The Barclays Community Sport Fund has opened applications for grants designed to help more women become qualified coaches in grassroots football, tennis and cricket.

Clubs and community groups across the UK can apply for grants of £200 per coach, with funding available for up to two female coaches per organisation.

The funding can be used towards a Level 1 or equivalent introductory coaching qualification, alongside any additional safeguarding and first-aid requirements.

Applications are open until 5pm on Wednesday 4 November 2026, although the fund may close earlier if it receives a high volume of applications.

APPLY FOR THE FEMALE COACHES FOR GIRLS GRANT

About the Female Coaches for Girls Grant

Barclays believes in creating opportunities for everyone through access to sport.

Through the Barclays Community Sport Fund, grants are being made available to help more women across the UK become qualified to coach women and girls at grassroots level.

Increasing the number of high-quality female coaches is crucial to improving standards, meeting growing demand and providing women and girls with visible local role models.

Who is eligible to apply?

The fund is open to clubs and groups delivering football, cricket or tennis activities for women and girls that want to help more female coaches gain qualifications.

Eligible not-for-profit organisations include:

• Grassroots sports clubs
• Registered charities
• Community groups
• Youth groups

Applications must be submitted by the organisation on behalf of the individual who will undertake the coaching qualification.

Organisations based in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can apply.

Clubs and groups that have previously received funding through the Barclays Community Sport Fund are still eligible.

Female coach eligibility

Each female coach included in an application must:

• Be aged 16 or over, or 18 or over where required by the individual course
• Already coach girls or want to begin coaching
• Be connected to a club or group providing activities for women or girls
• Be able to undertake the qualification within 12 months, subject to course availability

The prospective coach could be an existing player, the parent of a player, a volunteer or another person connected to the organisation.

Applications from women with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences are particularly encouraged, helping ensure the programme reflects the communities it serves.

How much funding is available?

Clubs and groups can apply for £200 per female coach.

Each organisation can apply for funding for up to two coaches, providing a maximum grant of:

2 × £200 = £400 per club or group

The grant can contribute towards:

• A Level 1 or equivalent introductory coaching qualification
• Relevant safeguarding requirements
• Relevant first-aid requirements

If a course costs less than £200, the remaining funding can be used towards expenses, equipment or additional training.

If the course costs more than £200, the grant can be used as a contribution towards the total cost.

What can the funding be used for?

Funding must be used to place female coaches on a Level 1 or equivalent introductory coaching course in:

• Football
• Tennis
• Cricket

The funding cannot be used for higher-level qualifications, including Level 2 or UEFA C courses.

Qualifications in futsal, Gaelic football, padel and pickleball are not eligible.

What should the application include?

Applicants will need to explain how qualifying a new female coach will support the development or expansion of activities for women and girls.

Clubs should explain:

• Why the individual would make a strong coach
• How the qualification will help the organisation
• What positive impact the coach will have on women and girls
• How the coach will support the development or growth of activities

What documents are required?

Applicants must provide the following:

1. A governing document

This could be the organisation’s club constitution or Articles of Association.

If a National Governing Body template is being used, it must include the organisation’s name and show that it has been formally adopted.

Registered charities and companies can provide their charity or company number instead.

Individuals, sole traders and companies limited by shares are not eligible.

2. A recent bank statement

The bank statement must:

• Be in the name of the organisation applying
• Have been issued within the previous three months
• Clearly display the account name, sort code and account number
• Match the organisation’s name

Transactions and account balances do not need to be visible.

Personal bank accounts and accounts named only “Community” cannot be accepted.

Applicants will also need to confirm that their organisation:

• Operates on a not-for-profit basis
• Has an up-to-date safeguarding policy
• Has an up-to-date health and safety policy
• Holds appropriate insurance for its activities

Are schools eligible?

Schools and other educational institutions are not eligible to apply.

Charities supporting schools may be considered where their activities are open to girls from the wider community and not restricted to pupils from one school.

Activities may take place at school facilities, but the fund cannot support coaches who work exclusively during curriculum time or in school-only after-school clubs.

