Herefordshire FA Football For All

DBS Checks Update for the 2020-2021 Season

Many coaches and players across the country are eagerly awaiting the return to competitive grassroots football whilst making the best of the permitted small group activity in line with the Government’s Covid-19 guidance.

Thank you for all you are doing to help ensure a safe return to football. You can access The FAs guidance on football activity at this time via //www.thefa.com/about-football-association/covid-19. This is subject to change, as the government make further decisions, so please check on a regular basis to ensure you are using the latest information.

If clubs have started preparations in readiness for affiliation, then we know they will be identifying just who needs an FA DBS check.

All individuals whose DBS checks were due to expire between 1 March 2020 and 1 October 2020 will not be required to renew their DBS checks until 1 year after the scheduled date of expiry.

The FA currently requires DBS checks to be renewed every 3 years in accordance with industry standards and best practice. However, they have made an informed decision to extend that to 4 years, in these limited circumstances, on the basis of the current Covid-19 pandemic and associated difficulties in DBS check renewal and the fact that these individuals already hold a DBS check which has been accepted by The FA.

The focus for FA DBS Checks therefore needs to be on new volunteers (in both youth and open-age adult football where there are U18s). If Clubs have a PIN verifier (typically this will be the Club Welfare Officer) it may be that they are ok to manage face-to-face verification at this time. If not, they will need to consider a number of different options which have been set out.

We hope this assists all in preparing for the 2020-2021 season.