How to report a concern

THE FA SEEKS TO DO EVERYTHING IT CAN TO SUPPORT A SAFE AND ENJOYABLE FRAMEWORK FOR FOOTBALL.

This means, if standards ever fall short with poor practice or unacceptable behaviour, there’s a framework in place to make sure we can deal with it. By reporting a concern you can help us make sure that the youth game stays safe and strong.

At Sheffield and Hallamshire County FA we want to make sure that football is safe and inclusive for all of our players and participants. It is really important that we have information about any incidents that may happen so that we can investigate and deal with them appropriately.

To give you some examples, a report about Safeguarding could be about:
• Physical abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Neglect
• Bullying

If the concern involves possible risk to children then you can contact SHCFA or you could get further help and advice from the NSPCC 24 hour helpline 0808 800 5000.  If it is an emergency contact the Police on 999

Many of the situations that you may come across in football are more likely to be about poor practice involving a team official, parent, player or club official. 

Some examples of these could be:

• Parents swearing at players
• A coach/manager being abusive to a referee or to players or parents
• A manager not having an in date DBS certificate

These are some examples but there are many other situations which could be poor practice. If you are worried about poor practice in your club then please speak to your Club Welfare Officer they are in a position to best deal with the situation. However, if you feel that your concern is not being dealt with or if there is another reason that you don’t want to talk to the Club Welfare Officer, please email Support@sheffieldfa.com