Remember you must always adhere to The FA’s guidance on Photography and film where under-18s could be involved.

It can be quite a lot of work to set-up, update and moderate the pages effectively so you need to ensure the club official responsible is willing to put in this time and effort. It’s accessible.

Older players and parents will be using the social media websites, perhaps on a daily basis from their mobile phones as well as their home or work computers. It’s easily accessible for you and your officials to update too. If your club has a Facebook site or Twitter account, make sure that the passwords are recorded so that they can be passed on to the next manager, Chairman or club official who takes responsibility for updating these sites.

Remember your social media sites belong to the club not the person who is in charge of the club at that time.

These usernames and passwords should be protected to ensure only the agreed club officials can update your social media pages. Officials should moderate sites and pages daily if possible to ensure nothing inappropriate is written by a third party. 

You need to be aware of the pitfalls of using social media. Ensure you read through The FA’s Best practice guidelines to ensure your club members are safeguarded and The FA Rules and Regulations are not broken. Both individuals and grassroots clubs were charged last season for bringing the game into disrepute when offensive comments were posted on Twitter and/or their own websites. In addition, you can find out more information from your County FA Welfare Officer if you have any additional questions concerning youth football.

Other useful documents include:

Parental Guidance

Responsible Use

Social Network Options

Guide to Social Networks

Photography & Film Guidance

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. Anyone who has a concern about the welfare of a child or the behaviour of an adult towards a child or young person under 18 years of age in football, is required to refer it to The FA Safeguarding team. The team is staffed by professionals who are experienced in dealing with these concerns.

Referring a concern can be done via your club, league or County FA – all will have a designated safeguarding officer (DSO). Alternatively, you can email us directly via safeguarding@thefa.com. If the matter is urgent and you cannot contact your club or County FA designated safeguarding officer, you can call The NSPCC 24-hour helpline on 0808 800 5000 – or if it is an emergency because a child or children are at immediate risk, then call the police or children’s social care in your area. If you are concerned that someone may be behaving inappropriately or seeking to groom a child in an online environment, then please use the CEOP reporting button that will take you directly to the team at the National Crime Agency, as well as informing your County FA or The FA via safeguarding@thefa.com

Thinkuknow Website

The Thinkuknow website provided by CEOP (Child Protection & Online Protection) is worth a visit if you haven’t already done so. It offers up-to-date advice and guidance for children and parents on the safe use of the internet. This website has been designed by young people for young people.

The FA/NSPCC 24 hour helpline: 0808 800 5000.

The FA teamed up with the NSPCC several years ago and contributed financially to the nationally known NSPCC 24-hour Helpline number. Anyone wishing to report a concern about a child or seek advice can phone The FA/NSPCC 24-hour Helpline 0808 800 5000. This number is dealt with by a team of NSPCC trained staff who will inform The FA of concerns they receive relating to football. It also offers a deaf users textphone on 0800 056 0566.

The FA Report Discrimination free phone number and email address … 0800 058 0508 to report allegations of discrimination such as sexist, racist and homophobic abuse as well as abuse in relation to disability. This number is dealt with by FA staff in London although allegations can be passed back to a County FA or other organisation to deal with. There is also an email address: reportdiscrimination@TheFA.com which can be used as an alternative to the phone number.

By clicking here you can retrieve your details. 

If you don't have an FA Number (FAN), please call or email Hampshire FA at the first instance: 01256 853000 / Info@HampshireFA.com. 

The Safeguarding Children qualification can be renewed for free online via the Safeguarding Children Course Recertification. If you require any support in accessing the course please contact Education@thefa.com

Yes it is mandatory for all Youth Clubs to have a qualified appointed Club Welfare Officer (CWO) having attended the Welfare Officer Workshop. Pre-requisites for this qualification are an accepted FA DBS and the FA Safeguarding Children Workshop qualification.

CWOs are often used as the DBS verifiers for their clubs.

FA DBS checks are now processed via the Whole Game System.  Speak to your club welfare officer and/or club verifier to start this process.  If you are the only verifier within your club and you need to renew your own DBS, please contact the safeguarding team for support – safeguarding@hampshirefa.com