Liverpool FA’s Safeguarding Commitment Fund

For all 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.

To support this new mandatory requirement, The FA have contacted Clubs directly via email, 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 who have coaches who have not yet taken the Safeguarding Children Course, or those brand-new coaches joining you for the new season, in late April.

We at Liverpool FA fully comprehend the implications of this new requirement on Clubs in terms of costs, but we know it is ESSENTIAL that every child under the age of 18 is afforded the appropriate safeguard at every level of the game and in every team.

Therefore, we’re pleased to confirm that we are launching our Safeguarding Commitment Fund, to help clubs ensure that all coaches assigned to U18s teams can complete the required Safeguarding Children course.

How the fund will work.

Coaches who DO NOT have an in-date FA Safeguarding Children certificate and are assigned to a current 2022/23 U18s team, will be able to access a £10 bursary from Liverpool FA, helping to reduce the cost incurred by clubs/individuals to £5 per course (based on clubs utilising the FA’s Bursary detailed above).

Clubs will be emailed directly by Liverpool FA detailing which coaches are applicable to this bursary. If, however, the data we send you is incorrect, please inform us immediately so we can update our systems.

Clubs will be responsible for paying the remaining course cost of £15 (based on you using FA code), upfront for their coaches to complete the FA Safeguarding Children course. 

Clubs will be provided with a form to complete detailing which coaches have completed the course, allowing them to be refunded by Liverpool FA. We aim to refund clubs on a monthly basis across May, June and July. 

We hope the launching of the Safeguarding Commitment Fund, will support clubs and coaches in ensuring that we protect our game across Merseyside and our surrounding areas.

FA Safeguarding Requirements for 2023-2024 Affiliation

For the 2023-2024 season, the FA have introduced mandatory Safeguarding responsibilities for all U18s Youth Coaches and Adult Clubs who have 16/17year old players registered to play.

These responsibilities MUST be abided by in order to affiliate and play football next season.

The purpose of these new policies and related courses is to safeguard Under-18s and all adults participating in open-age football across Merseyside.

What do i need to do?

Clubs are being asked to complete the mandatory actions to ensure they meet the requirements for affiliation for the 2023/24 season. The requirements for roles at clubs are outlined below - simply scroll to the type of team you work in and find your role to see what your requirements are.

All relevant courses are on England Football Learning and are linked below. Please note that all your courses must all be in date.

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U18s Youth Football