SUFFOLK FA has achieved The FA’s Code of Governance for County Football Associations.

Suffolk 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.

The County FA Code of Governance plaque was presented by The FA’s Regional Manager Gavin Lemmon at a Partners & Sponsors’ Lunch organised by Suffolk FA and held at Venue 16 in Ipswich on Tuesday and attended by more than 40 guests.

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 County FAs have self-assessed against the Code and are committed to improving their governance, with Suffolk 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.

Suffolk FA Chief Executive Richard Neal said: “We are delighted to have been awarded compliance against version 1.2 of The FA's Code of Governance for County FAs as the culmination of a significant drive from the Board to achieve the standard over a number of years.

“Becoming the sixteenth County FA to receive this award demonstrates Suffolk FA’s commitment to operating at the highest level to best serve the Suffolk football community.

“Achieving the code has been a long and thorough process, allowing us to review existing procedures and implement new ones. The Board extend their appreciation to Council members, staff members, and stakeholders who have all supported this process.

“Attention now turns to achieving version 2.0 in accordance with The FA's outlined timeframe.”

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 Suffolk FA in becoming fully compliant and look forward to seeing many other County FAs achieve this same standard as their ongoing work progresses.”

For further information on the Code of Governance for County FAs, please see here.

Suffolk FA Vice Chair Bruce Badcock (left) and Chair Phil Lawler (centre) are pictured receiving The FA’s Code of Governance plaque from The FA’s Regional Manager Gavin Lemmon (right) at Venue 16.