CLUB WELFARE OFFICER (ADULT TEAMS)
IMPORTANT AFFILIATION INFORMATION FOR SEASON 2023 – 2024
All clubs with open age teams will be required to have a named Club Welfare Officer at the point of affiliation from 2023 – 2024 season onwards.
If clubs with open-age teams do not have a Welfare Officer and have, or are likely to have, 16/17-year-old registered players, we strongly suggest that you appoint and train a Club Welfare Officer and adopt safeguarding policies and procedures to safeguard those young people who are under 18 – this may not currently be an affiliation requirement but it may become mandatory in future and taking action now will demonstrate your club’s commitment to safeguarding the welfare of young players across the game.
The Welfare Officer role:
• Review current practices
• Promote Safeguarding awareness and training
• Ensure compliance with safer recruitment practices including initiating and verifying DBS checks for club volunteers
The type of person who makes a good Welfare Officer:
• Always puts the young person’s welfare first
• A good communicator
• Common-sense approach
• Willing to learn and seek advice
• Is over the age of 18
To qualify in the role of Welfare Officer, the individual must have:
• An FA accepted DBS check
• Completed the FA’s online Safeguarding for Committee members course HERE
• Completed the FA’s online Safeguarding Children Workshop (due to be launched April 2021) HERE
• Completed the FA’s online Welfare Officer Workshop HERE
For further information about the role of Club Welfare Officer see Section 5 HERE.
Hampshire FA Safeguarding and Welfare Website
FA BEST-PRACTICE AND GUIDANCE NOTES – THE COMPLETE DIRECTORY
FA SECTION 3 - SAFER RECRUITMENT AND DBS CHECKS