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the fa customer charter 2015

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contents IntroductIon Who We are 2015: the year ahead for the fast.GeorGe’s Park customer relatIons enGland suPPorters clubtIcketInGWembley stadIum connected by eemerchandIseequalItycharIty Partners comPlaInts Procedure

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The Football Association recognises the vital importance of supporters to our national game. We know that it is only by talking to you directly that we can hope to understand your opinions on how we can continue to make the game we all love better for everyone involved. As such we aim to listen to supporters at every level and we are determined to provide a high level of service to all supporters and fans. We value the feedback we receive from supporters and details of what you can expect from The FA are highlighted throughout this charter.

IntroductIon Welcome to the fa customer charter for 2015

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As an organisation we have three key goals:1. Football for Everyone –

To give everyone who wants to participate in the game the opportunity to do so in a safe and welcoming environment.

2. Build Winning Teams – To ensure that across English football we are doing everything we can collectively to build winning teams, male and female, at every age and ability.

3. Govern the Game Effectively – Making the right decisions, and working with all English stakeholders, to develop the right rules on behalf of the whole game.

Our Key Responsibilities• Get more people playing the game.• Develop better players and coaches

from all backgrounds.• Provide a safe and inclusive experience

in football.• Protect and improve football facilities.• Grow the women’s game.• Improve the technical abilities of our

teams and players.• Prepare players for International

Tournaments.• Make Wembley and St. George’s Park

inspirational homes for England teams.• Organise a number of national

competitions, including The FA Cup.• Ensure the right rules are in place

for football.• Improve the decision making

process in football.• Apply the rules consistently and

transparently.

Who We are the fa Was founded In 1863 as the GovernInG body of the Game In enGland. We are resPonsIble for develoPInG and reGulatInG the Game at all levels, from the Grassroots to InternatIonal football.

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The FA is the not-for-profit, governing body of football in England. It grows participation, promotes diversity and regulates the sport for everyone to enjoy.

Seven million players of all ages, 400,000 volunteers, 300,000 coaches and 27,000 qualified referees help The FA keep the grassroots game going.

The FA runs 24 England teams, across men’s, women’s, youth and disability football, utilising the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park.

Football is the nation’s favourite game. The FA aims to grow it further. To find out more and to get involved in football, visit www.TheFA.com and @FA

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2015: the year ahead for the fa 2015 for the fa

• Roy Hodgson’s side will play important European Qualifiers on the road to France 2016 as well as Internationals against Italy, the Republic of Ireland and France.

• Mark Sampson’s side will be taking part in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada in June having won all ten games during qualifying.

• In June Gareth Southgate’s Under-21 squad will travel to the Czech Republic to take part in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals.

• Building on the work of The FA Chairman’s England Commission, the FA are planning to transform grassroots facilities through the creation of 150 multi-sport hubs across 30 cities, backed by a pledge of £50 million of support from Government. This is in addition to the projects already supported across the country by the Football Foundation through The Premier League and FA Facilities Fund.

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delIverInG our Goals As a not-for-profit organisation The FA invests more than £43 million each year into grassroots football. This investment comes from the income generated by The FA’s broadcast and sponsorship partnerships and has helped to deliver:

• Over six million coaching sessions for children aged 5-11 since The FA Skills programme launched in 2007.

• An overhaul of youth football in England so it is more fun and children develop better skills. The FA’s Youth Development Review has seen changes phased in including smaller sided games on smaller pitches with smaller goals so the emphasis can be on technique and skill.

• A detailed Inclusion and Anti-discrimination plan which was launched in 2012 and is supported by The FA’s Inclusion Advisory Board. The FA is committed to providing an inclusive football experience for anyone who wishes to play, coach, officiate or support football in England. In March 2014 we launched a series of ‘Reporting Discrimination’ films aimed at both players and supporters designed to help eradicate discrimination from football.

• A huge growth in women’s and girls’ football; more than 250,000 women regularly play football in England and The FA expects the sport to be the second most played team sport (after men’s football) by 2018. The FA’s ‘Game Changer’ strategy for women’s football was launched in 2012 setting out a five year plan for the future of women’s football in England.

