• Football is the biggest team sport in England, every month nearly 7 million people play some form of the game including 3.9 million children
  • The FA is a not-for-profit organisation and currently invests £60m a year back into the game. Around £38m goes into grassroots football, including £15 million to the Football Foundation
  • The FA and the Football Foundation have developed 2,700 projects to the value of over £430 million to improve facilities and fund a huge variety of community and coaching schemes
  • The FA has recently secured a new £425m TV deal which will increase revenue by 42%, which in combination with a new sponsorship programme, will allow greater reinvestment into the game at all levels
  • The FA runs a total of 24 England teams including women’s, youth and disability sides as well as the England senior team
  • Women’s football is the fastest growing sport in the country, with £4.5m invested by The FA every year. Over a million women and girls now play football, which should be boosted by the inspiring displays of the national team at the Women’s World Cup in China
  • Two England disability sides, the cerebral palsy and blind teams, are aiming to gain qualification for next year’s Paralympics in Beijing
  • It was a busy summer for the youth teams, with the U21s reaching the semi-finals of the European Championship in Holland in June, while the U17s reached the quarter-final stage of the World Cup in Korea in August
  • There are 125,000 FA-affiliated teams playing in over 2,000 leagues
  • Over 400,000 volunteers work in football, keeping the grassroots game alive. Each year The FA recognises their enormous contribution through the Volunteer Workforce Awards
  • There are approximately 30,000 referees in England. Every year The FA recruits around 7,000 new referees, and operates support, training and mentoring schemes to try and stop the same number dropping out
  • The FA’s international assistance and development programme is active in all six continents, from refereeing and coaching courses to visits by former England players to raise awareness of health and social issues
  • The FA HatTrick Programme has delivered 19 Community Football Development workers in the most deprived communities in England using football as a tool to address crime, anti-social behaviour and motivation in schools. One such project operates in Sandwell
  • The FA is committed to removing any barriers to people of all ethnic backgrounds playing football, with a particular focus on increasing the number of Asian players and to developing more black coaches in the game
  • A record 731 teams have entered this season’s FA Cup. The FA distributes over £15 million back into the game through the Prize Fund and broadcast payments
  • In the last five years, The FA has supported over 3,700 clubs, involving more than 20,000 teams, and over 5,200 schools to achieve The FA Charter Standard, a scheme providing qualified coaches, codes of conduct and a safe environment for children
  • The FA has trained over 130,000 coaches to gain their Level 1 qualification
  • Small-sided football is a huge growth area and The FA has launched a national five-a-side competition as well as introducing mini-soccer as the mandatory game for all players under 10 years of age, creating over 23,000 teams
  • The FA has 55 County and Affiliated Football Associations within membership who develop and administer football locally throughout England