FA PLAYER DISPENSATION POLICY
FA Issue updated dispensation policy
The FA has produced this guide to assist with understanding the policy and to:
- explain who is covered by the policy;
- provide details on how the policy works; and
- give details on the procedure to be followed, including how the FA notify applicants of the outcomes of the decision. It is important to ensure that the policy operates in a manner which is fair for ALL, not only for those children with a disability or impairment for example, but also for their peers.
WHAT IS THE DISPENSATION POLICY?
The policy enables children with a disability, significant physical development delay (SPDD), or who are schooled no more than one year behind the age group prescribed by their date of birth (their “prescribed age group”) to play football outside of their prescribed age group, whilst also permitting children who are struggling to play within their prescribed age group, due to opportunity and individual needs.
WHY IS POLICY NEEDED?
The FA’s Rules prescribe age groups for children to play in which they compete with peers of equivalent size and development. For some children however, playing in the prescribed age group would put them at a substantial disadvantage to their teammates, discouraging them from being involved or making it impossible for them to access football.
The new player dispensation categories, along side the changes in requirements around girls teams playing out of county means that there has also been an update to the Women & Girls Dispensation policy.
A summary of the changes can be found below.
