NWGFL News

Following a FA/League meeting last night, and our committee meeting on Tuesday we just wanted to give you all an update on where NWGFL currently stands.

The general consensus from the majority of the leagues is at present to hold on making any major decisions around the 2020/2021 season, if only for a few weeks to see what happens, we do not want to make decisions now that potentially could change in the future. There are options available in relation to reducing the number of games etc, but this will all depend on when it is deemed safe to return to football for all.

As a league we have had some fantastic ideas from our club members, and have been working hard as a committee on pulling a plan together to ensure if we are able to, we do not end the season on a low. We appreciate the impact on our players not being able to carry on playing the game they love at the moment, and if this continues to the point where it will be impossible to finish the season as too many games, we have in place plans for an alternative Champions/Europa League Style Tournament, that will see all our club members enjoying the last few weeks of the season, if they of course want to and if government rules allow this. We will keep you updated over the next few weeks, what is important is all involved with football remain well and safe, so please all look after yourselves and look after each other.

NWGFL

Firstly we would like to start this post, thanking all our club members and volunteers who are front line workers, having to work solidly through these very testing and stressful times.

Following our meeting tonight, and with both Norfolk and Suffolk now in tier 4 we feel for the safety of all involved, we have made the decision to suspend all fixtures from immediate effect, this will be reviewed again on the 18th January 2021 at our next committee meeting.

Unlike adult football where both games and training has been suspended by the government. Youth at present, are still able to train, whilst following COVID guidelines, but please be mindful there is no cross county mixing, so players from Norfolk are not permitted to travel to Suffolk to train, and vice versa.

This decision has not come easily, we appreciate there are a lot of young people who are struggling at present, we are hoping with the schools starting later in January and the commencement of the vaccines, football will be able to commence again in the not so distant future.

In relation to the games, we will be postponing all cup games, and looking to play these at the end of the season, if the weeks permit. We will also look at the divisions that initially were down to play each other three times, reducing these to playing each other twice, to ensure where possible we can conclude the season.

Most importantly please keep safe, keep supporting each other, and let’s pull together to ensure all our players, supporters, volunteers and club members have all our ongoing support during these difficult times.

Wishing you all a safe 2021.

#NorfolkFootbal – Norfolk FA Update

What football can take place in Tier 4?The latest Government and FA Guidance is as follows:

i. Open age (adult) teams are NOT permitted to play or train under any circumstances

ii. U18’s teams are currently permitted to train and play in matches. However, this must be done in strict compliance with the guidelines at all times. Any reported breaches of the guidance are likely to result in action being taken against the offending club(s)

iii. No Norfolk team (adult or youth) is permitted to travel to another area to train / play football. So for example an U14’s team from Norfolk cannot play an U14’s team from Suffolk

iv. Similarly no players are permitted to travel to another area to play for a team. So for example a player based in Cambridgeshire cannot travel to Norfolk to play for a Norfolk side and vice versa

What’s the latest with regards to League matches?

Each league are currently reviewing the guidance that they have and how best to proceed for their competition and they will be contacting their member Clubs in due course. The only exception to this is the Norfolk & Suffolk Youth League who have already decided that they will not be having any football in their competition at the present time and have notified their Clubs regarding this.

What about County Cup matches?

There are a number of County Cup competitions that are scheduled to take place in January. It has today been decided that:

All County Cup matches scheduled for Sunday 10th January will be postponed and rescheduled for a date in the future that is still to be confirmed. For the avoidance of doubt, this applies to the following competitions: Under 12’s Cup

Stuart Dracup Cup

John Savage Cup

Norfolk Veterans Cup

A decision will be made week commencing 4th January on the remaining County Cup competitions due to be played in January and Clubs will be notified in due course

As I am sure you can appreciate the situation is currently very fluid and changeable and as such we will continue to follow the government and FA guidance and communicate with you as and when anything changes.

Please also be reminded that we have had brought to our attention a potential scam email that seems to have been sent to a number of Norfolk clubs. Please be careful when responding to any emails and if in doubt, please do not take any action and feel free to forward the email on to us.

Kind regards,

Matt Carpenter

Norfolk FA

With the current lack of games due to COVID, Norfolk Women’s and Girls Football League are keen to hear from our clubs and players thoughts, ideas and feedback on what the league currently provide and what can be improved and offered in the 2021/2022 season and beyond.
With the growth in the younger age groups following the successful Wildcats programme, would you like to see the league expend their younger age divisions?
Do you have ideas on what we can improve on to make the experience of playing in NWGFL better?

After the year we have all had we feel more than ever the importance for both clubs and leagues to work together to bring the best football provision for our children, young people and adults in Norfolk, 
Please can I ask for you to take 5 minutes of your time to complete the below short survey, to help us grow and improve your League to a provision for us all to be proud of,
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/X98TT6H

Please share with your players and coaches, managers and volunteers,

As we head into another weekend of grassroots football (weather dependent!!) across the County, we are very mindful of the continued impact the on-going Covid-19 pandemic and the effect it is having on all of us.

We are sure that all involved in our clubs & leagues, along with our referees, are all desperate to ensure that grassroots football continues and we genuinely believe that it can with the continued help, compliance and vigilance from every one that has a part to play in Norfolk Football.

Please ensure we continue to follow the guidance set out by The FA and Government, so that we give the game we love every chance of taking place in the safest environment possible and can be continued to be enjoyed in the many weeks & months ahead.

This week, The FA provided some updated FAQ’s, which includes further information regarding the new NHS Test & Trace QR Codes Posters, which have been mandated by Government to be in place at all venues across the country. There was also further information from Government this week that will have an impact for some of our affiliated clubs, such as the requirement for face masks to be worn inside areas such a clubhouses and table service to be in place across all licenced premises.

Also, following the update from the Prime Minister on Tuesday, we have made the decision to once again close our County Headquarters offices, so therefore all of our headquarters based staff will be solely working from home once again. Please be patient with us, particularly when calling the office number and if necessary when your call cannot be answered, please leave a voicemail and a staff member will return your call at the earliest possible moment.

As always, thank you again for all of the continued tireless efforts and support you’ve given to ensure that Norfolk Football can continue to take place.

Stay Safe…

On behalf of everyone at Norfolk FA, thank you to you and everyone at your Club for all your continued hard work in these most challenging of times.