As the nation’s number one sport, football has incredible power to bring people together. It can remove barriers and be a force for good in communities. Part of your role as a coach is to help create equal, diverse, and inclusive football environments for all.
Under the Equality Act 2010, certain characteristics are protected by law:
If people with these characteristics are not treated fairly, it may be a form of discrimination. For more information, check out this article.
Having clearly defined strategies and policies helps all levels of football work towards these goals. The FA’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy, ‘A Game For All’ outlines how this will be realised.
The FA’s working hard for football to better represent society and the communities you serve. This is where The Football Leadership Diversity Code comes in. While focusing on gender and ethnicity initially, it will expand over time.
Under the broad umbrella of A Game For All (The FA’s equality, diversity and inclusion strategy) sits Football Your Way - The FA’s game plan for disability football.
Under the Equality Act 2010, disability is a physical or mental impairment with a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ adverse effect on the ability to do normal daily activities.
There are three pathways open to disabled footballers:
To learn more about the different formats of disability football go to The FA’s free Introduction to Disability Football e-module.
Click here to download our summary.
Everyone has the right to play football with confidence and without prejudice, regardless of personal characteristics. Commit today to use your influence to positively impact every aspect of the game.
To learn more about equality and inclusion in football, visit The FA.com.