How is the course booked?

Successful applicants will receive the funding directly into their club or group’s bank account.

The organisation can then book the relevant course and pay the course provider directly.

The appropriate course will depend on the sport, qualification level and the country in which the coach is based.

Funding should ideally be spent within six months, and the coaching qualification must be undertaken within 12 months.

Can an application be saved and completed later?

No. The application must be completed and submitted in one session.

Applicants should have the following ready before beginning:

• A recent organisational bank statement
• A governing document, company number or charity number
• Details of the female coach or coaches being nominated
• Information explaining the expected impact of the qualification

When will applicants receive a decision?

Applications will be assessed as they are received.

Applicants should hear from the Sported grants team within four weeks of submitting their application.

Successful organisations will also be asked to provide feedback explaining how the coach has supported the development of activities for women and girls.

Some recipients may be selected for an audit and asked to provide evidence of the course booking and payment.

VIEW THE GRANT REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Application deadline

The Female Coaches for Girls Grant is open until:

5pm on Wednesday 4 November 2026

The fund may close earlier if a high volume of applications is received, so eligible clubs are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Organisations requiring additional accessibility support with their application can contact Sported at barclays@sported.org.uk.

Further information is available from the official Barclays Female Coaches for Girls Grant page.

The new On Your Side initiative has been launched today, World Suicide Prevention Day, to help people throughout sport recognise when somebody may be struggling and know how to respond.

Developed by The Royal Foundation alongside the British Standards Institution and mental health charity Chasing the Stigma, the guidance is aimed at players, coaches, volunteers, staff, families and spectators.

The FA has committed to embedding the toolkit across its organisation, including its community and grassroots football network.

Helping grassroots football start the conversation

The guidance is not about turning volunteer coaches into mental health professionals.

Instead, it provides practical advice on recognising potential warning signs, starting a conversation, responding when someone may be in crisis and directing them towards appropriate support.

At its heart is a five-stage GOALS approach:

Get ready • Open the conversation • Ask the question • Listen and respond • Support and signpost

👉 ACCESS THE FREE ON YOUR SIDE TOOLKIT:
https://www.hubofhope.co.uk/

TeamGrassroots founder Paul Kirton welcomed the initiative.

“Grassroots football brings millions of people together every week. Coaches, parents, referees and volunteers can see each other two or three times a week and you notice when somebody isn’t quite themselves.

“Nobody is asking a volunteer football coach to become a mental health professional. But giving people the confidence to notice something, ask a question and know where to find proper support could be incredibly powerful.”

The initiative is being launched at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium with support from leading figures across British sport.

A campaign film features sports stars including England captain Harry Kane, with the central message that people don’t need to have all the answers to start an important conversation.

“Football clubs are communities”

Kirton added:

“Football clubs are communities. People talk while they’re putting the nets up, over a cup of tea or standing beside a pitch.

“Sometimes somebody doesn’t need you to solve their problems. They need somebody to notice something isn’t right and care enough to ask if they’re OK.

“If this gives grassroots football simple, trusted guidance people can actually use, then it deserves the full support of the game.”

On Your Side is intended to make suicide prevention part of everyday sporting life and provide people across sport with practical guidance they can use when somebody may need help.

If you or somebody you know needs support, Samaritans can be contacted free, 24 hours a day, on 116 123. If somebody is in immediate danger, call 999.

ACCESS THE FREE ON YOUR SIDE TOOLKIT

Howdens has committed a further £1 million worth of kitchens to help clubs improve their facilities, generate additional income and create stronger community hubs.

Applications close on 31 October 2026.

👇 Apply here

Central Scotland Football Association suspended its Fun 4 fixtures for the weekend of 29–30 August, following incidents during the opening weekend of the new season.

In an email sent to team managers and seen by BBC Scotland, Central Scotland Football Association secretary Paul Crosbie said that after just one week there was already a “long list of indiscipline and behaviours that have no place in grassroots football.”

