Atherton Collieries have today received confirmation from the Lancashire FA that they are now an FA Charter Standard club. This award is the culmination of a lot of hard work by all at the club who have been striving to be awarded such status for a number of seasons. Speaking about the awarding, Joseph Gibbons, the club's Charter Standard co-ordinator said, "It has been a project we have been working on as a club for quite a while now." "We originally started off looking at the application a couple of years ago but it came at the wrong time as we had a major transitional period both on and off the field," "Since then we have been making sure that the many volunteers and coaches at our club are qualified to the accepted standard. Whether this be through coaching badges, first aid training or through safeguarding measures," "The latter is a really important subject in football at the moment, so we wanted to make sure we are being proactive by appointing a safeguarding and welfare officer while compiling all the relevant paperwork," "This step puts in a good place if we look to expand the club in coming seasons. If we wish to set up children's and youth teams we now have processes in order to ensure the safeguarding of our players," An area that the club have had to work on is discipline on the field, as Gibbons explains, "It was flagged up as a bit of a concern when we originally applied. However, thanks to informative workshops put on by the team at the Lancashire FA we have seen a vast improvement in our record and have even won a Respect Campaign award." Charter Standard also scrutinises a clubs finances while ensuring regular committee meetings and an AGM are recorded. New FA Charter Standard clubs receive:
- An official FA plaque and certificate
- Resources to help promote the club
- £100 worth of official FA Nike matchballs (FA Charter Standard Youth and Adult Clubs)
- Is well-organised, safe and offers opportunities for all
- Has FA-qualified coaches as standard
- Adheres to FA Respect Policies and Codes of Conduct
- Prioritises Child Welfare
- Maintains appropriate levels of discipline
- Has access to the County FA and FA regional workforces
- Can use the coveted ‘Three Lions’ FA crest on its marketing and business materials.
