Updated COVID guidance to to recognise consultation with powerchair community from 1st September 2022

Updated COVID guidance to to recognise updated government changes from 1st April 2022

Following further activity and experience, The WFA have produced updated COVID guidance to recognise removed government guidance, player feedback and clarity for clubs

Following a few months of activity and experience, coupled with the increases of covid cases nationally due to the Omicron variant, The WFA have produced updated COVID guidance to support the community and their safety.

Ahead of the return of the WFA National League season, The WFA have produced updated COVID guidance to support the community and their safety.

On 19^th July 2021, the government and FA removed gathering limits and eased covid mitigations for football. However, due to the nature of Powerchair Football participants and our responsibility for the organisation and delivery of Powerchair Football, The WFA will continue to implement protocols to support the community and their safety. Please find below our full COVID Guidelines for July 2021 onwards and WFA Risk Assessments for both competitions and training:

The WFA have today released their roadmap to return to powerchair football activity. You can read more below. Until further information is released The WFA would like to reiterate that no club activity should take place unless notified.

We note in the media that outdoor grass roots football have changed their position and advice being given on returning to football. The WFA would like to reiterate that the advice below remains the official position for Powerchair Football until further information is made available.

Following the Government’s announcement yesterday for people to avoid social contact and gatherings where possible, The FA have released a statement advising that all grassroots football in England is postponed for the foreseeable future. 

The WFA wholeheartedly share this view and advise clubs and leagues to postpone all powerchair activity until further notice. This is inclusive of upcoming WFA led events and courses. The health and safety of our community is paramount.

As with all other postponed formats of football, the ever-changing environment and parameters we are working in means we are not able to comment on current unresolved league competitions at this time.*

In the immediate short term, we will continue to liaise with The FA and Muscular Dystrophy UK, as well as health authorities and any other non-footballing partners. We will also continue to engage with our community through our social media platforms and will provide some ideas on keeping your players engaged with their peers during this period of footballing inactivity

Finally, we continue to encourage best practice and government guidance in relation to hygiene, non-essential contact with others and travel.

*At time of release the MDUK National League had not been resolved. Further Information on the league resolution can be found here 

The FA Disability Cup will return to St George’s Park on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July, with BT Sport providing coverage over the weekend, the first time the Cup has been broadcast live.

The 2021 FA Disability Cup, the fifth edition of the competition, will see five cup finals scheduled across the weekend, delivered by The FA in partnership with a range of impairment-specific organisations. The Cup is the largest competition of its kind in this country, giving players within impairment-specific football a national competition of their own, complete with dreams of reaching St. George’s Park for finals weekend. BT Sport’s coverage will be presented by Alex
Brooker, presenter of Channel 4’s The Last Leg, five-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockcroft and, BT Sport presenter Jules Breach.

Supporting BT’s lead partnership with the four Home Nation Football Associations, which aims to boost support for disability football, BT Sport’s coverage will be available for anyone to watch without a subscription via BT Sport’s website (btsport.com), its App for mobiles, tablets, smart TVs, media adapters and games consoles, plus, its Facebook channel (facebook.com/btsport). Highlights coverage will also be available on Channel 4, on 25 July, with details announced soon.

The competition will be the most accessible live broadcast of a football match taking place in the UK to date. On each day, live coverage of all the finals will feature on three BT Sport channels with each offering different accessibility features. BT Sport 3 will feature enhanced Audio Description delivered by an expert based at St George’s Park. In addition, BT Sport Extra 1 will carry British Sign Language, with sub-titles available on BT Sport 1*. A fourth channel, BT Sport Ultimate, will provide coverage in up to 4K HDR picture quality.

Next season, BT Sport will trial the inclusion of these accessibility features around several sports. BT is committed to making these features available as standard for all of its live coverage in the future. More details on how to watch, including channel information and how to access all the accessibility features are available at btsport.com/fadisabilitycup.

• BT TV, Sky, Virgin Media customers: BT Sport Extra 1 (British Sign Language), BT Sport 3 (Enhanced Audio Description), BT Sport 1 (standard feed with sub-titles), BT Sport Ultimate (standard feed, no sub-titles. Channel not available on Sky).
• BTSport.com + BT Sport App: following channels available to subscribers and non-subscribers – BT Sport Extra 1 (British Sign Language), BT Sport 3 (Enhanced Audio Description), BT Sport 1 (standard feed, no sub-titles). BT Sport Ultimate (standard feed, no sub-titles, available to subscribers only).
• Facebook (facebook.com/btsport) – BT Sport 1 (standard feed, no sub-titles) available to all.

