Club Affiliation
The Club affiliation process will open on Monday 13th May. We would like to support you as much as possible throughout the process, as well as help your club, officials, and players prepare for the following season.
Club affiliation can be completed online via the Whole Game System. For anyone who is unfamiliar with this process, please take a look at an online guidance video.
What is affiliation?
Affiliation is the process by which clubs ‘register’ with their Parent County Football Association. All Clubs playing in FA sanctioned leagues and competitions must affiliate to their Parent County FA.
Key Dates
Affiliation window opens 13th May 2019.
Early bird fee closes 30th June 2019
Affiliate on or before the 30th June and you will qualify for our early bird rate which reduces your affiliation fees by £30
All clubs must be affiliated in order for teams to play in any competition or tournament.
Support Available
Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA staff are on hand to help clubs through the affiliation process. Depending on where your club ground is based, a Development Officer is available for one to one support;
• Clubs based in Barnsley, Kirklees, Wakefield – Leon Dearns – Leon.Dearns@SheffieldFA.com or 0114 261 5507
• Clubs based in Doncaster, Bassetlaw, Chesterfield – Sam Firth – Samuel.Firth@SheffieldFA.com or 0114 261 5519
• Clubs based in Rotherham, Bolsover, NE Derbyshire – Mike Drummond – Mike.Drummond@SheffieldFA.com or 0114 261 5506.
• Clubs based in Sheffield – Tom Measham – Tom.Measham@SheffieldFA.com or 0114 261 5515.
We have a number of dedicated officers at the County FA to help develop football locally. Take a look at some of the areas that we can support.
New Clubs – Key Information
If you have not affiliated with Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA before, you will need to email Info@SheffieldFA.com with the following information;
• The proposed name of your clubs (we will run checks to make sure there are no other teams within the county with this name)
• Club Secretary – Full name, FAN (if known) date of birth, postal address, email address, telephone numbers
• Chairperson – Full name, FAN (if known) date of birth, postal address, email address, telephone numbers
• Treasurer – Full name, FAN (if known) date of birth, postal address, email address, telephone numbers
• Welfare Officer (Mandatory for Youth Clubs) – Full name, FAN (if known) date of birth, postal address, email address, telephone numbers
An officer will then be in touch with you to guide you through the affiliation process.
General Key Information
As soon as the affiliation window opens you will be able to start the process on the Whole Game System.
• All clubs must keep adequate accounting records and register of members (this includes club officials, team officials and players)
• All clubs must have rules that are written in a club constitution that all members must agree at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in order to affiliate
• All ground and training details must be recorded correctly for each team
• It is mandatory for all committee members of youth clubs to complete the Online Safeguarding for Committee Members Workshop (to access the course please click here) The course is free of charge and should take no longer than 40 minutes to complete and will need to be renewed every three years.
• All volunteers who engage in regular or unsupervised activities with young people must have an in date FA DBS
• No individual can be named as manager or coach for more than four youth teams across all clubs
Any additional teams can be added to your Club Affiliation at a later date if required.
Charter Standard Clubs
In addition to the information above, all Charter Standard Clubs are required to have at least one FA qualified coach for every youth team and at least one volunteer who is FA First Aid trained for every adult team. All Charter Standard Clubs must complete an online annual health check which will open from the 1st September to 31st January.
How much does affiliation cost?
To access our early bird rate, you must affiliate on or before the 30th June. To affiliate an adult club with one team, costs start from £85. To affiliate a youth club with one team, costs start from £45.
This includes Public Liability Insurance and any County Cup Competition fees that you are eligible for. Each additional team within your club is an extra £16.
Affiliating after the 30th June will incur the standard affiliation fee starting from £115 and £75 for adult and youth clubs, respectively.
All Clubs must purchase their own Personal Accident Insurance for their teams separately. Personal accident insurance cover is available through Bluefin Sport. Details of this can be found here and a copy of their brochure can be downloaded here. A copy of your policy must be sent to the County FA in order for us to approve and complete your affiliation.
County Cup Competitions
Please see details below of our County Cup Competitions;
Please note that if you DO NOT affiliate your club/team by the closing date of any cup competition you will NOT be entered into the competition but will have to pay a fee equivalent to the entry fee. Cup draws will be made after the respective closing date.
Any eligible team who ‘opts out’ of a County Cup Competition will have to pay a fee equivalent to the entry fee.
Benevolent Fund
The object of the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA Benevolent Fund shall be to make grants to any of the following persons who may from time to time be in necessitous circumstances: associations, competitions, leagues, clubs affiliated to the County FA as well as players, officials, referees and other benefactors. To qualify to apply for the benevolent fund, a voluntary £5 payment upon affiliation/registration is made and cover is then provided throughout the season.
Funding Opportunities
Adult Football Fund - The Adult Football Fund has been created to help clubs create new adult teams, as well as support the general running costs of existing adult teams. Up to £500 is available to support clubs.
Charter Standard Development Fund – Up to £500 to support clubs with creating new teams, developing the club, and creating new partnerships.
Stay in the Game Funding – Grants available for clubs to maintain existing adult male teams. Apply for grants of £750 to help cover various costs of running a team.
For further information about affiliations, setting up a new club or creating new teams please contact Info@SheffieldFA.com.
Frequently asked questions