Significant progress on the road towards achieving The FA’s Code of Governance for County FAs

Hertfordshire FA recently took a significant step on its journey to achieving compliance with The FA’s Code of Governance. The Code goes beyond the current ‘gold standard’ for sport and aims to provide support and guidance to those running the grassroots game up and down the country, ensuring that local County Football Associations are run to the highest standards of corporate governance.

In January 2020, The FA became the first national governing body in English sport to introduce a regional Code of Governance, with a number of other sports now following the model which has since been endorsed by Sport England. Specifically tailored for County Football Associations, it is made up of 65 individual requirements which build upon Sport England and UK Sport’s Code for Sports Governance.

The requirements within the Code mean each County FA can assess their current practices against the highest standard of corporate governance in football, supporting their development and ensuring they have the structures, functional operations and decision-making processes in place to offer the best possible service to the game.

The code also includes provisions for gender diversity, ethnic diversity and youth representation across the County FA network, to ensure that those involved in running football at a local level are representative of the community they serve.

Implementing the Required Changes

We have been working towards this for several years, but the process has recently taken significant steps forward, with an Extraordinary General Meeting held in December seeing approval by our Members to update our Articles of Association.

Changes to the Articles ensure the structure of our organisation aligns with the required standard, further enhancing our strategic, financial and risk management of the organisation. This development paves the way for Hertfordshire FA to achieve compliance by the end of the current season.

For the first time our Board will be led by an independent Chair, with the majority of directors also being independent, appointed based on skills and experience that will best serve the organisation. The updated Articles, which come into force on 1 April 2025 also establish in formal terms the primacy of the Board in the governance of the Association and introduce a maximum term limit of 9 years for those serving on our Board and Council.

Speaking about the changes Hertfordshire FA CEO Karl Lingham said:

"Together these changes mean Hertfordshire FA will have a more robust, transparent and representative system of governance moving forward, ensuring that we are even better placed to serve the needs of our local football community.

While most people don’t get involved in football for the finer details of governance structures, they are vital to the good running of the game. We are grateful for all those attending our EGM and playing a key part in this important democratic process.”

Hertfordshire FA Chair Graham Phillips added:

“As an institution that has supported and developed football in our county for close to 140 years, it is important that we respect that which has served us well in the past, while adapting to ensure the game is well placed to thrive long into the future.

Football has a unique place in the heart of our communities and as custodians of the game, our primary responsibility is passing it on to the next generation in a better condition than we inherited it. As we work to modernise our structures, this is our goal.”

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