WFA affiliation will be open from Monday, July 5^th. Clubs will now be able to affiliate through our WFA member site. The link to do so will be provided on Monday.
 
Fees – The WFA trustees have agreed to a change in structure for affiliation for the 2021/22 season to incorporate both the mandatory public liability insurance per club and personal accident insurance per team, required for county FA affiliation.
 
Membership will be lowered to a fee of £150 per club, consisting of:

• Affiliation to The WFA as a member and entitlement to vote at The WFA AGM
• Public liability insurance (club, club officials & referees)
• Access to WFA member benefits (one new example detailed below)
• Entry to WFA sanctioned competition
• Club support from The WFA (e.g. administration, coaching, funding)
• Your support for the WFA to continue to exist as an organisation

For personal accident insurance, clubs will now pay a fee per the number of different teams within their club. A team consists of up to eight (8) players.
 
E.g. 1 team club (up to 8 players) = £20,
       2 team club (up to 16 players) = £40
       3 team club (up to 24 players) = £60
And so on. 
 
This is to create a fairer system for each club, depending on the number of teams within their respective club.
 
Member club official ratification will take place at the next WFA AGM (Date TBD).

The WFA Executive Committee apologise for the delay in releasing an update on dates for the 21/22 National League season. Securing suitable dates has been a far greater task than previous due to the additional challenges of COVID-19 and modified University scheduling as a result. The WFA is working hard to confirm dates and will update our members as soon as possible.

The WFA are delighted to announce a new member benefit, accessible for all affiliated clubs.
 
Thanks to a new partnership with MK Battery, WFA member clubs can now purchase batteries for their powerchairs at trade prices, providing a great saving to support your clubs as you return to activity. The WFA are making no profit on this partnership, directly passing on the full saving to our membership.
 
Member Clubs will be able to place an order via The WFA Shop ahead of delivery* from MK Battery.
 
*Please note, MK Battery only deliver to commercial addresses (e.g., your training facility), so planning and coordination will be required from our member clubs part beforehand.

The WFA Executive Committee are delighted to inform you that our National Development Manager, Adam McEvoy, was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queens Birthday Honours a few weeks ago.

His honour is for services to Disabled and Young People through Sport, highlighting the progress and development made with his club in Sevenoaks, Kent and throughout the South East of England. 

We hope this continues to raise awareness of our sport and the excellent work carried out by our clubs throughout the country.

We are delighted to partner with England Football to launch #FootballYourWay, a new campaign to help disabled footballers’ return to the sport and reclaim the moments they have missed, as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted across the country.

The campaign is funded by Sport England as part of the tackling inequalities funding programme offers guidance and ideas for you to ease your way back into playing our wonderful game. The goal is to give you the inspiration to stay active and connected while at home while you get ready for your return to the pitch or court. 

There’s something for everyone, from skill demonstrations to challenges and downloadable resources for all abilities and ages. We’ve designed Football Your Way to help thousands of disabled players return to training and playing in a fun and safe way. 

Competition

If you’ve created and filmed your own 3-Step Challenge, here’s where you upload it. England Football will be looking at all the videos and will select ones that best inspire other players with a disability similar to yours.

The ones they feel are most inspirational will feature on Football Your Way and our social media channels. But everyone who uploads a video will be entered in their free prize draw to win one of the great prizes below.

Parents/carers: If the film of your child or the adult you are supporting is selected, we’ll be in touch to get your prior consent.

And if you still need some inspiration to create your own 3-Step Challenge, check out the ones created by Rosie, Bryan, Azeem and Callum here.

Here’s what you could win:

• Two tickets for an England men’s senior home game (excluding UEFA EURO 2020).
• Two tickets for an England women’s senior home game (excluding UEFA Women’s EURO 2022).
• Four VIP tickets for The FA Disability Cup at St. George’s Park on 17 and 18 July 2021, including two twin rooms at the St. George’s Park Hilton
• A personal visit to your school or club from an England Para Football international.
• A visit to meet one of the England Para Football teams at a 2021/22 training camp.
• A signed Lionesses’ shirt – with signatures of the England Women’s senior team.

Our colleagues at EPFA are establishing an EPFA Players Council, a consultative group representing the voice of players from the European zone on what matters to them now and about the future of their sport. 

Each European nation will be eligible to nominate a player from their country. One WFA player will be allocated a seat on the Players Council, with the player serving a two year term period. The Council will be encouraged to meet online at least four times per year or face to face at international tournaments, discussing a wide variety of topics and issues related to the powerchair football community. 

