The FAW’s Grassroots Strategy 2024-30

Enhancing Lives Through Football

The FAW’s Grassroots Strategy 2024-30

goals

Strategic Goals

1

Grow, support & develop the people who deliver community football on & off the pitch.

1

Grow, support & develop the people who deliver community football on & off the pitch.

Key Objectives

  • Increase the number & diversity of people delivering football through enhanced recruitment, training & support.
  • Reduce bureaucracy & improve processes to make things easier for those who deliver & organise community football.
  • Enhance the rewards & recognition for community football volunteers.
  • Provide new engaging resources & support for those delivering football within schools. 
  • Provide focused support to recruit & develop more coaches who are women & more coaches who are from an ethnically diverse background.
  • Increase the number of match officials regularly officiating games across Wales. 
  • Provide education & support to ensure knowledge that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

Key Success Measures

  • Double the number of ‘off pitch’ volunteers.
  • Double the number of coaches who are women and/or from an ethnically diverse background.

  • 20% increase in the number of grassroots matches officiated by a qualified referee.
2

Develop inclusive & sustainable football clubs that enhance the lives of their community.

2

Develop inclusive & sustainable football clubs that enhance the lives of their community.

Key Objectives

  • Create a “Community Football Club of the Future” vision that reflects the varied & diverse Welsh landscape.

  • Provide support to ensure every football club in Wales has an appropriate & inclusive development plan.

  • Align club accreditation & club licensing in support of the new ‘Community Football Club of the Future’ vision.

  • Support clubs to play a greater role in improving the health & wellbeing of their community.

  • Make club management easier through digital, system & compliance improvements.

  • Further enhance the safeguarding culture in every club to ensure a safe & positive football experience for all.

Key Success Measures

  • 100% of clubs to have a club development plan.

  • Community Football Survey – improved administrator satisfaction.

3

Take positive action to improve behaviour & eliminate abuse & discrimination in football creating safe, welcoming & positive environments.

3

Take positive action to improve behaviour & eliminate abuse & discrimination in football creating safe, welcoming & positive environments.

Key Objectives

  • Improve behaviour of players, parents, coaches, officials & spectators within community football through an FAW dedicated education & behaviour change programme.

  • Make it easier to report incidents across community football by improving the process and increasing awareness of how to report instances.

  • Increase awareness and consistency of application of current sanctions resulting from incidents of abuse or discrimination.

  • Develop a clear communication process to share outcomes of discrimination or abuse cases.

  • Provide support programme for victims of abuse & discrimination.

  • Maintain & enhance robust safeguarding standards & a child-centred culture across community football in Wales.

Key Success Measures

  • Successful launch of behaviour change campaign.

  • Number of incidents reported.

  • Community Football Survey – behaviour measure.

4

Work in collaboration with Area Associations to develop modern & flexible leagues that meet the future needs of community football.

4

Work in collaboration with Area Associations to develop modern & flexible leagues that meet the future needs of community football.

Key Objectives

  • Enhance the FAW’s support for Area Associations as agreed within the 2023 Area Association Review.

  • Work with Area Associations to improve league rules, regulations & common practice to make it easier to participate in community football across leagues in Wales.

  • Develop a ‘League of the Future’ vision that reflects the varied Welsh landscape, identifying minimum standards & best practice.

  • Develop improved competitive girls’ leagues across Wales which reflect the significant growth of the game, particularly focussing on transition to league football & U14/U16 girls leagues.

  • Provide relevant data, support & guidance to Area Associations & leagues to help reduce the number of adult males leaving league football.

Key Success Measures

  • Improved competitive leagues for U14/U16 girls.
5

Provide new targeted participation opportunities to grow & retain the number of people playing football.

5

Provide new targeted participation opportunities to grow & retain the number of people playing football.

Key Objectives

  • Ensure that all U6s have a safe, fun and engaging early experience of football, relevant to their age.

  • Increase the number of girls aged 5-11 experiencing fun & engaging football provision inside & outside of schools.

  • Reduce the number of children leaving football inside & outside of school between ages 12-17.

  • Provide more informal, flexible opportunities for adults to play football.

  • Develop a stronger disability pathway to increase the number of people with a disability playing community football.

  • Increase number of participants from ethnically diverse communities playing community football.

Key Success Measures

  • 50% increase in the number of girls playing aged 5-11 years.

  • 50% reduction in players aged 12-17 leaving the game.

  • Double the number of registered adults playing recreational football formats.

  • Growth in participants with a disability playing football.

  • Growth in participants from an ethnically diverse community playing football.

6

Ensure everyone has access to quality, inclusive & sustainable facilities.

6

Ensure everyone has access to quality, inclusive & sustainable facilities.

Key Objectives

Support the development of local plans that link all clubs, leagues & recreational activities to appropriate facilities & identify priorities for investment.

  • Provide support to improve the accessibility to existing facilities for community football clubs, leagues & recreational activities.

