Oxfordshire FA - developing football for everyone
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Football Development

Our purpose is to increase the participation, quality and enjoyment of grassroots football within the County.

The story so far: The FA National Game Strategy 2008-12

In July 2008, in line with The FA’s National Game Strategy and in consultation with our footballing public, Oxfordshire FA produced a four-year strategy for the development of grassroots football in the county, ensuring participation and the enjoyment of football for everyone.

The plan was based on tackling the following core challenges or Goals underpinned by 2 enablers. The past 3 years of delivery have resulted in the following achievements:

Goal 1: Growth and retention

  • Estimated 16,195 people playing affiliated football in 1,160 teams across Oxfordshire
  • An increase of 36 male teams and four female youth teams, eight over the target for Year Three delivery
  • 28 new men’s teams created in the county, significantly surpassing the county’s original 2012 target of sustaining numbers at 306
  • Increase of two women’s teams, currently sitting three teams shy of the 2011 target
  • 16 new adult disability teams surpassing Year Three targets
  • Clubs supported to access £85,000 to create new teams through the Football Foundation’s Grow the Game Scheme
  • Clubs and schools supported to access £27,600 worth of free Nike kit and equipment through the Football Foundation’s Junior Kit Scheme.

Goal 2: Raising standards

  • 22 new FA Charter Standard Clubs created
  • FA Charter Standard Community Clubs target for 2012 already exceeded
  • 32% increase in youth teams playing in FA Charter Standard Clubs, 7% above Year Three target
  • All OFA affiliated leagues signed up and delivering the Respect programme at some level
  • 3 new FA Charter Standard Leagues.

Goal 3: Better players

  • 625 coaches gained The FA Level 1 Award in Coaching Football
  • 100 coaches have achieved The FA Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Football
  • Since the creation of The FA’s Youth Award qualifications, 120 coaches have successfully completed the Age Appropriate course, with 97 coaches gaining the Module 1 award and 33 the Module 2
  • 71% of youth teams now have a qualified coach
  • OFA Coaches Association created
  • FA Licensed Girls Centre of Excellence at Oxford United supported to gain £119,000 FA funding.

Goal 4: Running the game effectively

  • 16% increase in the number of people who feel Oxfordshire FA are successfully administering and developing grassroots football in the county
  • New discipline email service created to reduce postage and paperwork for clubs and leagues.

Enabler 1: Skilled workforce

  • 204 referees retained and an additional 139 created
  • Young Leaders programme created and developed
  • Every club and league with youth teams now have designated club welfare officers in place providing a focal point of support at each level.

Enabler 2: Improved facilities

  • £5.9 million invested into grassroots football facilities across the county through the Football Foundation
  • 2012 investment target already exceeded by £330,288
  • £52,121 invested into new goalposts countywide through the Football Foundation Goalpost Safety Scheme
  • Quarterly funding guide has been developed.

The need for a revised approach

While the past three years have provided a number of causes for celebration, we must not rest on our laurels.

The Government’s Localism Bill, as well as cutbacks at both national and regional level, is already impacting on football in Oxfordshire and beyond, and it is of paramount importance that we continue to lead the game effectively while meeting the changing needs of our players, coaches, referees, volunteers, supporters, clubs and leagues.

With this in mind there is little to be gained continuing with a strategy based on a pre-recession football landscape and the conclusion of year three brings the opportunity to evaluate and address the impact of the changes on all areas of the game and re-focus on what’s needed to move forward.

Challenges

One key challenge moving forward from the last three years is to identify reasons for the decline in traditional 11 v 11 adult male football and to reverse that trend. We realise that in current economic climate that there are many calls upon everyone's time during the week and we have to find ways to encourage these players to take time out of their busier lives to relax and enjoy some of their time. It is not a simple task but we also hope that the groundwork done with younger age groups in previous years will provide a source of older players for the future.

To compliment this first challenge, we also recognise that we have to have the volunteer workforce in place to support the players on the pitches, whether it be in mini-soccer through to veterans game, without the 'backroom staff' it won’t always happen. To encourage these people to get and stay involved then we have a responsibility to make as many processes as possible, as simple as possible using any resources or technology available. We also have to realise that too much red tape can turn people away and we must lobby for and deliver less strict requirements as we move forward.

With the current economic climate we must find alternative avenues to bring in funding for the company and our members, whilst reducing overheads wherever possible.

Tackling the challenges

The extension of The FA National Game Strategy has brought about a shift away from the previous list of goals and enablers and instead focuses in on 6 key delivery areas.

Each focus area target is underpinned by a range of ‘we wills’ or tactics identified as the work needed to achieve the areas objectives. Below are a summary of the key tactics identified to support each focus area:

Growth & Retention - We will:

  • Work with our affiliated leagues to develop the structure of competitive adult male football in the county through the implementation of a pyramid system
  • Work with clubs and leagues to address drop out and support the transition into adult football
  • Support the development of new and existing club teams through The FA Club Link Programme
  • Identify opportunities to create 5v5 and 9v9 provision as a stepping stone to 11v11 within the county's youth leagues
  • Use flexible formats of football to increase participation and support growth and retention of teams
  • Fully establish sustainable Futsal leagues within the county
  • Work in partnership with the Oxfordshire Schools FA to maintain and develop competition opportunities within schools football

Raising Standards - We will:

  • Raise the profile, awareness and commitment of grassroots football towards The FA Respect Programme
  • Provide an attractive, graduated benefits package for FA Charter Standard Clubs
  • Provide an effective monitoring system for all FA Charter Standard Clubs and leagues
  • Continue to deliver a League Development Group to provide support, networking opportunities and promote joint working
  • Deliver a comprehensive welfare support programme and ensure there is at least one qualified welfare officer with every youth club and league

Better Players - We will:

  • Continue to develop and deliver a County Coaches Association
  • Provide in-service support for FA Charter Standard and FA Licensed coaches
  • Deliver a comprehensive course programme to meet the needs of the county’s coaching workforce
  • Support the delivery of The FA Licensed Girl’s Centre of Excellence at Oxford United
  • Support the development of the disability player pathway within Oxfordshire

Running the Game - We will:

  • Develop a marketing and communications strategy to raise our profile and ensure we are reaching all stakeholders effectively
  • Deliver The FA Annual Survey and stakeholder consultation events to ensure we are meeting the needs of football in the county
  • Support adult clubs and leagues with the implementation of the match based disciplinary system
  • Investigate potential sponsors for OFA, leagues, clubs and representative football

Workforce - We will:

  • Deliver a programme of referee courses to support new referees into the game
  • Provide in-service training opportunities for registered referees below Level 3
  • Provide in-service opportunities and resources to support the volunteer workforce
  • Deliver a comprehensive young leaders programme

Facilities - We will:

  • Support the maintenance and development of pitches on key football sites
  • Raise awareness of localism and the impact it could have on grassroots football
  • Support The FA to protect the loss of playing fields within the county
  • Develop closer links with Local Authorities to represent the needs of football and ensure a joined up approach to facility maintenance and development
  • Work with clubs and leagues to identify opportunities to better utilise local facilities
  • Support clubs and leagues to become incorporated and develop business plans where asset transfer opportunities exist
  • Support clubs and leagues to access funding

To find out more on the OFA County Strategy, it's targets and how it was created download the strategy summary from the 'related documents' section on the right of the page.