The WFA welcome applications from any player wishing to be involved. You do not need to be a widely known player or have played for a particular club or length of time. We welcome applications from any players who have clear views and thoughts on improving the game. 

If you are interested in applying, The WFA will require you to send in a written overview of no more than 250 words, why you would like to be considered and why you think you are suitable for joining the EPFA Players Council.

Applicants will be shortlisted, and then The WFA will put forward their nomination to EPFA. The closing date for application is Sunday 13th June.

The WFA is delighted to support EPFA‘s fantastic new initiatives to develop the sport of Powerchair Football and bring international communities closer together.

The initiative involves identifying a range of clubs in Europe interested in ‘Twinning’ with a club in another country. https://loom.ly/bNK7AUs

Powerchair Football received a huge boost last week when our National League was awarded a £2,500 ‘Return to Football’ grant by the Premier League, The FA and the Football Foundation.

In addition to this, we’re delighted to announce that the South East, South West, North East, North West, East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire Regional Powerchair Football Leagues were all awarded the same Return to Football grant to help safely kickstart competitions across the country. In total, the Football Foundation’s and its respective Return to Football Fund has awarded Powerchair Football leagues and competitions close to £20,000.

A huge thanks to the Football Foundation, The Football Association and Sport England, who provided the funding, allowing players across the country to return safely to Powerchair Football.

The collective grant, part of the Foundation’s Return to Football Fund, is helping clubs and leagues to restart following the lifting of government restrictions on grassroots football. The grant was made possible thanks to funding from The FA and Sport England through the Football Foundation.

Adam McEvoy, WFA National Development Manager, said: “After more than a year away, the support from the Football Foundation is an excellent and much-needed boost to the game at all levels and will greatly support a safe return to competition.”

Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: “ Our Return to Football fund is supporting clubs, leagues and associations across the country, helping them to kick-start our national game again locally and try to recover from the effects of COVID-19. ”

The £2.1M Return to Football Fund is directly targeted at groups of people whose participation has been affected most by COVID-19, offering Clubs and affiliated disability leagues up to £2,500 each.

The grant comes as part of an investment of more than £16m that has been made available to help clubs prepare for the restart of grassroots football following the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the Foundation declared “Game On” and announced three funds to get football’s 12 million grassroots players back on the pitch.

The Football Foundation is the UK’s largest sports charity and exists to improve the football experience for everyone by championing fair access to quality facilities.

Today, the Wheelchair Football Association has published its Return to Play Guidance, which will enable the game to restart its Return to Play plans from Monday 29th March 2021.

Current government guidance means that, theoretically, we can permit activity up to Stage 3 of our roadmap at this time. This is due to the current government exemption on the number of people able to participate in an indoor disability sporting activity and exemption on social contact limits. However, at this initial return, we are advising clubs to deliver activity at Stage 1 of our roadmap. This is due to the following reasons:

• The is our first return to activity since March 2020
• Understanding the needs of our community
• Listening to the feedback provided from members on an initial return to play

Guidance has been produced for all members of WFA affiliated powerchair football clubs – club officials, coaches, players, parents and personal assistants concerning powerchair football activities. FA guidance should be used alongside this for further detail on non-powerchair specific football and club best practice.

It is also important to note that whilst Government guidance regarding COVID-19 is continuously evolving and being published; The WFA will only move steps in our roadmap following careful consideration and professional counsel with specific reference to our sport and its participants.

We have developed this Roadmap to provide the community with an insight into the phased return to powerchair football. 

The Roadmap has been developed with anticipated changes in social distancing and relaxation in regulations of indoor facilities. Therefore it is constantly under review and is subject to change.

Although Government guidance permits Steps 2 & 3 of our Roadmap to commence, The WFA are strongly advising against these at the initial return stage for the reasons listed above. Return dates for steps 4-6 are in line with government guidance timelines only. 

Before re-starting playing/training, clubs must carry out a risk assessment and record the procedures and checks put in place. It’s essential everyone is clear about the restrictions and works together to manage social distancing and strict hygiene protocols.

Clubs should review and update the template (provided below) in line with the specific situation and circumstances of your club/venue. This may mean adding or removing items from this risk assessment – ultimately, it is your responsibility to ensure that this is comprehensive and correct for your club/venue.

Download our COVID-19 Risk Assessment Template below:

Download our COVID-19 Guidance below:

Both WFA & FA affiliation are needed before any activity taking place. WFA affiliation will open from Tuesday, April 6th.

