Equality & Diversity
Football is open and accessible for all
Kent FA is here to ensure everyone who is involved in football has a great experience – regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, ability or disability, faith, or age.
Kent FA is working to ensure everyone has the opportunity to be part of the game.
We will all work together on our inclusion priorities over the coming years.
These are underpinned by three principles of change:
- Ensuring governance and leadership is diverse and modern.
- Removing any obstacles to access and progression in coaching, talent development or personal development pathways; and
- Enshrining equality, diversity, and inclusion in our day to day operations.
In order to make a difference, The FA is running and supporting leadership programmes for women, BAME and young people and will adhere to the Government’s code for governance in sport. We will also examine pathways and promote inclusion and access for coaches, welfare officers, club officials, league officials and players and we will challenge ourselves with measurable targets that deliver on inclusive outcomes. We will also work with a variety of stakeholders to ensure that people feel safe and included in football.
There are also programmes and provision across football which support our aims as part of The FA and County FAs wider inclusion objectives.
Coaching
Coaching can create huge amounts of satisfaction by helping people, of all ages and abilities, to develop and achieve their goals across the grassroots game. Kent FA and The FA are committed to ensuring that the coaching workforce is accessible and inclusive for all. This is why there are numerous opportunities for those from historically underrepresented communities to either get into coaching or develop and progress within coaching.
The Fully Funded Places Programme has been developed to support coaches who may be facing barriers to getting involved, with The FA and Sport England offering 20% of all places on Introduction to Coaching Football, UEFA C Licence and UEFA B Licence for free as part of the programme. The initiative is aligned to our wider goal of helping to increase participation within historically underrepresented groups (including female coaches, disabled coaches and coaches from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic backgrounds) as well as supporting individuals from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.
To find out more information and the application process around getting support into coach or developing and progressing, please visit https://learn.englandfootball.com/ongoing-learning/Initiatives/fully-funded-places
The FA is committed to supporting grassroots coaches to start and continue coaching with confidence, with the aim of supporting more transformational coaches.
The FA Coach Mentor Programme provides vital support to coaches from historically underrepresent communities, female coaches and coaches working within the disability pathway from expert FA Coach Mentors to kick start or progress your coaching journey.
To find out more information on how you can access FREE mentoring support please get in touch with one of our FA Coach Mentors or with our development team at Development@KentFA.com
The FA The Mentee Development Programme, in partnership with The Chelsea Foundation, provides a season-long placement for 10 aspirational, intentional coaches, aiming to accelerate their development and help them break into the professional game, with each coach receiving a bespoke and agile programme. This initiative is aligned to our wider coach inclusion and diversity programme, which is aimed at addressing the stubborn inequalities for coaches from Black, Asian, and mixed heritage backgrounds to develop and thrive in the game.
Please note, this is an unpaid programme, however all incidental expenses will be covered over the season. Coaches will be expected to commit to approximately 20 days over the course of the programme.
To find out more information and the application process for The FA Mentee Development Programme, please visit https://learn.englandfootball.com/ongoing-learning/Initiatives/mentee-development-programme
During the pandemic, FA Education took full control of the management, administration, coordination and allocation of all courses, from County FA’s. This means that County FA’s across the country, including Kent, no longer have any control over the above areas in relation to courses. County FA’s are now responsible for ongoing learning pre, during and post courses and qualifications. Kent FA provide high quality learning and development opportunities for coaches in Kent through online and face-to-face CPD and in-situ mentoring support. The Kent FA is committed to providing accessible and inclusive ongoing learning and development for coaches from historically underrepresented communities, this is why we are offering a select number of FREE Kent FA Coaches Club memberships for coaches from historically underrepresented communities to benefit from accessing our programme of CPD events and workshops across the season.
To find out more information on if you may be eligible for a FREE Kent FA Coaches Club membership as part of our commitment or more information around our bespoke CPD programme providing learning and development around multiple areas within ED&I, please get in touch with our Workforce & Participation Lead, David Webb at David.Webb@KentFA.com
Our disability football provision offers opportunities to participate across the county, The FA have an Asian football plan called ‘Bringing Opportunities to Communities’, female participation is supported by the Weetabix Wildcats Programme and we continue to work to encourage football across different faiths and communities. We also have mental health programmes to raise awareness of mental health and the support available.
You can find out about these and many more on via the links below.
The FA, Football and Inclusion
Disability Football
Asian Inclusion Plan
LGBTQ+ Inclusion
The Football Leadership Diversity Code
