will be produced to be judged by an invited panel of football experts from all levels of the game.
Prizes: Winners of each category will be awarded a Respect trophy and a cash prize at the 2010 FA Cup Final at Wembley. Financial prizes to organisations or clubs are to be used for an approved football or charitable purpose.
For further details, browse the 'Related Documents' on the right. Forms should be returned by Monday 12th April to: Dermot Collins, FA Respect Manager, The Football Association, Wembley Stadium, PO Box 1966, London, SW1P 9EQ. Electronic versions should be returned to samantha.sharman@thefa.com.
Are You Losing It?
The latest campaign in The Football Association’s Respect Programme was unveiled at Wembley during the England vs Egypt game - aiming to help further reduce levels of anti-social behaviour both on and off the pitch.
The hard-hitting ‘Are You Losing It?’ campaign targets abusive grassroots players and parents, and encourages disaffected team-mates and spectators to put a mirror up to those most in need of a wake up call for their bad behaviour. The films are part of The FA’s drive to promote Respect as everyone’s collective responsibility within the game, in a bid to create a fair, safe and enjoyable environment in which the game can be played at every level, from the professional game through to park football.
The films are part of the Respect programme and are launched on the back of recent strong progress in addressing player behavioural issues in the game. However recent FA figures also reveal that there is still work to be done, not least in addressing issues of unacceptable behaviour by participants to referees and fellow players, as well as from parents and spectators.
The FA Respect Programme is making great progress:
- there has been a 9% increase in the number of qualified referees this season and there are 5,197 trainee referees at Level Nine - a 45% increase on 2008/09
- dissent cautions are down in 12 out of 16 senior professional leagues and divisions. In the Premier League alone dissent cautions are down by 37% whilst in the Championship the numbers are down by 53%, with League One showing an 8% decrease and League Two dropping by 10%
- Respect has become a compulsory module in The FA’s training courses for all new referees and coaches (over 25,000) coming into the game each season
- referee assaults down 25% on previous season
But there is still work to be done:
- 800 grassroots games abandoned in 2008/09 season due to player or spectator misconduct
- 1 in 4 parents would not consider confronting an offensive spectator for fear of physical retaliation
The launch of ‘Are You Losing It?’ is supported by research which suggests that 58% of grassroots players are prepared to call the verbal shots by telling a team-mate to calm down if they display offensive behaviour towards an opposing player. Breaking the Respect Code of Conduct by physically assaulting a player from the opposing side was seen as the most socially unacceptable behaviour by grassroots players. One in four players admitted they would seek to find an alternative team should a team-mate of theirs assault a rival player.
Ian Watmore, CEO of The FA, commented on the Respect Programme, saying: “We want people to be passionate about the game in the way they play it and the way they watch it, but there is a difference between passion and abuse. There is a difference between banter and vile comments and I think we need to find that balance in each of those areas.”
Out of the current 1,169 leagues in England, the number that are signed up to the Respect Programme now stands at 707, whilst over 80,000 education packs have been distributed to leagues, clubs and referees. For more information on The FA’s Respect programme visit TheFA.com/Respect.