Every participant must follow all FA and Government advice. This is crucial to ensure everyone’s safety involved in the game, and so we can continue to play. Any incidents of non-compliance will be reported to the relevant County FA for action. 

Please remember anyone who is deemed vulnerable in respect of COVID-19 is reminded to follow the Government’s specific guidance, only returning to football when it’s right for them to do so. There is no pressure to return. Everyone’s health, wellbeing and safety are the priorities.

Download the full FA Guidance below:

As well as the above, there is also free COVID-19 awareness training available for coaches, team staff, COVID-19 officers and club volunteers. 

The ReActivate training platform, funded by Sport England and CIMPSA accredited, provides you with the skills and knowledge to return to activity.

The training can be accessed via the link below:

Official partnership launch date – Wednesday 3rd March 2021

This week marks the start of an official partnership between the national governing body of Powerchair Football, The Wheelchair Football Association, and disability access and inclusion charity, Level Playing Field.

Both organisations exist to improve access to sport for disabled people. The focus of the Wheelchair Football Association is to promote and develop opportunities for anyone with a high level of physical impairment to access the game of football (Powerchair Football).  Level Playing Field exists to promote and facilitate improved access to stadiums, so that more disabled sports fans are able to watch their favourite team play live. Whether watching or playing, both organisations are passionate about seeing disabled people become more included in society.

Having worked together on a couple of projects in the past, the two organisations decided that an official partnership would be the best way to work more closely together in future and also help to highlight the good work that each other are involved in.

Regarding the partnership, Level Playing Field Chair, Tony Taylor, said:

“Level Playing Field is very excited to be partnering with the Wheelchair Football Association to bring about better access to sport for disabled people. The importance of sport – whether attending as a spectator or participating as a player – should not be underestimated, and both organisations work hard to make it as inclusive and accessible as possible. The new partnership will facilitate this work and make it easier for us to support one another moving forward in a mutually beneficial way.

We look forward to working together on future events, surveys and campaigns, including Level Playing Field’s Weeks of Action campaign, which started on Saturday and runs until Sunday 14th March. It’s vital to have the support of partner organisations like the Wheelchair Football Association to really shine a spotlight on disability access, and the need for ongoing improvements.”

Regarding the partnership, The Wheelchair Football Association’s Chairperson, Brian Dix said:

“The Wheelchair Football Association (WFA) are delighted to partner with Level Playing Field (LPF), bringing access and inclusion to participatory and spectator sports together. We strive to ensure a level playing field for any/all individuals with a disability to participate in sport, something that LPF dedicates their work to achieve in the world of spectator sports.

The WFA are committed to helping LPF ensure absolute #AccessForAll in sports stadiums. This exciting partnership will see the two organisations work closely on future events, campaigns and surveys. We’re incredibly proud and excited with the prospect of working closely to ensure there are no barriers in either playing or attending live sporting events. 

We are already amazed by all of the positive publicity achieved through Level Playing Field’s 2021 Weeks of Action.”

If you would like to get involved with this year’s Weeks of Action, visit the link below:

https://www.levelplayingfield.org.uk/campaigns-research/weeks-of-action/weeks-of-action-2021/wfa-members-pack/

Dear Clubs,

The WFA Executive Committee met in early February to continue with our development off court as well as discuss updates on a return to activity.

Whilst we are universal in our disappointment at our continued absence from play, we are delighted to see the beginnings of a vaccination process for our community and hope that brings a sense of confidence-building to our members.

A discussion on the 2020-21 season took place, with a clear agreement made on the impossibility of holding a full competitive season. Therefore, the executive committee agreed that the focus will now be on working towards delivering a full season for the 2021-22 season.

If the sporting landscape improves in the coming months ahead, we will be fully supportive of a return to initial competitive activity through regional league festival events during the summer period. The WFA will look to provide a financial contribution to any regional league wishing to hold an event during the summer. We will liaise with regional league secretary’s in due course.

The WFA have committed to take part in the 2020-21 FA Disability Cup Finals weekend, scheduled for 17^th & 18^th July. It is our intention to provide two finalists for the competition.

Our aim is to complete the WFA cup competition from the 2019-20 season and provide two teams from the quarter-finalists, as per the SGM vote from May 2020, to complete the competition when able to do so. Our intention will be to host the remaining games at Nottingham Trent University, as a test event for our national league return. The remaining clubs will be contacted shortly.

The WFA intend to open WFA affiliation in the coming weeks, to enable clubs to affiliate for the remainder of the season and support the administrative processes needed to support a return to activity. More information will be sent to club secretaries in the weeks ahead.

Yours in Sport

The WFA Executive Committee