FAQs
What is dispensation - this enables children with a disability, Significant Physical Development Delay (SPDD), or who are schooled no more than one year behind the age group prescribed by their date of birth (their "prescribed age group") to play football outside of their prescribed age group.
Affiliation is completed through the Club Portal. You must affiliate all teams playing competitive football in the county. Club insurance and team insurance is available for purchase through the portal and all fees are payable at the end of the process. Please use the information and guidance below:
https://grassrootstechnology.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/48001239626-affiliation
https://grassrootstechnology.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/folders/48000690410
If you are a brand new Club you will need to complete an offline form first before being able to access Club Portal. Please email Info@DurhamFA.com to request a new Club Affiliation Form.
Contact our Designated Safeguarding Officer Neil.Churcher@DurhamFA.com
Player registration is completed using the Club Portal using the ‘Players’ tab. You will need the players full name, date of birth and email address. If it’s a youth player (under the age of 16) you will also need the parent carer details (full name, date of birth and email address). The link below has all the information required to register: https://grassrootstechnology.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/folders/48000693860
By completing the Durham County FA Representative Request Form here - https://forms.office.com/e/pVYyE70fgT
If the request for a representative is agreed a fee of £20.00 must be paid to the Durham County Football Association before the game is to be played.
Please email Info@DurhamFA.com with the following; home team, away team, date of friendly and Referee. Once we have verified that both teams are affiliated for the current season and the Referee is registered with all relevant qualifications up-to-date we will email back with confirmation that the friendly is sanctioned.
If you are hosting a tournament please complete the online form here - https://forms.office.com/e/YVhZ16Y0Qq
WE MUST RECEIVE YOUR TOURNAMENT INFORMATION AT LEAST 7 DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THE TOURNAMENT. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN SANCTION BEING UNABLE TO BE GIVEN.
Once we have reviewed your tournament information we will be in touch to request relevant sanction fees (£20 per age group for Durham County FA affiliated Clubs) (£40 per age group for private organisations)
Your tournament is NOT sanctioned until we have been in touch via email to confirm.
Our region has a number of existing Clubs. If wanting to start a single ‘Team’ the first step would be to find local existing Clubs and offer your services as a Volunteer interested in supporting more people play football. This helps maximize facilities available in the area, supports directing funding to where it can have the best impact, and will help strengthen existing Clubs, making them more sustainable. It will also help you as an existing Club will have Club Officials already in place to help with Club administration, safeguarding and DBS checks, and potentially save money on kit and equipment or through support for coaching qualification.
If you still feel their is a need for a new Club, there are lots of resources on the England Football Club House. For more information, please email andrew.brown@durhamfa.com
The FA's Club House online community has a Workforce & Volunteer Toolkit which includes video and written versions of role descriptions. These can help with understanding of what work is required to run a grassroot club, as well as acting as useful tools when advertising and recruiting new volunteers.
Key officials required include: Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Club Welfare Officer.
https://community.thefa.com/leagues-clubs/m/workforce-and-volunteers-toolkit
At Durham County FA we organise and administer a number of Leagues across the season therefore if you would be interested in refereeing in any of our Leagues could you please complete our online form here - https://forms.office.com/e/yntJGwitU1
Please ensure you read through each leagues information before confirming your interest (full details are via the above link).
Once you have submitted the form you will be added to our Referee Mailing List and we will be in touch on a weekly basis.
Your help and support to the County FA Leagues is very much appreciated.
If you are a brand new team, you may be eligible for assistance with funding, please email Kerry.Topping@DurhamFA.com to request a start-up grant form.
Sanctioning from England FA is required. To do this, email sanctioning@thefa.com
Red cards can be appealed UNLESS it is for offensive, insulting, abusive language, or receiving two cautions in the same fixture.
When parents wish to provide statements they need to be submitted through a Club Official
To enable statements to be used as evidence, we must be given permission to share.
If timescales are given to respond they MUST be adhered to.
Complaints can be submitted on the link below:
Complaint Report FormNo. Any player who is shown a red card is suspended 7 days from the date of the fixture regardless of the report showing on the system. Any discipline not received should be reported to Durham County FA which will be chased up with the match official.
7 days from the day the player is sent off.
Intention to appeal must be made by 5.00pm on the second business day following the incident, and all evidence the appeal is based upon should be submitted by 5.00pm on the fourth business day following the incident:
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DAY OF DISMISSAL |
5.00PM ON SECOND BUSINESS DAY |
5.00PM ON FOURTH BUSINESS DAY |
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SATURDAY |
TUESDAY |
THURSDAY |
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SUNDAY |
TUESDAY |
THURSDAY |
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MONDAY |
WEDENSDAY |
FRIDAY |
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TUESDAY |
THURSDAY |
MONDAY |
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WEDNESDAY |
FRIDAY |
TUESDAY |
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THURSDAY |
MONDAY |
WEDNESDAY |
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FRIDAY |
TUESDAY |
THURSDAY |
Waiting for the referee to submit a report cannot be an excuse to go outside the above dates.
If bank holidays fall within this period, the appropriate number of extra days will be made available, but claims will always be heard before any sanction commences.
