Hertfordshire FA has launched an Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG) to provide advice and guidance on all equality matters

The group which held its first meeting in July will work in line with our 2021-24 Strategy to support the development of football in Hertfordshire and to provide oversight of the delivery of a local county-wide inclusion plan.

It will continue to meet every quarter and help to ensure that equality and diversity are embedded at all levels of our organisation. We look forward to them working closely with our Staff, Council and Board throughout the coming seasons.

The group currently has four members, each with extensive experience of grassroots football in Hertfordshire and a unique perspective on creating a safe, fun and inclusive environment for everyone to enjoy the game. They are:

Bal Singh

Bal is Head Coach of the Khalsa Football Academy, where he is responsible for supporting young people through football initiatives, providing programmes of healthy living and tackling anti-social behaviour. For the past three decades has also been delivering football initiatives and workshops in the community to help address equality issues as part of the Striving for Unity campaign.

Mark Collins

Mark has been involved in coaching inclusive football for a number of years with Everett Rovers where he has seen their inclusive section grow to over 50 youth players and an adult team. Mark is also on the committee of Herts Youth Inclusive Football which provides opportunities for inclusive teams to play against each other and works to grow participation in disability football across the county. 

Mary Pacitti

Mary became involved with football through her son and later wanted the same chances for her two daughters, leading her on a journey through grassroots football taking on many roles from Coach to Club Welfare Officer and Referee. Committed to increasing female participation in all areas, she has more recently become involved in delivering opportunities for girls to play Futsal and has started her UEFA B qualification.

Tracy Light

Tracy is a Director of her own marketing company and over the last 10 years has bought together both her work, life experiences and knowledge to champion inclusive football. Tracy is passionate about creating football opportunities for all and leads the Inclusive Football Section at one of the largest grassroots clubs in the country as well as being Secretary of Herts Youth Inclusive Football.

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Could you be part of it?

While the recruitment of these first four members of our Inclusion Advisory Group is a positive start, we are still looking for passionate individuals from a variety of backgrounds to help guide and drive our work in this area.

If this something you could be part of then we would love to hear from you. We currently have vacancies for additional members as well as someone to Chair the group. You can find out more about these roles by following the link below.