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Do you possess the appropriate skills to make local grassroots football more inclusive?

As part of the Essex County FA’s drive to encourage more participation from disability, female, ethnicity, faith and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities, new members are being sought for a voluntary Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG).

The County FA are looking for committed and passionate candidates with a variety of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to help drive English football’s inclusion and anti-discrimination agenda forward. Dedicated individuals are encouraged to come forward with applications via www.essexfa.com before the Friday 13 November deadline.

In July 2015, the Essex County FA successfully achieved the ‘Preliminary Level’ of the Equality Standard for Sport, embracing an Anti-Discrimination Plan and continuing to work to address the key issues and the challenges which exist within the county. Working towards ‘Intermediate Level’ is a crucial part of the County FA’s overall ‘Moving Forward’ Strategy for 2018-2021.

Essex County FA Football Development Officer, Cindi Chatha, explained: “The Essex County FA IAG was set-up to help ensure local football fully embraces all its diverse disability, ethnicity, faith and LGBT communities. It meets several times each year to support the delivery of football’s Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Action Plan.

“This addresses rare issues and incidents of discrimination across the game, detailing the specific responsibilities of the individual governing, representative and competition bodies as well as their clubs and members.

"We’re welcoming applications for vacancies on this voluntary panel as part of our ongoing pledge to make the game more appealing to under-represented groups.”

Another purpose of the IAG is to provide advice and guidance to the Essex County FA Board on all equality and diversity matters, and to make recommendations. The County FA promotes equality and diversity in employment and welcomes applications from all parts of the community.

IAG members and an IAG Chair are required, with the IAG Chair being co-opted on to the Essex County FA Board. The Chair will need to have an in-depth knowledge of inclusion and equality and be able to articulate the importance of these at Board meetings.

Chief Executive, Brendan Walshe, added: “If you think you can help drive our programme over the next few years, then please apply and take up the challenge so we can possibly work with you in the future. I’m exceptionally proud of the work my team has undertaken over recent years and we’re committed to further work to make football inclusive for all.”

Application details, and information on local inclusion projects, can be found at www.essexfa.com.

Additionally, for further details, Development Officer Cindi Chatha can be contacted on (01245) 393 090 or via email at cindi.chatha@essexfa.com. You can also interact with the Essex County FA on Twitter (@EssexCountyFA) and Facebook (EssexFootball).

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