Tag: FA

Shildon AFC Achieves Ground Grading

Shildon AFC are delighted to confirm that following a Football Association and Northern Premier League inspection last week the Club has achieved Ground Grading 4 (formerly Grade D).  This means we are fully compliant with all the requirements of the grading which is essential in maintaining our presence in the Northern Premier League East.

The Club were complimented on the excellent changing facilities for home/away players and officials and were commended on the work completed on the community garden as well as the newly installed toilets and medical room.

Chairman, David Dent said: “This represents a massive achievement for the Club and the town.  People don’t appreciate that to play at this level demands serious investment on and off the pitch and we’ve achieved this.  We’ve now got a platform to compete at this level for many years to come and I’ve every confidence that we will.”

 

 

We’re backing Play Safe


Shildon AFC is lending its full support to Play Safe – an ongoing national campaign led by The FA to raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding in football.

Although it runs throughout the year, Play Safe really comes to the fore over football’s National Safeguarding Weekend, which this year is 1st & 2nd October 2022.  The main focus this year is on parents and carers, with two key messages to convey:

 – Awareness of the vital safeguarding role parents/carers play in football; and

 – Encouragement to take the short, new and free online safeguarding course that’s been created specifically for parents/carers. You can access the course here.

Importantly, encouragement to take the new course has come from FASSSAG – The FA’s Survivor Support and Safeguarding Advisory Group:

“We have inputted into the course and helped frame its key messages from our collective experiences. It’s vitally important to us that every parent/carer understands they role they need to play in football. Taking this course can make a real difference – we are asking every parent/carer to commit to help ensure football is ever-safer.”

The support of FASSSAG has been welcomed by FA Chief Executive Mark Bullingham, himself a parent and youth football coach. “The FASSSAG has been important in helping us create our new strategy moving forwards and we really appreciate their input into the new course.  I have taken the new course and encourage all parents/carers across football to take it too.

“Ultimately, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We all need to ensure that everyone involved in football – particularly children and young people – has a consistently safe and positive experience of our great game.  Play Safe reminds everyone of that responsibility and keeps safeguarding front of mind, which is exactly where it should be.”

Play Safe is being run in partnership with the NSPCC and has the full backing of the Premier League, EFL, Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship. It’s also supported and being run across every other level of the game.

FA Competitions for the 2021-22 Season

Please see below correspondence received today from the Football Association regarding the FA Competitions for the 2021/22 Season:

 

We have received an application from your Club to enter one or more of The Emirates FA Cup, The Buildbase FA Trophy, The Buildbase FA Vase and The FA Youth Cup Competitions.

On Friday 2 July 2021, Clubs shall be notified of the following information for each of The Emirates FA Cup, The Buildbase FA Trophy, The Buildbase FA Vase and The FA Youth Cup Competitions;

   – List of participating Clubs

   – List of Clubs to receive exemption

   – Round Dates

   – Prize Fund

 

The Emirates FA Cup – Step 6 Clubs to be accepted

As the Competition was oversubscribed, it will not be possible to accommodate all Clubs that have applied to enter. As a result of the recent restructuring of The FA National League System, the maximum number of Clubs that can be accepted to participate in the Competition in its current format shall be 729. All Clubs that applied to enter the 2021-22 Competition that will be competing at Step 5 of The FA National League System or higher for the 2021-22 season shall be accepted. Taking into account the number of Clubs that have been uplifted in the recent restructuring, it means that only eight places will be available in the Competition for Clubs competing at Step 6 of The FA National League System.

A draw will be conducted to determine eight of the 17 Step 6 Leagues which will be represented in the Competition. Each of those eight Step 6 Leagues will then be represented by one Club. This Club will be the highest ranked Club within that Step 6 League that was not successful in receiving upward movement to Step 5 of The FA National League System in the recent restructuring.

Whilst we accept this method would not ordinarily be used to determine entries into the Competition, we believe it to be the fairest method in the current set of exceptional circumstances, to ensure the Competition has a fair balance of Clubs across all the divisions of Step 6 of The FA National League System.

 

The Emirates FA Cup – Step 4 Clubs receiving exemption

Similar to previous seasons, in order to maintain the number of participating Clubs at a similar level and for the Competition to retain its current format,   it will be necessary for a number of Clubs at Step 4 of The FA National League System to enter the Competition in the Extra Preliminary Round instead of the Preliminary Round. For the 2021-22 Competition there shall be 21 Clubs at Step 4 required to enter the Competition in the Extra Preliminary Round instead of receiving exemption to the Preliminary Round, which is the round where the remaining Step 4 Clubs shall enter. This shall comprise of three Clubs from five of the eight Step 4 Leagues, which means there will be two Clubs from each of the remaining three Step 4 Leagues.

Draws shall be conducted for each Step 4 League to determine which Clubs shall enter the Competition in the Extra Preliminary Round.

Competition Draws

Draws for the following fixtures shall be released on Friday 9 July 2021;

   – The Emirates FA Cup – Extra Preliminary Round & Preliminary Round

   – The Buildbase FA Trophy – First Round Qualifying & Second Round Qualifying

   – The Buildbase FA Vase – First Round Qualifying & Second Round Qualifying

   – The FA Youth Cup – Preliminary Round and First Round Qualifying

Competition Rules

The Rules of each Competition are currently being reviewed. These will be communicated to all participating Clubs as early as possible following the release of the draws for the opening two rounds of fixtures on Friday 9 July.

Please note the above information is correct as at the date of this communication, but remains subject to change.

Kind Regards

FA Competitions