• The FA’s commitment to Disability Football was cemented in January 2014 with a commitment to invest £1.5 million in the sport over three years. There are currently 35 County Disability Football Leagues and more than 1,500 disability football teams in England. In June 2015 St George’s Park will host the Cerebral Palsy seven-a-side World Cup.

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St. George’s Park is a high performance centre, that is home to England’s 24 national teams. It is also the home for the football development department and FA Learning, The FA’s educational team. Now in its third year of operation, there’s been over 80 educational courses delivered at St. George’s Park in the last 12 months, across football coaching, safeguarding, refereeing and medical courses. This has included regular FA Advanced Youth Award courses and the delivery of both the UEFA Pro and A Licence Course as well as many others. This world class facility is available to use by national and international football clubs to help drive excellence in performance. Since opening, over 95 domestic and international clubs have visited the centre, including the likes of F.C. Barcelona, Chelsea, Newcastle United, West Ham United, F.C. Porto and AS Monaco. The facility includes a full-sized indoor third generation football pitch, a 60mx40m multipurpose indoor sports hall, 11 full size outdoor pitches and two elite dessot training pitches, one of which is an exact replica of Wembley.Perform at St. George’s Park is a bespoke sports medicine, rehabilitation and performance centre operated by Spire Healthcare. It combines 25,000 square feet of cutting-edge technology with elite medical expertise, creating the most

advanced sports medicine, rehabilitation, performance science and training centre in the UK. Players, coaches, guests and athletes from other sports have also had access to the very best medical and sports science facilities on site, which are recognised as a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence. Visitors can enjoy impressive accommodation, with Hilton Worldwide operating a 230 bedroom hotel under one roof. This innovative concept provides accommodation options to suit any budget. The hotel caters for individuals, groups or team bookings, along with major sporting or business conferences and banquets. The hotel also provides onsite accommodation for those attending residential courses run by FA Learning.

Club England Teams There have been 115 Club England team stays at the Park since opening. Of those the Men’s Seniors have stayed 12 times.Other sports usageEngland Rugby Union, England Rugby League, GB Hockey, British Basketball, British Judo, British Swimming, Leicestershire Cricket Club, professional golfers and athletes amongst other sport users including Cricket Ireland and Special Olympics

st.GeorGe’s Park located In the heart of enGland, near burton-uPon-trent, st. GeorGe’s Park Is the home to the natIonal football centre.

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Community bookings/usageThere has been over 844 community and grassroots clubs who played football at St. George’s Park during the course of 1 August 2013 – 31 October 2014, totaling around 12,879 players There have been over 100 County FA and local school /community group eventsOver 2,000 players have had access to community pitch hire (indoor sports hall and outdoor 3G) since July 20136573 people have participated in St George’s Park football experiences since July 2013Approximately 596 local grassroots coaches attended courses at St. George’s Park since July 2013

CoachingThere were a total of 120 courses across coaching (at all levels), safeguarding, medical and refereeing delivered by FA Learning at St. George’s Park between August 2013 – July 2014Of these there were:• 74 coaching courses• 40 medical, sports science

and psychology courses• 4 safeguarding courses

Coaching by numbers as of 31 October 2014A total of 392,448 coaches have qualified in England since 1998 (L1-5)39,634 coaches went through Level 1 & 2 and youth award qualifications in 2013/2014 season, delivered by a licensed workforce of 675 coach educators

309,736 coaches have a Level 1 coaching qualificationOver 71,000 coaches have a Level 2 coaching qualification (UEFA C Grassroots) 9,617 coaches are trained at Level 3 (UEFA B) 1,268 have a Level 4 (UEFA A) and 223 hold a UEFA Pro License coaching qualificationIn total The FA have delivered 82,712 UEFA coaching awards from Grassroots to Elite since 2000Grassroots coaching courses are easily available with over 2,000 Level 1 and Level 2 regional courses delivered each yearThe average cost of grassroots coaching courses is £5 an hour

Licensed Coaches' ClubThe FA’s Licensed Coaches’ Club is FREE of charge to all Coaches. In season 2013/14 there were over 31,000 members, making it the largest associated club of coaches in the world.The Licensed Coaches' Club will deliver over 90 events in 2014/15 season at St. George’s Park for coaches to receive continued personal development

More information on St Georges Park is available via our website – www.TheFA.com/St-Georges-Park

If you have any specific queries about FA Learning courses please email FALearningSupport@TheFA.com or call 0844 980 8212

Everyone at The FA acknowledges the fact that all football fans have the right to make their views heard and we openly seek your feedback. We collate all feedback that we receive on customer issues which enables us to monitor particular concerns and work with the relevant departments within The FA to respond effectively to individual cases and assess any relevant future change of policy. With the majority of emails that we receive, we are able to respond in a timely manner. However, please note that due to the large volume of queries that we receive it may take up to 5 working days to be dealt with. For letter correspondence, we target a 10 working day response time.