He described the situation as a “new all-time low”, adding:

“The line has well and truly been crossed.”

The warning followed an opening week in which 72 red cards were reportedly issued across the association’s wider youth football programme, alongside reports of abandoned matches, threatening behaviour and discriminatory language.

One of the most serious allegations involved a team official allegedly headbutting another team official at a football festival involving children aged just five and six.

The Scottish Youth Football Association confirmed that approximately 750 children would not play that weekend because of the poor behaviour, with disciplinary proceedings set to begin.

TeamGrassroots statement
TeamGrassroots said:
“There is simply no place for threatening, abusive, discriminatory or violent behaviour anywhere in grassroots football, particularly around children.
The saddest part of this situation is that hundreds of five and six-year-olds who simply wanted to put their boots on and play football have ultimately paid the price for the behaviour of adults.

Coaches, parents, spectators and everyone involved have a responsibility to remember who grassroots football is actually for. Children should never lose the opportunity to play because adults cannot behave appropriately.”

Dorset FA described postponing the new season as a difficult decision, but player safety must come first when pitches are excessively hard, dry or cracked.

Why hard pitches can be dangerous
Grass pitches do not need to be flooded, frozen or visibly damaged to be unsafe.

Ground hardened by weeks without sufficient rain can increase the impact of falls, challenges and awkward landings. Cracks, loose areas and uneven surfaces can also create additional injury risks.

The postponement is particularly significant because the decision has been taken by a County FA-operated children’s league rather than an individual club or pitch provider.
Adult leagues also delay their seasons

Dorset is not the only area where drought conditions are disrupting the start of competitive football.
The Anglian Combination League, covering 85 adult amateur teams across Norfolk and Suffolk, postponed its season until 29 August following an urgent league-board meeting.

Pre-season friendlies had already been cancelled, while matches played on hardened surfaces reportedly resulted in injuries.

League chairman Dale Brown said most clubs use grass pitches which had become extremely dry and “rock hard.” The Guardian, 8 August 2026.
The Thames Valley Premier League has also provisionally postponed fixtures across Divisions One to Four, including Division One Reserves, until 3 October.

The situation will be reviewed weekly, and fixtures could begin earlier if pitches recover. Its Premier Division is expected to start sooner because more clubs have access to grounds that can be watered and maintained. Source Football in Berkshire, 24 August 2026.

That difference highlights the growing divide between clubs with dedicated facilities and those relying on council-owned or community pitches.
Has this happened before?

Britain experienced an extreme drought in 1976, but the 1976/77 Football League season began as scheduled.

The 2022 drought also caused serious pitch problems, but TeamGrassroots could not find a confirmed previous example of an English County FA-operated children’s league postponing the start of its season specifically because of drought.

Historical grassroots records are incomplete, so we cannot state definitively that it has never happened. However, we found no documented precedent comparable to the decisions now being taken in Dorset, East Anglia and the Thames Valley.

Postponing the season will disappoint children, parents, coaches and clubs—but no fixture is more important than player safety.

Grassroots football normally fears too much rain. In 2026, leagues are waiting desperately for it to arrive.

The FA has confirmed that “cooling-off periods” will be rolled out nationally for the 2026/27 season following a successful pilot.

Under the measure, if a referee feels a match is becoming unsafe, they can stop play and send all players to their respective penalty areas.

The referee will then meet coaches and captains in the centre circle, giving both teams an opportunity to calm players and any off-field spectators before play resumes.

Players must remain in their penalty areas during the break, with anyone leaving without permission receiving a 10-minute sin bin.
The length of the cooling-off period will be determined by the referee.

Crucially, a maximum of two cooling-off periods can be called during a match.
If the referee believes a third is necessary, the fixture will be abandoned.

All cooling-off periods must be reported to the league or cup sanctioning the fixture, although the FA says formal disciplinary action will not automatically follow simply because a referee has initiated a pause.

Teamgrassroots supports the move
Teamgrassroots welcomes the introduction of the measure.

