Grassroots Football Club Roles

Running a grassroots football club requires a huge amount of time and effort from volunteers. Let’s take a look at the roles of club members at grassroots football clubs – Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Welfare Officer (CWO) and Coach / Team Manager.

Club Chairman

Every club requires a Chairman to provide leadership and direction for the club, whilst overseeing the work of the Club Committee. In addition, they will chair meetings of the club, whilst being an advocate of the football club for the local community. The chairman will work with the Vice Chairperson and Club Development Officers, to ensure that the Volunteer Handbook is updated and that all volunteers receive an updated copy.

Club Secretary

A club Secretary has arguable the largest list of roles and responsibilities, as part of the day-to-day operations of a grassroots club. Lead Duties may include each of the following:

Produce Agendas for AGMs, EGMs and managers meetings
Record minutes of every committee and manager meeting
Act as a conduit for messages from the FA and Leagues to Team Managers and Coaches of all age groups
Hold an up-to-date database of teams, managers/coaches (including tel. no, FA no. and date of birth), grounds, leagues, training arrangements
Ensure there is club representation at all League meetings, either through attending personally or ensuring another volunteer at the club attends
Act on behalf of the club to vote on rule changes, seeking consultation from the General Committee and Management Committee
Distribute League Meeting Minutes; Handbooks and other materials to all Managers and Coaches
Work with the Lettings Officer to book pitches for teams
Complete submissions for Cup competitions
League Registration
Complete Team Information forms for all teams in all age groups and submit to League on time
Complete Club Affiliation Forms
Update Club Officials, Team Officials and Teams
Complete Charter Standard Annual Health Check, including o Review and check teams o Review team officials Qualification Report o Chase outstanding qualifications e.g. FA Level 1 Coaching; Criminal Record Check; Emergency First Aid; Safeguarding
Pass invoices to Club Treasurer for payment
Deal with red cards and suspensions
Liaise with Team Managers and Coaches to advise which games players will miss
Arrange for invoices to be paid by Treasurer
Complete Club Safeguarding Commitment

Club Treasurer

Club treasurer deals with all the club’s finances. They will also be expected to try to raise funds for the club. They may create annual income and expenditure sheets, an annual overall balance sheet and ensure all payments and fines are paid on time and recorded.

Vice Chairman

The Vice Chairman is an important committee member of any club. They will assist the club secretary or chairman in the day to day running of the club. Supporting all other committee members with their roles, the VC must be prepared to step into the role if Chairperson is absent. In addition, they will work with the Chairperson and Club Development Officers, to ensure that the Volunteer Handbook is updated and that all volunteers receive an updated copy.

Welfare Officer

The Welfare officer’s role is to oversee any Safeguarding issues. The Welfare officer manages and reports concerns regarding children and they ensure clarity about the clubs responsibilities when running activities for children and young people.

This involves:

Ensuring these responsibilities are well understood by members of the club
Working with the League Welfare Officer/s if there is one
Working with the County FA Welfare Officer (CWO)
Promoting the FA’s Respect Programme and helping to develop best practice in all of our volunteers

Put in place and update:

a safeguarding children policy, anti-bullying policy and equality policy
responsible recruitment processes including the taking up of references and submitting FA Criminal Record Checks (CRCs)
The FA Respect Programme codes of conduct

Understand:

what the Respect Programme aims to do
the benefits of implementing the Respect codes
the quick wins to be gained by using The FA’s safeguarding children best practice guidance (e.g. Travel, Trips and Tournaments, Photography guidelines, Anti-bullying Policy and Safeguarding Children Policy Template)
why certain roles require an FA CRC and how the process works
how to refer a concern about the welfare of a child

Communicate with:

club officials about the Respect Programme and its aims
parents/spectators and get them to sign up to the Respect codes
parents and new players by getting involved with running ‘start of season’ welcome sessions for members
coaches and managers about the importance of being consistent role models for their players
your League Welfare Officer/s – introduce yourself, find out how they can support you and let them know what you are doing to safeguard children in your club o your County FA Welfare Officer (CWO) if you need help or advice
The FA by taking part in surveys, questionnaires, focus groups as and when asked

Encourage:

coaches, team managers, first aiders/medics to complete The FA’s Safeguarding Children Workshop
coaches and team managers to listen to their players thoughts, ideas and views
the committee to make use of the Respect Barriers provided by the club

Monitor:

repeated incidents of poor behaviour and liaise with the club’s committee (and where necessary League Welfare Officer or County FA Welfare Officer)
volunteers’ CRC, Safeguarding and First Aid certificate expiry dates and prewarn them in advance to renew

Coach / Team Manager

The role of the coach or manager can usually be divided. This is all determined by the structure of the club. The role requires organising training sessions, filling out match cards and ensuring subs are paid. The coach also picks the team, assesses the players and administers first aid.