Contact Information‘Contact Us’ is a facility provided by the Customer Relations team to answer questions from the general public on the wide range of services The FA provides. Office hours: 9am until 5pm Monday – Friday Please contact us via one of the following options:E-mail: Info@TheFA.comTel: 0800 169 1863 (option 3)Fax: 0844 980 0666Post: Customer Relations Team The Football Association Wembley Stadium PO Box 1966 London, SW1P 9EQ

FANIn order to take advantage of The FA’s digital platform you may be asked to login with your email or Football Association Number (FAN). This is a unique reference for every individual involved in football (player, coach, referee, administrator, volunteer, England Supporters Club member, parent, spectator). Created as part of The FA’s Customer Relationship Management strategy, FAN is unifying all the existing membership schemes and administration systems to ultimately provide a single view of an individual’s involvement in football and interactions with The FA. Individuals who currently hold FANs are able to use it to access customised services via TheFA.com – as well as additional benefits, such as the purchase of tickets for England games, shopping online, access to special promotions etc.

clIck here to reGIster for a fan

customer relatIons the customer relatIons team Works to collate vIeWs from the General PublIc, buIld a PIcture of PublIc oPInIon and feed thIs back Internally to the relevant dePartments WIthIn the fa.

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The England Supporters Club is the official membership of the England Football team. Membership of the England Supporters Club is free and members will receive priority access to tickets for England home games, while at the same time earning rewards for your loyal and valued support.England’s lead sponsor Vauxhall is also The FA’s partner in the England Supporters Club and will bring additional incentives and rewards for fans.Members can also receive the following key benefits:• Ticket-price discounts for home games at Wembley Stadium (£5 for adults and £2.50

for children), provided tickets are purchased in the members’ priority sale period.• Exclusive members-only access to gain entry to events attended by England

management and players, such as England training sessions. Junior members are able to enter a competition to be a Player Escort at England home matches.

• Access to lots of other England Supporters Club only benefits, such as 10% discount on all merchandise bought at the official England online store and exclusive offers from The FA commercial partners.

To sign up to the England Supporters Club visit www.Englandsupportersclub.com

enGland suPPorters club

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ENGLANd SuPPORTERS TRAvEL CLubThe England Supporters Travel Club is offered to members of the England Supporters Club offering members all of the above benefits plus the opportunity to purchase tickets to both home (in advance of the general public sale) and away games, plus access to tickets for tournaments involving England, including UEFA Euro 2016 in France (subject to qualification).The cost to join the England Supporters Travel Club is £75 adults and £45 juniors under the age of 16 years.One of our main priorities has always been to ensure that as many supporters as possible get the chance to access tickets to England’s away matches. Tickets for our away matches are only sold to fully vetted members of the England Supporters Travel Club and are allocated using our own loyalty (‘caps’) system. To join the England Supporters Travel Club, please visit www.Englandsupportersclub.com. Or if you have any questions about the membership please call 0800 389 1966 and speak to one of our team.Also follow England on Twitter (@England) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/EnglandTeam) for up to the minute news.

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Tickets for FA matches involving domestic club sides (The FA Cup, The FA Community Shield, The FA Vase and The FA Trophy) are sold by the participating clubs, although the pricing policy and guidelines are set by The FA.