For a claim to be upheld you need to prove that the referee made an “obvious error”.
All details can be found in the Grassroots Discipline guide – pages 17-19, on the link below:
https://www.calameo.com/esports-media/read/001230235e58276231094?authid=BWqyBKqaSaH0You may be eligible to claim from the County FA Benevolent Fund, please complete and return the attached form if eligible. You must return the application form within one month of the injury, with as much supporting evidence, GP fit note, hospital letter/s, last two wage slips, and marriage certificate if married.
If you require further information, please email Kerry.Topping@DurhamFA.com
Application Form - Benevolent Fund
If you have purchased Personal Accident Insurance with Sportsguard, when affiliating, the contact number for Sportsguard is 01604 644 277. Also please inform Kerry.Topping@DurhamFA.com as you may be eligible to claim from the County FA Benevolent Fund.
Please note there is a strict deadline with claiming. You can read the Sportsguard document below.
If you have paid for this with your affiliation through Durham County FA, please email Info@DurhamFA.com
Please use the link below for information and guidance on England Football Accreditation:
To be a two-star Accredited Club, you must offer a complete full player pathway for either male, female, or disability, plus a minimum of 1 Team from either of the other Players Pathways, all playing within FA sanctioned League competitions.
To be a three-star Accredited Club, you must offer a complete accredited player pathway for male and female, plus a disability football, all teams must be playing within FA sanctioned League competitions.
To become a coach, you need the following:
A valid DBS - Please contact your Club Welfare Officer or our County FA Designated Safeguarding Officer Neil.Churcher@DurhamFA.com
Introduction to Coaching Football
An in date Safeguarding Children Course
An in date FA First Aid qualification
You can help to coach your child's team. However you must have:
A valid FA DBS
An in date FA Safeguarding Children's Course
An in date FA First Aid Qualification (Recommended)
You must be at least 14 years of age to become a referee
To be eligible to book a place on a Durham FA Referee Course you will need to have first completed the FA Online Laws of the Game Modules and FA Safeguarding For All course.
Once you have done this, check when the next available referee course is taking place and book a place.
Contact our Designated Safeguarding Officer Neil.Churcher@DurhamFA.com
To renew you registration, go to referees.thefa.com
Northern League - refereeing@northernfootballleague.org
Wearside League - stevenfuters@gmail.com
At Durham County FA we organise and administer a number of Leagues across the season therefore if you would be interested in refereeing in any of our Leagues could you please complete our online form here - https://forms.office.com/e/yntJGwitU1
Please ensure you read through each leagues information before confirming your interest (full details are via the above link).
Once you have submitted the form you will be added to our Referee Mailing List and we will be in touch on a weekly basis.
Your help and support to the County FA Leagues is very much appreciated.
If you are interested in setting up disability football within your club, contact Andrea.Loynes@DurhamFA.com
There are no mandatory requirements however, we would advise the following online courses:
Public Liability Insurance (per club)
Personal Accident Cover (per team per league)
Affiliation (per team per league)
Is there any support for clubs/coaches? Yes!
We have several clubs offering playing opportunities in our county for women and girls whether that be recreational or competitive football. To locate your nearest opportunities use The FA's Find Football Tool or contact Amy.Richardson@DurhamFA.com or Helen.Edwards@DurhamFA.com.
England Football offers the opportunity for grassroots clubs and organisations to offer recreational (turn up and play) football in the local area. There are 3 main programmes: Wildcats (5-11 years), Squad Girls (12-14 years) and Just Play (16+ years). To find out more please contact Amy.Richardson@DurhamFA.com or Helen.Edwards@DurhamFA.com
Please click the link above for all of the Football Foundation's funding pots.
Only the chairman, secretary, or treasurer can apply for funding.
Email Daniel.McElhone@DurhamFA.com or Joseph.Dredge@DurhamFA.com for support on applications.
When you accept the grant on your Football Foundation Account, you'll be able to claim your first payment. Log in to your Account and follow the step by step guide on how to make your claim – the whole claim process is now online.
Before you can claim your first payment a minimum of two representatives from the Organisation must complete a Grounds Management Association Level 1 Football Groundsmanship course (ONLINE) and evidence of completion is provided to the Football Foundation, before any payments are released. The cost of the course can be claimed back within your year 1 claim submission.
After 12 months has elapsed from your last claim and you have submitted your two PitchPower assessments, you will be prompted to submit your second (third, fourth, fifth and sixth) grant claim. You will be required to evidence the total spend for works completed at the site, this includes your partnership funding contribution.
Typically, claims will be submitted annually, but the Football Foundation allow projects more time (up to 18 months) to spend their total project cost for any particular claim period should they require it. Please note again, that all works carried out should match what has been detailed in your PitchPower report and meet the eligible items listed. All ineligible items will not be considered as part of your claims. Once this information has been checked it includes eligible items and approved, your next payment will be made. Should there be any anomalies or queries regarding your grant claim, a member of our Grant Management Team will be in touch to discuss.
For clubs in the National League System and Women's Football Pyramid, you can access the Premier League Stadium Fund to help get funding for your club. Please contact a member of the Football Foundation's Technical team to discuss further.
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