Prioritise community club support to help achieve FAW facilities vision:

  • Help clubs create plans to develop their own inclusive & community focused home grounds, helping to improve the health & wellbeing of their community.

  • Maximise the establishment of community football hubs based at:

    • key artificial grass pitches that provide shared spaces for training, matches and targeted activities.

    • priority multi-grass pitch parks to provide shared club or league central venues.

Key Success Measures

  • Invest £25M in grassroots football facilities.

  • Increase in the quality of grass pitches and changing facilities based on player experiences.

2x

the number of ‘off pitch’ volunteers

2x

the number of coaches who are women and/or from an ethnically diverse background

20%

increase in the number of grassroots matches officiated by a qualified referee

100%

of clubs to have a club development plan

50%

increase in the number of girls playing aged 5-11 years

50%

reduction in players aged 12-17 leaving the game

2x

number of registered adults playing recreational football

Enablers

Strategic Enablers

1

Embed data & insight approaches across community football to improve decision making & measuring impact.

1

Embed data & insight approaches across community football to improve decision making & measuring impact.

Key Objectives

  • Improve & embed the use and accuracy of data & insight to support community football decision making across the FAW.
  • Improve our understanding of disability football by capturing disability data as a mandatory data point in COMET.
  • Provide training & support to enable more people to understand & use data & insight across Wales.
  • Produce a suite of insight reports for Area Associations & the wider game to inform, advise & support decision making.
  • Provide data & insight support to clubs, leagues & partners to demonstrate the local impact of community football.

Key Success Measures

  • Annual Community Football Survey to gain further insight across range of strategy objectives.
2

Enhance the FAW’s positive influence through strong partnerships across Wales.

2

Enhance the FAW’s positive influence through strong partnerships across Wales.

Key Objectives

  • Support Area Associations to build new local partnerships which further deliver the national & regional objectives.
  • Develop a stronger relationship with relevant external partners to ensure high quality school football experiences for all children.
  • Work collaboratively with external partners including FIFA, UEFA, Welsh Government, Sport Wales, Local Authorities & other national organisations to achieve shared strategic objectives.
  • Develop new & existing partnerships to enhance accessible participation opportunities across Wales.
  • Reach & engage new audiences across Wales through building new & innovative partnerships.

Key Success Measures

  • Number of new audiences reached via meaningful partnerships.
3

Enhance the use of digital products & technology across the FAW, Area Associations & the wider community game.

3

Enhance the use of digital products & technology across the FAW, Area Associations & the wider community game.

Key Objectives

  • Make it easier to organise & deliver community football by identifying market leading digital products & technology to support clubs, leagues & Area Associations.
  • Increase adoption & utilisation of the FAW’s game management system (COMET).
  • Enhance the impact & alignment of existing FAW platforms.
  • Introduce a new digital system to help the community to find & book recreational football opportunities.
  • Increase the use of technology to help more people access existing football facilities.

Key Success Measures

  • COMET: % adoption & satisfaction levels via Community Football Survey.
  • Growth in users on recreational platforms / activities booked.
  • Increase in facility utilisation via technology.
4

Leverage new investment to support growth of community football in Wales.

4

Leverage new investment to support growth of community football in Wales.

Key Objectives

  • Work with commercial partners to increase reach & impact of community programmes/activities across Wales.
  • Proactively engage key stakeholders such as UEFA, FIFA, National & local government Sport Wales & other national partners to increase funding available to community football.
  • Support Area Associations to secure new local investment which further supports local priorities.
  • Support clubs to secure new local funding to help deliver their development plan.
  • Demonstrate the value of community investment through improved Social return on investment measurement.

Key Success Measures

  • Increase in amount invested into community football.
5

Increase engagement with the community football family through enhanced communications & marketing.

5

Increase engagement with the community football family through enhanced communications & marketing.

Key Objectives

  • Increase the amount of focus on community football through the FAW’s communications & marketing.
  • Providing support & guidance to Area Associations to improve communications & marketing across their regions.
  • Increase the amount of positive social media & communications of Area Associations, Leagues & Clubs.
  • Develop key marketing toolkits for use by clubs across Wales.
  • Ensure the FAW is reaching & engaging more diverse communities to make sure football is for all.

Key Success Measures

  • Increase amount of focus on community football.
  • Engagement levels via Community Football Survey.

Summary

Strategic Summary

Vision

Football enhancing lives in every community

Mission

Together we will create stronger, healthier, & connected communities

Strategic Goals

Grow, support & develop people delivering football

Inclusive & sustainable community football clubs

Improve behaviour & eliminate abuse & discrimination

Grow & retain the number of people playing football

Modern & flexible leagues

Access to quality & inclusive facilities

Strategic Enablers

Engagement through communications & marketing

Digital products & technology

Strong partnerships

Data & insights

New investment

Values

Excellence

Respect

Family