January saw us hold our two Strategic Consultation Events, to hear feedback from the Sussex football community to help form our strategy going forward.

Coming off the back of The FA’s national ‘Conversation about our Game’ campaign, which took place last summer, our events provided an opportunity for stakeholders in Sussex football to provide insight into how we as a County FA can learn and improve.

The first event was held at Horam Park Golf Club, with the second, taking place a week later, at Forest School in Horsham.

In the weeks since, we have worked through the extensive feedback from attendees to provide some initial insight into those factors of grassroots football in Sussex that were highlighted most frequently.

Firstly, there was several areas that the County FA does not have control over:

The FA

Discipline
The discipline procedures form part of The FA Rules & Regulations. We have no direct control over changing these procedures. Please find the guides below.

Grassroots Disciplinary Guide 23/24  

County FA Disciplinary Sanction Guidelines 23/24 

IT Systems
The IT Systems are all provided by The FA, and we continually report back on how to enhance them. Next season we are expecting enhancements to the discipline process to make the experience more user friendly.

Coaching Courses
Coaching and associated courses were moved online by England Football Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. England Football Learning are currently reviewing their course structure.

The Football Foundation

Facilities
Facility funding is provided by the Football Foundation who have a Looking for Funding webpage.

In regard to areas where we as a County FA can improve, these were the predominate headlines:

• Recruiting volunteers
• Discipline outcomes / speed of process
• Better use of social media
• Dealing with behaviour that falls below the threshold for disciplinary action
• Behaviour of parents
• Support for referees
• How to reward volunteers
• Improve customer experience

It was also made clear that there are a few notable County FA activations that attendees on the nights were made aware of, that could be of benefit to them.

County FA

SO GOOD Coaching Networks
Our SO GOOD Coaching Network helps support aspiring coaches to develop themselves alongside likeminded coaches and through unique training and development experiences.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
To support your coaching journey, we have developed a range of CPD sessions for you to attend with a variety of face to face and online sessions. Please visit our dedicated CPD page to find out what is currently on offer.

NextGen Programme
This programme has been specifically designed to provide the next generation of 14–25-year-olds in Sussex an opportunity to develop their skills, and experiences to become the future football workforce.

Equality Charter Award
This award has been tailored to help support clubs to become more diverse and how to develop a welcoming environment for all involved in football. For more on the Equality Charter Award, please head to our dedicated news story.

For further information about the consultation and our strategy please contact Projects:

Projects
T: 01903 753547 (Option 6)
E: Projects@SussexFA.com