Berks & Bucks FA

CEO Update - September 2020

Liz Verrall provides an organisational update ahead of the 2020/21 season

An update from our CEO

As Football Leagues across the region begin to start their seasons and clubs return to competitive matches, it feels as though we may be returning to some kind of normality, albeit in a different environment than we are used to and with new challenges ahead.

Affiliation is almost complete with only a couple of clubs still working with us to complete the process, referees are registering ready for the new season and Leagues are mostly ready to go and working hard to overcome the collective difficulties, experienced across the country when using Whole Game System, but despite these challenges, we are now playing football.

As a community, it is now our collective responsibility to continue to adhere to the FA and Government guidelines to help keep our game and each other safe whilst ensuring that football can continue to benefit the health & well-being of all participants for as long as possible.

As for Berks & Bucks FA, we have had to make some difficult decisions over the past six months to ensure that we are still here, still able to operate and most importantly, still able to serve football in your local communities. We have had to balance decisions financially and operationally as well as those that, if we had continued, may have caused extra pressure on volunteers. To this end, we have suspended all County Cup Competitions and Representative Squads for the 2020-21 season. We will also only be running a limited education programme this side of Christmas with the aim of allowing candidates that were mid-course the opportunity to complete their qualifications.

We have also had to take the very difficult decision to reduce our staffing levels within the organisation meaning that the people you may have normally gone to for your queries may no longer be with us. At this point, it is important to convey our thanks to the six members of staff that have left us during this difficult time. We thank them for their dedication and collective 30+ years’ service Berks & Bucks FA and wish, Joanne, Simon, Lisa W, Beryl, Spencer and Kim well for the future.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to say thank you to you all for your continued patience and your on-going commitment to the football communities that you serve.

We look forward to working together with you in what I am sure will be another challenging season, and to continue to lead, protect and support the game we all love being part of for all involved.

Liz Verrall
CEO, Berks & Bucks FA

For all Berks & Bucks FA and FA updates related to the coronavirus, please visit our dedicated news page.