“Anything that gives referees greater support and the ability to intervene before poor behaviour escalates is a positive step. Grassroots football should be a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone, and we hope clubs, coaches, players and spectators fully support referees when these measures are needed.”

The move forms part of the FA’s wider efforts to improve behaviour across grassroots football.
The FA says serious misconduct occurred in just 0.09% of 1.2 million grassroots fixtures, highlighting that the overwhelming majority of games take place without serious incident.

However, where behaviour does begin to escalate, referees will now have another option to take control of the situation — before deciding whether the game can safely continue.

The Central Scotland Football Association (CSFA), which provides youth football from Fun4s and Super5s through to 11-a-side football at U19 level, said conduct had reached an “all-time low.”
The warning was contained in an email sent to team managers and seen by the BBC, with the association reporting a long list of disciplinary incidents which it said had no place in grassroots football.

Perhaps the most disturbing allegation came from a football festival involving children aged just five and six.
According to the association, a team official is alleged to have headbutted another team official in front of young children and adults.

In a separate incident, a parent is alleged to have aggressively approached a league official after being asked to move away from an area beside the pitch reserved for players and team staff.
Reports from the opening week also included young players allegedly being threatened, possible discriminatory or hate-related language and matches being abandoned.

And then there is the staggering disciplinary figure.
72 red cards in a single week.
For a game which should be providing children with friendship, exercise, confidence and memories, the incidents raise uncomfortable questions about the behaviour young players are witnessing around them.

Grassroots football will always be competitive. Players desperately want to win, coaches care about their teams and parents naturally want the best for their children.
But there has to be a line.

When adults lose control at children’s football, it is the children standing metres away who see it.
They hear the shouting. They witness the confrontation. And ultimately, they learn from the behaviour of the adults around them.

The Central Scotland Football Association operates within the Scottish Youth Football Association’s Central Region and describes itself as a children’s and youth football league covering formats from the youngest small-sided games through to U19 football.

Its warning comes just days into the 2026/27 campaign.

Grassroots football simply cannot function without coaches, league officials, referees, parents and volunteers giving up huge amounts of their own time.

Those people should be able to attend children’s football without facing threats, intimidation or violence.

And children should certainly be able to play football without witnessing it.

Seventy-two red cards in one week should make everyone involved in the game stop and think.
Because whatever the score, whatever the decision and however important we convince ourselves a youth football match might be…
it’s still children’s football.

And the adults have to be better.

The truth is, hundreds of professional scouts can say they watched Jude.

That’s not what matters.

What matters is what you saw.

The first time I watched Jude, he was playing for Birmingham City’s U13s, competing against players at least a year older than himself.

Physically, he didn’t dominate the game. In fact, playing up an age meant there were moments where older, stronger players had the advantage.

But one thing stood out immediately.

His football intelligence.

He constantly made good decisions.

He understood space.

He knew when to play quickly and when to slow the game down.

He processed the game faster than those around him.

Yes, he was a very good athlete.

But athleticism alone doesn’t produce one of the world’s best midfielders.

The elite players consistently make better decisions, more often, under pressure.

That’s what professional scouts look for.

When I analyse players today, I’m not searching for the biggest, fastest or strongest.

I’m looking for the technical and tactical habits that indicate future potential.

Those are the details that often go unnoticed by everyone else.

Every player has strengths.

Every player has areas that can be developed.

The key is identifying them early and understanding how they influence performance.

That’s exactly why I carry out Independent Technical Audits.

Not to compare players with Jude Bellingham…

…but to help them understand what will move their game to the next level.

Clarity. Progression. Next Level.

Written by Stuart Beeken (15 years scouting for Leicester City and founder of SB SCOUTING

Find out more about Stuart’s work HERE

When the FA first unveiled its plans to reshape youth football in England, it would be fair to say the reaction was mixed.

For some coaches, parents and clubs, the Future Fit programme represented a sensible evolution of children’s football: smaller-sided games, more touches of the ball and a pathway designed around the development of young players.