ThE FOOTbALL FAmILyThis group consists of the clubs participating in The FA Cup, County FA’s, sponsors and the football authorities. All of these groups participate in the running of the game at all levels across the country.By allocating tickets to FA Competitions along with England home matches, we are thanking them for their tireless work in developing and promoting football at all levels.

dISAbLEd TICKETINGThe FA’s Customer Relations Team sell tickets for England matches to disabled supporters. The hotline for these tickets is 0800 389 1966. Please note that proof of disability is required prior to making a booking.

tIcketInGthe fa Is resPonsIble for the tIcketInG arranGements for all fa orGanIsed matches at Wembley stadIum: the matches that We host are enGland senIor InternatIonals, the fa communIty shIeld, the fa vase fInal, the fa cuP semI-fInals and the fa cuP fInal.

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TICKET REFuNd POLICyIn the event of an FA fixture being postponed in advance of kick-off, ticket holders will be entitled to free admission to any re-arranged match or a full refund. If a match is abandoned after kick-off, ticket holders are entitled to free entry to a rescheduled fixture or a partial refund. All refunds are issued in line with The FA’s Terms and Conditions, full details of which can be found on www.TheFA.com. To protect genuine fans, The FA’s Legal Department, along with the Customer Relations team, carry out extensive monitoring work to prevent FA match tickets being sold through unauthorised channels, especially internet auction sites. Tickets appearing for sale on such websites are removed from sale and where appropriate, action may be taken against both the seller and the agent.

COmmITmENTS FOR 2015As part of our commitment to you we will ensure that:• Our pricing policy offers a fair spread of pricing for

domestic cup competitions and England internationals.• A family area will be available for under 16s along with

a schools and junior football club enclosure at every England game.

• We will endeavour to provide exemplary customer service to our customers.

• We are fully committed to providing an excellent service for our disabled supporters.

• We will continue to investigate and introduce new technology in order to make the ticketing process and supporter experience as efficient as possible.

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Wembley Stadium’s mantra is ‘Inspiring Memories’ and throughout 2014 the stadium has provided iconic sporting and music moments. During the last year Wembley has developed and enhanced its technological stature with a ground-breaking deal with mobile technology giants EE.Now into its seventh year following the rebuild, the Stadium continues to set the benchmark for global events. This was highlighted with the incredible 17-hour turnaround from England’s final home World Cup warm-up match against Peru to the IBF Super Middleweight bout between reigning champion Carl Froch and title-contender George Groves.Elsewhere, Arsenal were back in a Wembley final defeating Hull City in The FA Cup, before defeating Manchester City in the season’s curtain raiser, The FA Community Shield. One Direction thrilled over 250,000 people during three nights in June, with Eminem providing the entertainment in July. The NFL International Series returned with three fixtures and England kicked off their Euro 2016 campaign with an undefeated autumn schedule.Not to be outdone, 2015 is shaping up nicely with the Capital One Cup Final kicking off the calendar on March 1. The FA Cup and Football League Play-Offs will once again excite and Rugby Union will take centre stage with the stadium being proud hosts of two Rugby World Cup games – New Zealand vs. Argentina and Ireland vs. Romania – as well as welcoming Saracens back in March.Three NFL games will take place in the Autumn and England will look to make a big step towards qualification in France, with Lithuania its first game. An exciting music calendar will see Ed Sheeran, Foo Fighters and AC-DC taking to the stage, all of which once more highlights Wembley’s position as one of the world’s premier sport and music venues.

Wembley stadIum connected by ee

These revenues are often generated by supporters and cover:• Profits made from the sale of tickets to international matches and

The FA Cup Semi-Finals and Final.• Purchase of official FA licensed products, including best-sellers such as the England

shirt (available at www.EnglandStore.com) and England & FA Cup match day programmes (available at www.TheFA.com/programmes).

The FA’s Business Development team look to maximise revenues from all officially licensed products, here and internationally. The two major brands for which The FA grants licences are the England team and The FA Cup. Tight control is exercised on the quality of products, with The FA receiving royalties on all products which are sold under an official license.The FA also strenuously polices non licensed products, to prevent money going out of football – and to protect the integrity of the brands we manage. Fans can tell whether a product is official or not by The FA’s official hologram that genuine products carry. With this, fans can purchase in the confidence that they are also helping English football develop. If a customer is dissatisfied with the quality of an official product they have purchased, they should address this with the retailer in the first instance. However, The FA is always happy to receive feedback from customers to improve the quality and range of official products going forward.

