Nottinghamshire County FA - Guidance for grassroots football 

Guidance for Grassroots Clubs 

On the 28th October it was announced that all areas of Nottinghamshire will enter the highest coronavirus alert level – Tier 3 from 00:01 Friday 30^th October. This will impact on the clubs who play over our borders in neighbouring County FA’s as well as the clubs from outside of Nottinghamshire who play in our sanctioned leagues.  

We know the additional restrictions listed below will cause further disruption to individuals in clubs and leagues. However, we are reliant upon all of our football community complying fully with these and all other current restrictions. We cannot stress enough the critical importance of all involved in the game doing their level best to ensure compliance and we thank you in advance for adhering to the guidance.

The chart below shows the respective Tiers for our Nottinghamshire Local Authorities.

Adult Football - Travel & Spectators. (National League System - Step 7 or below)

From Thursday, based on the guidance currently provided, adult clubs and individual players cannot move in or out of the ‘Very High’ Tier 3 region to participate in football activity. For absolute clarity the above means that travel is NOT permitted from any of the Tier 3 Nottinghamshire areas to any other area outside of the county.

Adult clubs must also minimise the number of people in attendance or travelling to matches or training sessions. Numbers must be restricted to players and essential coaching or support roles. Spectators should be discouraged from attending adult games.

Youth & Disability Football – Travel

With regards to youth football (Under 18’s) and disability football the updated FA guidance of 23rd September with its strict conditions remains in place. At this present time there are no new restrictions on movement of youth teams and players irrespective of which Tier you are in. Youth and disability football participants can travel across tiers.

Again - we cannot stress enough the critical importance of all involved in the game doing their level best to allow the grassroots game to continue. The key guidance remain as follows:

• Social distancing wherever possible for players, and always in the case of spectators, use both touchlines where possible
• Robust hygiene standards as per risk assessments but including the wearing of masks in toilet blocks etc. and when in close proximity to others
• Effective registering of attendees primarily via the NHS Test and Trace QR code system
• Strongly recommend minimising spectators at youth games to one adult per child wherever possible

National League System (Steps 3-6) & Women’s Football Pyramid (Tiers 3-6)

The FA gained clarity from the UK Government on travel into or out of areas with ‘very high’ Tier 3 local COVID alert levels by players in Steps 3-6 of the National League System and Tiers 3-6 of the Women's Football Pyramid and DCMS have confirmed, in collaboration with the FA, that player travel for these fixtures is within the guidelines.

However, we ask that spectators follow the Government guidance and do not travel into or out of ‘Very High’ Tier 3 areas.

Additional information 

Nottinghamshire FA will be working with local authorities, and whilst we are not aware of any additional local measures at this time, we will however relay any localised updates to this guidance at the earliest opportunity.

This guidance above is based on the current position and we will continue to review it in line with any government reviews.                                                                      

Please direct any questions to info@nottinghamshirefa.com

Matrix of Permitted Activity Adult

Matrix of Permitted Activity Youth

Notts FA Tier 3 Grassroots Football Guidance V2