** AFFILIATION NUMBERS ** - Please be aware that following changes to the affiliation process implemented from the start of the 2023/24 season, clubs will no longer receive an affiliation number. Instead affiliation is completed on a team-by-team basis with each team within a club now having its own individual affiliation status. If proof of affiliation is requested (for the purposes of tournament entry etc), we would suggest taking a screenshot of the Teams tab in Club Portal.

It's time to start preparing for the 2023-24 Season 

As the current season draws to a close it's already time for clubs to start thinking about the next one. Every season all clubs in our county need to affiliate to Hertfordshire FA in order to continue playing football. 

We have put together some information that will be useful in completing your club's affiliation for 2023-24, so that you can be ready for when applications open on 19th June 2023 on Club Portal.

Newly Created Clubs

Once affiliation opens on 19th June, any newly created clubs will first need to email contactus@hertfordshirefa.com so that we can set up your club on the Whole Game System for you to start the affiliation process. 

You will need to provide us with the following information:

• Name of your club
• Details (name, date of birth, address, phone number and email) of the Club Secretary, Chairman, Treasurer and Club Welfare Officer
• Region of home ground (Local Authority)

All clubs both adult and youth need to provide details of a Club Welfare Officer. There is some further information below on how to become a new Club Welfare Officer and what qualifications you need to attain before the Club can affiliate.

Once this information is received, we will then send you further guidance on how to affiliate the club.

Getting Prepared

Before starting the affiliation process all clubs must:

• Ensure all invoices from last season are paid
• Ensure all player suspensions from last season have been assigned fixtures (unless the suspension is carrying over to next season)

In addition adult clubs need to:

• Check all Coaches of any teams with players aged 16-17 are listed correctly and have an in-date FA DBS

While youth clubs also need to:

• Check all Coaches are listed correctly against the relevant team and have an in-date FA DBS
• Check all mandatory officials (Secretary, Chairman, Treasurer and Club Welfare Officer) are remaining in place and have completed the Safeguarding for Committee Members Course (and that it hasn't expired)
• Check that the Club Welfare Officer also has the other mandatory qualifications (Safeguarding Children Course, Welfare Officers Course) as well as an in-date FA DBS

Please be aware that The FA only accepts its own DBS and safeguarding courses, as they are football specific. You can find details of all FA Safeguarding courses offered through England Football Learning by visiting their website.

To register to use the online DBS service please complete the Club Registration Form and return by email to FAChecks@TheFA.com.

New Club Welfare Officers

If clubs are aware that there will be a new Club Welfare Officer, it's important to ensure that the incoming CWO is upskilled in time. If you have any queries regarding new CWOs please read this Guidance for New Welfare Officers or email safeguarding@hertfordshirefa.com.

Completing Your Affiliation

The affiliation process should be completed via Club Portal, logging in by entering the email attached to your FAN and your password. If you can’t remember your password or do not have a password set up, please follow on the “Forgot Your Password” link to recover it.

To make the process easier it is important to do the following:

• Add all managers and coaches associated to the relevant teams
• Ensure any FAN records have full details – mobile numbers and email addresses for Full Time and SMS contacts are vital
• Make sure your ground details are correct

Affiliation Fees

The table below displays how much each club will be required to pay per team to affiliate for 2023-24 season. Unlike in previous years there are no separate club fees to pay.

Insurance

All clubs are required to have Public Liability Insurance Cover and Personal Accident Insurance. Unlike in previous years both insurances are available to be purchased during the affiliation process. This can be added for each team as they are affiliated. 

Further Guidance 

For detailed guidance on how to complete the club affiliation process in Club Portal, please visit The FA Grassroots Technology Portal where there are a variety of resources. The FA Technology Adoption Team also ran a one-hour webinar explaining the new process for clubs and you can watch a recording of that session online.

Below is further documentation below to help guide you through the affiliation process, what's changed and why:

• Affiliation Update 2023-24
• Safeguarding Requirements 2023-24
• New Welfare Officer Information

Under the new process individual teams can be added when they are ready rather than all teams in a club being added in one go. Once teams are submitted the system will produce an invoice for the amounts due.

Please note affiliation for a given team will not be completed until the relevant invoice is paid.

Entering County Cup Competitions

County Cup entry is mandatory for the 2023-24 season. Adult teams are required to enter one of the County Competitions. Youth Clubs are required to enter at least one team at each age group in which they are represented. Whilst there is no maximum number of entries this season, we reserve the right to ask to reduce entries if there are more than 128 entries.

The following competitions are being run for 2023-2024:

• Senior Challenge Cup
• Senior Centenary Trophy
• Saturday Intermediate Cup
• Saturday Junior Cup
• Sunday Senior Cup
• Sunday Intermediate Cup
• Sunday Junior Cup
• Women's Senior Cup
• Women's Senior Trophy
• Under 14 Girls
• Under 15 Girls
• Under 16 Girls
• Under 18 Girls
• Under 14 Boys
• Under 15 Boys
• Under 16 Boys
• Under 18 Boys

All entries must be submitted by 31st July 2023. If the teams are not affiliated before the deadline they will be excluded from the competition.

Getting in Touch

If you have any queries about affiliation for the upcoming season or how to use Club Portal please email contactus@hertfordshirefa.com and we'll be happy to help.