County FAs rewarded for Equality Standard achievements
Following an FA Council meeting, eight county FAs were recognised by FA Chairman Lord Triesman and FA Chief Executive Ian Watmore for achieving the Foundation Level of the Equality Standard.
For many counties the achievement is the culmination of 12 months hard work, involving promoting and enhancing equality and maintaining appropriate conduct and behaviour.
The Standard is the industry benchmark for equality and is recognised by the Sports Councils for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Middlesex and West Riding FAs were the first two Counties to achieve the Foundation Level, with Berkshire & Buckinghamshire, Essex, Surrey, Kent, Hampshire and Birmingham achieving the award soon after.
Lord Triesman said: “The Football Association is committed to providing an open and inclusive environment in which everyone who wants to play can get involved in the game.
“It gives us great pleasure to be able to share that commitment with the counties who have demonstrated their work towards becoming a open and inclusive organisation.”
The event was also attended by Jonathan Hall and Kelly Simmons from The FA’s Football Services division, whose Business Support Unit provides guidance to the counties working towards the Standards.
Certificates and glass mementos were presented by former Celtic and Chelsea defender, Paul Elliott, and the chair of The FA Women’s Committee, Sue Hough.
Lord Triesman praised all counties working towards the Standard by saying: “For football and for inclusion, working within the framework of these standards is critical because under-represented groups are the untapped markets of football.
“Doing what we can to affiliate new teams and retain existing ones, engage fans from new and different communities is key to our strategy to grow and develop the game.”
If you would like to find out more about County FAs work towards achieving the Standard, contact Jonathan.Mills@TheFA.com
