The FA National Game Strategy 2008-12 sets out The FA’s vision for developing grassroots football across England, with The Kent County FA (KCFA) playing an integral role.
The strategy was formed following the largest ever public consultation in The FA’s history. Over 37,000 people were involved, from coaches, referees and players, to volunteers, fans, administrators and Local Authorities. That includes 1,000 people in Kent recently telling The KCFA how they would like to see us implementing the FA National Game Strategy and Kent Football Strategy across the region.
The FA’s first National Game Strategy was launched in 2001 and since then, The KCFA has been transformed with a Football Development team of six staff. The KCFA Football Development Team facilitates football development through key partners by maximising resources and expertise. The KCFA aim to service the needs of the local football community by putting into place a new generation of modern football facilities, increasing participation, establishing strong sustainable links between schools and clubs and investing in the football workforce by providing quality education and training courses.
In 2007, The KCFA Football Development Team:
- Attracted £7 million of investment into grassroots football in Kent
- Assisted Faversham Strike Force FC to become National FA Charter Standard Club of the Year
- Delivered The FA School Club Link programme in 7 School Sport partnerships involving 264 young people
- Established a regional Girls League in East Kent
- Established a County wide junior Disability League
- Assisted 130,000 young people involved in the Kent Social Inclusion football programme
- Delivered FA Coaching Courses which were attended by 834 coaches and provided additional support through the Kent Coaches Association
- Delivered The FA Tesco Skills programme to 15,000 5 – 11 year olds in Kent
Despite the investment in manpower and facilities, some areas of the grassroots game are at critical point, and radical change is essential.
The FA National Game Strategy 2008-12 has four clear goals:
- to grow and retain participation in the game
- to raise standards and address abusive behaviour
- to develop better players
- to run the grassroots game more effectively
KCFA Football Development Manager, Paul Dolan said “The Kent County FA has sought the opinions of people involved in the game locally and have helped The FA devise a strategic plan which reflects what active participants want us, as the governing body to do. It’s sometimes easy to forget that the vast majority of football played in this country is played at the grassroots, involving millions of people, week in, week out. The people of Kent will hopefully now see a real change in the grassroots game from improved facilities to campaigns designed to improve player and spectator behaviour.”
Over the period of the strategy, The KCFA will be tasked with supporting The FA to:
1. Launch the RESPECT campaign to address poor behaviour from players to referees, and pushy parents on the sidelines
2. Invest £15 million a year into facilities through The Football Foundation, part of a £300 million programme
3. Train one million 5-11 year olds through The FA Tesco Skills Programme
4. Invest £25 million into more County FA Development staff
5. Create over 20,000 new teams nationally
6. Retain 24,000 referees and recruit 8,000 new ones
For further information please contact Paul Dolan on 01634 812 032 or paul.dolan@kentfa.com.
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