Staying in the game

Oxfordshire FA #StayingInTheGame Youth Consultation

We're excited to reveal the findings from our two ‘Staying in the Game’ Youth Consultations.

Alongside our Oxfordshire FA Youth Leadership Team, we recently heard the views of players and referees aged 16 – 21 from across the county as part of our two ‘Staying in the Game’ Consultations.

This is the second phase of our youth consultation initiative, where we are regularly getting feedback from children and young people from across the county to help make continuous positive improvements to young people’s involvement in the game.

It is extremely important that as a County FA we get the views of young people, and that these views are at the heart of future decisions made to further improve the game in Oxfordshire.

The aim of these two consultations was to gain insight into player and referee experiences in the game, and understand how we can keep young people aged 16 - 21 in the game through to their adult years.

The two reports provide the results of the consultations which we have been using to shape some of our work for the upcoming 2022 – 23 season.

For each report, we have provided our commitments for the next 12 months.

We want to send a big thank you to the 105 players and 41 referees that took the time to provide their feedback and we hope you continue to do so in the future!

Oxfordshire FA Youth Staying in the Game Consultation (Players aged 16 - 21)

Download the report to your device here.

Following our players (16 – 21) Staying in the Game consultation, we WILL:

1. Raise awareness of opportunities in the adult game and provide more information to young players on how they can find their most local & suitable opportunity.
2. Improve links between adult and U16-U21 teams with the aim of increasing engagement to help with player transition.
3. Positive promotion of the adult game with a particular focus on improving its perception.

Oxfordshire FA Youth Referee Staying in the Game Consultation (Referees aged 16 – 21)

Download the report to your device here. 

Following our Referees (16 – 21) Staying in the Game consultation, we WILL:

1. Work proactively with leagues, clubs and our own discipline department to improve both coach and spectator behaviour through workshops and a positive social media campaign and highlighting the yellow arm band scheme.
2. Provide a tailored workshop to promote the opportunities and benefits and allay any concerns about refereeing open-age football.
3. Recruit more mentors to support the development of new and current referees.

We are also committed to helping keep young people safe and will be continuing to work collaboratively with clubs & leagues to raise the profile of ‘Club Welfare Officers’ and the process of reporting safeguarding concerns.

If you have any questions regarding the reports, please get in touch with Michael Thurlow, Football Development Manager via Development@Oxfordshirefa.com

To read the findings of our first report 'Returning to Play' from June 2021, please click here.