Footballs in a pile.

Affiliation Update: A Message from Darryl Haden, CEO of Kent FA

Dear all,

Firstly, I hope you and your families are safe and well. 

It has been over two months since the suspension of grassroots football. I am sure that you are missing it as much as we are, and I wanted to reassure you that we are doing all that we can to ensure that the grassroots game in Kent returns stronger than ever.

We hope you were pleased with the recent government update that groups of six can now train together. We understand the complex and unique challenges which different clubs will face, and we would like to thank those volunteers who are quickly and cleverly adapting to bring football back to their communities. 

During this period, Kent FA and its partners have been working together to ensure that we can provide support to clubs in the county who will have inevitably been affected by COVID-19.

Therefore, Kent FA has decided to waive the following fees for 2020/21 season:

  • Club affiliation (including team levy charges)
  • Public liability insurance for all clubs
  • County cup entries for all teams 

The Kent FA Foundation & Kent FA will be donating first aid kits to every team in Kent, which has been kindly supported by our Kit and Equipment partner Discount Football Kits

UK Global will reduce the cost of Personal Accident Cover by 16.6%, with changes to the scales of cover available. The prices for Adult Scale 1 will be reduced from £69 to £57.50; Adult Scale 2 will be reduced from £86 to £72 and the price for Youth Football will be reduced from £20 to £15, regardless of age.

Several of Kent’s leagues are in the fortunate position to be able to financially support their member clubs for the 2020/21 season and you can read more about their pledges below.

We hope that some of these contributions will alleviate any financial concerns or worries your club may have experienced over the last few months. 

Finally, we would like to let you know that the Kent FA affiliation process will open on Friday 31st July 2020, but this may be subject to change in line with the evolving situation. UK Global have confirmed that all clubs who have purchased Public Liability Insurance and Personal Accident Cover through Kent FA will be covered beyond the 1st July 2020, providing they affiliate with Kent FA by Friday 28th August 2020 and adhere to The FA guidance with regards to training and footballing activities.

I’d like to take the opportunity to remind you that the team at Kent FA are here to help you through these unprecedented circumstances and to ensure your club is in the best position to return to football when the time comes. If you are facing any additional challenges in which you need our support, please do not hesitate to contact us on info@kentfa.com.  

Kind regards,

Darryl Haden, Chief Executive Officer

Kent FA is pleased to announce that a number of leagues in Kent have pledged to support grassroots clubs in the return to football.

While we are grateful that many are able to offer financial assistance to their member clubs, we ask that you respect those leagues who are not in the position to do so. 

This list will be regularly updated:

There will be no payment required to register with the league and tariffs will be reviewed in the event of a lengthy delay. 
There will be a delayed request for entrance fees and there will be individual support for clubs to ensure their teams and players can still play in the 2020/21 season. There will be no penalty fees for withdrawing teams.
Applications for the 2020/21 season are open but the league is not requesting payment at this stage.
Fees will be reduced to £50 for all first teams and will be completely free for clubs entering reserve teams for the 2020/21 season. This includes all internal cups.
The league supplied a £65 rebate to each active team last season which was discounted off their overall club fees for the 2020/21 season. There will be no player registration or transfer fees.
Annual subscription will be reduced from £150 to £35 for the 2020/21 season, which will include the cost of handbooks, stationery and entrance to the charity cup. This fee includes a £15 donation to the league’s charity Wisdom Hospice.
Affiliation to enter the league will be half price for the 2020/21 season.
Affiliation to enter the league will be half price for all returning teams for the 2020/21 season.
There will be no entry fees for the league and its cups for the 2020/21 season. They have also negotiated a 33% reduction in pitch hire charges for the 2019/20 season, saving over £200 per club.
The league have waived registration fees for the 2019/20 season. Annual subscriptions for the 2020/21 season will be payable in two equal instalments, payable 30 and 90 days after the start of the season.
Annual fees have been reduced for the 2020/21 season and registration fees for an initial squad for a member club have been waived. These changes will benefit clubs to the sum of at least £337.
The league has refunded 25% of club fees for the 2019/20 season which will be deducted from their 2020/21 fees. Clubs will be offered a two-month delay after the start of the season to pay their subs in full and each club will receive a free refill pack for their first aid kit.
The league have refunded has refunded teams £50 following the cancellation of the 2019/20 season.

The league has waived all entry fees for the coming season for all existing member clubs. They also secured a 33% refund from pitch fees which will be returned to the clubs or held for future fees (as agreed with individual clubs).

The league will not charge a registration fee to all existing member clubs and will offer individual financial support to any club in need. 

The league has reduced its fees to £20 per team, instead of £90, which sees a saving of over £500 for some clubs. They are also offering free entry to U7 and U8 teams.