REINvESTING SuPPORTER-GENERATEd REvENuEOverall, The FA’s two biggest sources of revenue are for the sale of its broadcast rights – here and internationally – and sponsorship rights. Maximising revenue from these sources is absolutely vital to running all aspects of The FA and helping fund football in this country.

merchandIse as a ‘not-for-ProfIt’ orGanIsatIon, the fa re-Invests all Its surPlus revenues back Into football at all levels, so the Game constantly GroWs and flourIshes.

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This policy is fully supported by the Board of The FA and the Director of Football Governance and Regulation is responsible for the implementation of this policy.The FA, in all its activities, will not discriminate, or in any way treat anyone less favourably, on grounds of age, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marital status, race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, religion or belief, ability or disability. The FA will ensure that it treats people fairly and with respect and that it will provide access and opportunities for all members of the community to take part in, and enjoy, its activities.The FA will not tolerate harassment, bullying, abuse or victimisation of an individual, which for the purposes of this policy and the actions and sanction applicable is regarded as discrimination. This includes sexual, racial, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, homophobic, transphobic or abuse of disabled people based harassment and other discriminatory behaviour, whether physical or verbal. The FA will work to ensure that such behaviour is met with appropriate action in whatever context it occurs.

The FA is committed to the development of a programme of ongoing training and awareness raising events and activities in order to promote the eradication of discrimination within football.The FA is committed to a policy of equal treatment of all members to abide and adhere to this policy and the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 as amended from time to time.The FA commits itself to the immediate investigation of any claims, when it is brought to their attention, of discrimination on the above grounds and where such is found to be the case, a requirement that the practice stop and sanctions imposed as appropriate.If you wish to report an incident of abuse and/or discrimination please use the contact details below:Tel: 0800 085 0508Email: FootballForAll@TheFA.com

equalIty the fa ’s commItment Is to confront and elImInate dIscrImInatIon Whether by reason of aGe, Gender, Gender reassIGnment, sexual orIentatIon, marItal status, race, natIonalIty, ethnIc orIGIn, colour, relIGIon or belIef, abIlIty or dIsabIlIty and to encouraGe equal oPPortunItIes.

The FA’s launched its partnership with Breast Cancer Care in 2014 and is due to run until 2016.Over the next two years, through its new Pass It On campaign, the partnership will reach thousands more people across the country with the charity’s vital breast health awareness message, while raising funds to support women and men facing breast cancer. The partnership, for which Breast Cancer Care was selected after a vote among FA staff, aims to raise £500,000.The Pass It On campaign will urge people across the country to pass on life-saving breast health awareness messages to the women in their lives.It calls on women to check their breasts so they know what is normal for them, and be aware of the changes to look for and get checked.The partnership will also fund a brand new Breast Awareness Roadshow in 2015 which will see vital breast health information and support services reaching out to communities with especially low awareness levels of breast health.

charIty Partners

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If you would like to submit a complaint to The FA, you can put it in writing addressed to:Customer Relations The Football Association Wembley Stadium PO Box 1966 London, SW1P 9EQOr you can email via the ‘Contact Us’ form on www.TheFA.com/contact-TheFA or email directly to Info@TheFA.comWe will strive to respond to all emails as soon as possible, however, due to the large amount of correspondence we receive, it may take up to five working days to receive a response. For letters, we aim to respond within 10 working days. We aim to ensure that at all times our complaints handling process is fair to everyone, ensuring all views are heard and taken into account in a balanced way.

STILL NOT SATISFIEd? Contact the Independent Football Ombudsman (IFO).The Independent Football Ombudsman was established at the beginning of the 2008-09 season and have a clear remit to receive and adjudicate on complaints from football supporters and participants which have not been resolved by the football authorities. They raise any policy issues which have been highlighted by those complaints, directly with The FA, Premier League and The Football League.The Ombudsman will maintain a position as the independent and final arbiter of football complaints. For further information on the IFO, please visit the website: www.theifo.co.uk

comPlaInts Procedure

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the football association physical address:Wembley Stadium Wembley middlesex hA9 0WS

Postal address:The Football Association Wembley Stadium PO box 1966 London SW1P 9EQ

t 0800 169 1863f 0844 980 0666e info@TheFA.comwww.TheFA.com

for further information on how personal information is used please visit: www.TheFA.com/Privacy