YEL Update – 3rd March 2023

This Update has FIVE important messages this week which we would ask you to please read.

Affiliation safeguarding requirements update from The FA
Player registration/Transfer deadline day
England Accreditation – Extremely important – Please read
Player ID checks
YEL hotline number

Affiliation safeguarding requirements from The FA

We have been asked to pass this message on from The FA:

We’re updating our safeguarding requirements to affiliate youth teams next season.

Ensuring children have a fun, safe and inclusive football experience should be the priority for everyone working with U18s – especially coaches and managers (including assistants), who are in a position of trust. This includes being up to date with safeguarding training which provides guidance on how to create safe football environments and prevent abuse.

The FA Safeguarding Children Course has been a requirement for anyone completing coaching qualifications since 2000, but there are some coaches who haven’t undertaken coaching qualifications, and therefore haven’t done safeguarding training.

For Teams to affiliate for the 2023/2024 season, all managers and coaches of youth teams (U18) are now required to complete The FA’s online Safeguarding Children Course and ensure this qualification remains in-date by doing the re-certification course every 2 years.

The Safeguarding Children Course costs £30 and lasts two years, with a free re-certification to last a further two years.

The importance of coaches being safeguarding trained was reinforced by The Sheldon Report published in 2021, following a lengthy review of non-recent child abuse in the game.

To support this new mandatory requirement, The FA is offering a 50% reduction for their coaches taking the Safeguarding Children Course bringing the cost down to £15 during the months of May, June and July.

A discount code will be generated and sent directly to clubs that have coaches who have not yet taken the Safeguarding Children Course, or those brand new coaches joining you for the new season, in early May.

All of The FA’s safeguarding courses can be accessed through the new England Football Learning website.

For more information, please contact your Designated Safeguarding Officer at your County FA.

Player registration/Transfer deadline day

REMINDER: As per YEL rules 18(I) A Player may not be registered for a Club nor transferred to another Club in the Competition after 16th March except by special permission of the Management Committee.

If you are looking to sign/register an additional player/s the transfer/registration must be completed by 16th March.

England Accreditation – Extremely important – Please read

The YEL is an England accredited league. In our League Regulations, Reg 1 states that to be a member club of the YEL your club must hold an England Football Accreditation (Old Charter Standard). During COVID, we were relaxed about this regulation as getting all coaches qualified was deemed too onerous. We are now post Covid so this Regulation will be enforced for the 2023-24 season. For a club to be a readmitted/accepted as a new member of the YEL for season 2023-24 YOU MUST BE ENGLAND ACCREDITED (or if a brand new club – less than 12 months old – and wanting to join, obtain an email from your county FA to say that you have started the process) Each case will then be considered on its merits by the league.

We recently held a joint webinar with Notts FA which was available to all club secretaries and welfare officers where they explained the process of gaining England accreditation. I believe other county FAs of YEL member clubs have run similar events.

The deadline set by Nottingham FA – assume this is the same for other local CFAs – is April 30th. Check NOW that your coaches have the necessary qualifications. If not, then get onto the process as some online courses – introduction to coaching as an example – gets filled up quickly and they may need to wait for availability.

Currently only 20 Nottinghamshire based clubs have completed the process. If the largest club in the area can do this, so can everyone else. There are still over 100 who have not yet submitted.

If you are unsure what needs to be done, please contact your club’s local CFA.

Player ID checks

DON’T LOSE THE POINTS YOU HAVE WON ON THE FIELD OR WORSE, YOUR PLACE IN THE CUP: It should not be necessary to remind anyone about player ID checks but still teams are losing games (matches awarded by YEL Discipline) that they’ve won on the day as a result of either opposition reporting they were unwilling/didn’t carry out an ID check or undercover RFOs reporting no checks were completed. These checks are part of league rules and are being enforced. Don’t let your players down. Please ensure the ID check is completed prior to the game.

YEL Game Day hotline  

If you have any issues or on the day queries relating to your game only, you can contact the YEL Game Day Hotline number for advice.

 07510 305354

Available 9.30am – 12.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

ONLY AVAILABLE FOR ON THE DAY MATCH RELATED ENQUIRIES – no other issues will be discussed.

Contacting the YEL

If you email the YEL OFFICE – yel@live.co.uk – please ensure you state the team name, age group and playing day so we can quickly deal with the enquiry

Rob Harwood CEO

YEL OFFICE

 

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