For others, particularly around the introduction of 3v3 football at Under-7, the announcement raised questions about squads, volunteers, facilities and whether grassroots clubs were being asked to make another significant adjustment.

The initial announcement was undoubtedly polarising.

But months of debate have now given way to something much more important.
The changes are here.

And as clubs prepare for the 2026/27 season, we are about to find out how Future Fit works where it really matters — on grassroots pitches across England.

What has actually changed?

At the heart of Future Fit is a restructuring of the youth football pathway.

From 2026/27, the format is:
U7 — 3v3
U8 & U9 — 5v5
U10 & U11 — 7v7
U12 & U13 — 9v9
U14 onwards — 11v11

Perhaps the biggest headline is the introduction of 3v3 football at Under-7.

Games are designed to be short, lasting around six to ten minutes, with no goalkeeper, no referee and no substitutes during an individual game. The FA’s guidance is based around small pitches of approximately 10m x 15m.

The thinking behind it is straightforward.
With only three players on each side, children should receive more touches, make more decisions and spend more time directly involved in the game.
The FA says the changes followed two years of consultation with clubs, leagues, coaches, parents and players, alongside research with Liverpool John Moores University.

There are also changes further along the pathway, with children remaining in smaller-sided formats for longer and 11v11 football now beginning at U14.
Importantly, however, this isn’t a situation where thousands of existing teams suddenly have to move backwards into smaller formats.

The transition has been structured so that players progressing normally through the age groups broadly continue playing the same-sized football they experienced last season.

That distinction was sometimes lost during the original debate.
The theory is about to meet the reality
There is a strong developmental argument for smaller-sided football.

Anyone who has watched a young child spend much of a match barely touching the ball can understand the logic.

Three-a-side should mean more involvement.
More attacking.
More defending.
More decisions.

More opportunities to score — and more opportunities to stop someone else scoring.

That is why the next few months are arguably more important than the announcement itself.
3v3 will be the real test

The biggest focus will inevitably be on the youngest players.

For many parents, their child’s first experience of organised grassroots football will now look very different from the traditional image of a junior football match.

There may be several small games operating alongside one another.
There are no designated goalkeepers.
There are no referees.
And rather than one longer match, children can experience a series of short games.
That could prove to be exactly what young players need.
It could also take time for adults around the game to adjust.
And that distinction matters.
Sometimes resistance to change in children’s sport isn’t coming from children at all.

If six-year-olds are getting more touches, scoring goals, making decisions and enjoying themselves, they are unlikely to be particularly concerned whether the format resembles adult football.
The challenge will be ensuring the environment around them understands what the format is trying to achieve.

A large club with multiple pitches and dozens of coaches may experience the transition differently from a small community club with one pitch and one volunteer managing an age group.

Neither experience should automatically be treated as proof that Future Fit has succeeded or failed.
Both need to be listened to.
Heading changes arrive too
Future Fit isn’t the only adjustment clubs will encounter this season.
The FA’s phased removal of deliberate heading in younger grassroots football has now extended to Under-11 football for 2026/27.
The process began with U7-U9 in 2024/25, expanded to U10 in 2025/26 and now includes U11.
That means coaches, referees and parents are adapting not simply to different team sizes, but to a youth game increasingly designed around age-appropriate rules.
Again, some will welcome that direction enthusiastically.
Others will question aspects of it.
Both conversations have a place in grassroots football.
Perhaps we should judge it through children’s eyes
The success or failure of Future Fit probably won’t ultimately be determined by how closely grassroots football resembles the game adults remember playing.
There are simpler questions.
Are children touching the ball more?
Are they involved in games more often?
Are they learning?
Are they enjoying football?
And crucially, do more of them want to come back the following season?
If the answers are yes, the changes will have a strong case behind them.
If clubs discover unintended problems, those experiences should equally be heard and the system should be prepared to adapt.
Grassroots football has always evolved.
Mini-soccer, 9v9, retreat lines and changes around heading were all unfamiliar once.
Future Fit is the next significant stage of that evolution.