Essex County FA Senior Football Development Officer, Danielle Warnes has thanked local FA Charter Standard Clubs for reinforcing their commitment to raising standards, including the completion of their 2017/18 ‘Annual Health Check’.

As a reward for completing their submissions by the March deadline, the clubs are set to receive new Nike footballs. The Annual Health Check (AHC) was one of many regular opportunities to display what it means to be a Charter Standard Club and it also served as a reminder of which qualifications and Criminal Records Checks (CRCs) needed updating or renewing.

Clubs completing the AHC will receive a new allocation of five to twelve Nike footballs (depending on their Community, Development or Youth/Adult level) as a benefit for 2018/19. Danielle has paid tribute to the clubs involved, saying: “This process is vital to ensure the environments adults and children in Essex are playing in are safe and that the correct volunteers are in place.”

“The criteria raise standards in football which, in turn, will support player development. A big thank you goes to the Club Secretaries, Charter Standard Coordinators and anyone else within clubs who’ve supported this process. For the clubs with a number of teams this can be a big task but we have some fantastic volunteers out there who see this process through.”

The FA Charter Standard Programme, supported by McDonald’s, is The FA’s accreditation scheme for grassroots clubs and leagues. Its goal is to raise standards and support their development, recognising them for their commitment and achievements. Charter Standard clubs and leagues are rigorously adjudged to be well-run and sustainable.

Charter Standard leagues and clubs prioritise child protection, quality coaching and implementation of the Respect Programme. They also have a huge part to play across the game of football as they are proven to grow and retain more teams and players.

They create a fun, safe and inclusive environment for volunteers to thrive and for players to develop. In addition, they have potential access to more funding opportunities and better facilities but, most importantly of all, they share The FA’s vision to ‘Unite the Game and Inspire the Nation’.

“Charter Standard, for us here in Essex, has been growing for the last three seasons in all aspects,” Danielle added. “There will be some big news announced by The FA in the coming months around the revised adult offer, which looks to directly support clubs with better incentives and support packages.”

“It remains a pinnacle part of the youth game and looks to remain for the new FA National Game Strategy coming into place. We’re always looking to support clubs to achieve Charter Standard status who understand and believe in the importance of the kite mark.

“Equally we want to encourage those who have reservations and explain the positive impact it has on team and player retention benefits, the gateway to funding opportunities and additional support including FA mentors.”

Find out more about the benefits of FA Charter Standard status, and how to apply for your club, please click here. Information is also shared on Twitter by following @EssexCountyFA and by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.

McDonald’s Deal Reaches Conclusion

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the successful McDonald’s support for the FA Charter Standard Programme, which has run since the programme was launched in 2001, will be coming to an end on 31st July. In that time, enormous strides have been made in the grassroots game as ‘Official Community Partners’ for the last four years.

McDonald’s have also supported Community Awards, Community Football Days and the Charter Standard Kit Scheme. Next season there will be a new FA Charter Standard logo from 1st August and The FA, along with the grassroots football community, are grateful to McDonald’s for their investment and contribution.

Over the last four years, 18,300 teams and 175,000 players in FA Charter Standard Clubs have received a free kit as a reward for achieving and maintaining the status. Clubs joining the FA Charter Standard Programme in 2016/17, or completing the 2016/17 Annual Health Check, were eligible for a kit in 2017/18, the final season of the kit scheme.

With potential sponsors keen to support the FA Charter Standard programme from 1st August 2018, it will not be through a replacement kit scheme. However, The FA will continue to significantly invest into all clubs, ensuring all youth teams have a qualified FA Level 1 coach and adult teams have qualified first aiders.