Middlesex FA evidenced full compliance with the regional Code of Governance, which sets a higher precedent than the current gold standard for sport and aims to provide support and guidance to those running the grassroots game up and down the country.

In January 2020, The FA became the first national governing body in English sport to introduce a regional Code of Governance, with a number of other sports now following the model which has been endorsed by Sport England. The Code itself represents a ‘Gold Standard’ of governance, made up of 65 requirements based on Sport England and UK Sport’s Code for Sports Governance.

The requirements within the code means each County FA can assess their current practices against the highest standard of corporate governance in football, supporting their development and ensuring they have the structures, functional operations and decision-making processes in place to offer the best possible service to the game at a local level. The code also includes provisions for gender diversity, ethnic diversity and youth representation across the County FA network.

All 50 CFAs have self-assessed against the Code and are committed to improving their governance, with Middlesex FA becoming the latest to be awarded with the County FA Code of Compliance logo, which can be used on County FA external and internal communications channels.

Kayleigh Saunders, CEO at Middlesex FA said: “Achieving the FA’s Code of Governance is major milestone for Middlesex FA. This is recognition of lots of hard work carried out by staff, Board and Council members over several years to modernise the Middlesex FA and ensure we govern ourselves to the highest possible standards. Good governance underpins everything we do at Middlesex FA and this achievement sets our organisation up for an even brighter future as we enter year one of our new 4 year strategy: Realising Our Potential.”

John Taylor, Chair at Middlesex FA, said: “We’re very proud to become the latest County FA to be fully compliant with the FA Code of Governance. At Middlesex FA our vision is to harness the power of grassroots football to enrich more lives in Middlesex. The governance changes we have made have ensured that we have a Board, Council and staff team who are open, inclusive and fully representative of the diverse area we live and work in – putting us in a much stronger position to deliver on this vision.”

Tim Foster, Head of Operations at The FA, said:  “As the national sport that millions of people play and support across the country, it’s vitally important that The FA and the County FAs serve and lead the game as effectively as possible. Through this Code of Governance for County FAs, we have set out how they can enhance their governance at county level and ultimately deliver an even better service to their communities. I’d like to congratulate Middlesex FA in becoming fully compliant and look forward to seeing many other County FAs achieve this same standard as their ongoing work progresses.”