The Board met on Thursday 18 July 2024 and set out below are the main discussion points.
This was the first Board meeting since Gareth Southgate resigned as England Men’s Senior Manager and Steve Holland as his Assistant Manager. The Board paid tribute to the manner in which they have conducted themselves during their time with us, and for the incredible achievements they have made in taking England to two finals, a semi-final and a quarter-final.
The Board approved our Budget for the 2024/25 season, which will see approximately £164m invested into the game across the football pyramid from grassroots to the National League System and the Professional Game. As part of this, the Board has recognised the need to ensure that our National Football Centre at St. George’s Park remains a modern facility which will continue to inspire our players, teams and coaches. Work on what is required to retain it as a world-leading facility has been commissioned and it will be reviewed in November.
The Board also approved the new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, A Game Free from Discrimination, for 2024-2028, which our EDI Director, Yasir Mirza, presented to the Council in May. This will be published later in the year.
The Board received a summary report on year three of our safeguarding strategy too, with significant progress made on the recommendations from Clive Sheldon KC following his independent review into non-recent child sexual abuse in football. The Board also reviewed the new safeguarding strategy for 2024-2028, which will be published in September.
It was noted that safeguarding and EDI should be embedded in the work of our Council, and the Board will be engaging with the Council and our Committees over the coming season to be sure that is the case.
Our Football Development Director, James Kendall, presented on the review of County Football Associations. There are 50 County FAs across the country with a successful history of administering the game stretching back to the late 1800s. The Counties have identified a need to change to futureproof the game, and are engaged with James and his team to shape the change. James shared the options being explored through the consultation programme with the Counties and specifically the role that shared services can play in freeing up resource to focus on more developmental activities. The Board was fully supportive of the approach of engaging and consulting with the Counties, and suggested that this should be expanded to leagues and clubs too as the review progresses. The Board agreed that it would regularly review the key milestones of this project, and specifically the benefits and risks of key decisions ahead on implementation.
The Board also asked that the Council be regularly updated on this major project.
The Board recognises that football and the various bodies within the game are subject to an increasing number of legal challenges. Our General Counsel, Nick Cooper, and Head of Legal, Bryan Faulkner, led a discussion on some of the recent and current cases in football which helped the Board to appreciate the current and future legal landscape, and to start to formulate our own strategy as the legal context changes. This is something that the Board will be engaging the Council on in the coming season.
Alex Baker was also welcomed to the Board following his appointment as a National Game Representative. Alex has a strong connection with the game through Stonewall FC and as an active referee, and the Board looks forward to him making a positive contribution.
The next Board meeting is in November, with Board check-ins in September and October.
