CLUB AFFILIATION 2023-24 – THE NEW AFFILIATION MODEL AND SYSTEM

London FA will be opening their club affiliation window, the week beginning Monday 12th June 2023. Club Affiliation will be available within the CLUB PORTAL instead of through the Whole Game System.

Why has the System Changed? 

Following an upgrade to the FA’s IT platforms, and to improve and speed up the affiliation process, club affiliation will be moving away from the Whole Game System and transferring to the Club Portal.

Previously, in the Whole Game System, a club could not complete their affiliation until every team within the club was compliant with regulations. Moving to affiliation by team means that when a team is ready, they can affiliate at the touch of a button. For example, if you are a club with a first team in the National League System as well as having youth teams & disability provision, you can affiliate the first team for their earlier start and complete the youth teams when they are ready.

Each team will have an ‘Affiliation Status’ rather than an affiliation number. This Affiliation Status will be visible in the Club Portal to the club, in Competition Portal for leagues, and the County FA will see the details in the County Portal. This gives all cohorts who need to view whether a team is affiliated an easy way to do so, in their own environments. This approach has many benefits as previously the affiliation number indicated if the club had been affiliated but did not however inform the competitions how many teams, nor whether all those teams were affiliated. This allows a far more flexible, live, view of all teams participating in competitions across the County and removes the opportunity for non-affiliated teams competing under a club affiliation number.

To align London FA to the FA’s new affiliation approach for the 2023-24 season, there are some changes to the costs of affiliation to our members. Click here for more detailed information on our price changes. 

How to get my club ready now?

We have provided guidance on the safeguarding changes and what is required to affiliate for next season here. 75% of the pre-work for affiliation can be done now before the affiliation window opens week commencing 12th June 2023.

• Check officials & qualifications - for guidance click here
• Add club and team grounds - for guidance click here
• Read and accept Safeguarding declarations – My Club + Documentation +Safeguarding Declarations
• Tidy up folded teams - for guidance click here
• Assign teams to correct leagues - for guidance click here

Safeguarding requirements

To affiliate, all named Youth Teams Coaches (Lead and Assistant) must possess an in-date Safeguarding Children Course Qualification. To assist coaches in meeting this requirement, The FA have reduced the cost of the course by 50% to £15 between 1st May - 31st July 2023. Coaches can enroll on the course by clicking here.

To obtain the discount, follow these steps:

1) Obtain a voucher code from your Club Welfare Officer
2) Log into the site
3) Click ‘sign in to start the course’
4) Enter the voucher code
5) Take the course

Training and Support

The FA and London FA have produced several articles and assets to help explain the changes.

What’s New Overview Article – CLICK HERE 

Affiliation Requirements Article – CLICK HERE

Affiliation FAQs – CLICK HERE

For further information on the affiliation changes and getting ready for affiliation, please click the button below.

SUPPORT FROM THE FA'S GRASSROOTS TECHNOLOGY PAGE

London FA will also be releasing further information through our annual affiliation guide and there will be a video walkthrough of the full affiliation process in the Club Portal, which will be released by the end of May.

If you are a new club looking to affiliate for the 23-24 season, please visit our ‘Setting up a Club’ page here. As an FYI, this will be created the week beginning 12th June 2023.

If you do have any questions or concerns, please contact Affiliations@LondonFA.com and a member of our team would be happy to help support.

FURTHER INFORMATION

You can find more information in the London FA Club Affiliation 2023/24 Guidebook below.

INSURANCE

Download the Club Information Document for the London FA Insurance Scheme here to learn more about insurance for your teams.

video guidance

We have put together a four-stage video guide of the affiliation process for 2023/24 season.

Watch now to get the support you need.