Set out below is an update on the Council meeting which took place on 15 October 2020. The main highlights were as follows:-
Council Membership
We have some new members of Council for this season:
o Simon Cliff from Manchester City FC representing the Premier League
o Lee Sanders from Durham Women’s FC representing The Barclays FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship
o Denise Richmond from the Southern Counties East Football League representing the National League System Steps 5 & 6
o Nicholas Randall QC from Nottingham Forest FC representing the EFL
Football Leadership Diversity Code
Paul Elliott (Chair, Inclusion Advisory Board) and Edleen John (International & Corporate Affairs Director and Co-Partner for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) presented on the proposal to create a voluntary Football Leadership Diversity Code. Paul announced the creation of the voluntary Code in June in an open letter to the football family. Since that time, work has been progressing on developing the principles, pledges and targets which clubs will sign up to. The Code is due for launch later this month, with a grassroots version being developed for launch in Spring 2021.
FA Education Service
Lucy Pearson (Head of Education) presented on her review of the FA’s Education Service. We have over 400,000 qualified coaches in England of which over 150,000 are active across the game. However, few engage in Continual Professional Development, there are low numbers of BAME and female coaches and course delivery is through very traditional methods. Going forward, we aim to drive more diversity and deliver a personalised and connected learning experience using digital technology.
