by Molly Hrudka, Senior Digital & Data Strategy Manager, The FA
One of the key objectives for The FA’s grassroots division is to improve playing choice and experience, creating more opportunities for people to play safe, inclusive football. Traditional 11-a-side football isn’t suitable or appealing for everyone, so this is where our sessional offerings come in. Through our Wildcats, Squad, Just Play, Comets, and Disability Rec programmes, we reached nearly 20,000 people with fun, casual football sessions last season.
These programmes play a significant role in the disability game. Recent research conducted in partnership with Activity Alliance, the leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity, found that there were a few key barriers preventing disabled people joining football clubs. These included fears that the offer would be too competitive and concerns that they wouldn’t fit in. As a result, The FA grassroots team developed a new disability offer, the showpiece of which is Comets, a recreational, pan-disability football programme for disabled boys and girls aged between 5 and 11 that focuses on playfulness, friendships and fun. Comets recently won the Best Disability Initiative at the UEFA Grassroots Awards 23/24.
Now that we’ve developed this new, flexible, and inclusive way of playing that addresses the needs of disabled people, we need to ensure people KNOW about it. This is where our digital tools can play a key role. Find Football is The FA’s search engine designed to help people find opportunities to play how, when, and where they want. We want to make Find Football the number one place to find opportunities to play and volunteer in football.
There are other search platforms that connect people to sporting physical activities. A brilliant example is Every Body Moves, which empowers disabled people to become active in a way that is right for them. We felt it would be an obvious win to surface Comets opportunities on this platform. But how to do this? Enter OpenActive, which provides a standard for structuring data on physical activities, making it easier to find and book these opportunities online.
Using OpenActive’s tools and resources and working closely with our booking platform development partner, Clubspark, and with support from ‘middleware’ technology provider Imin, we’ve made our programme data OpenActive compliant. This means that any programme opportunities available on Find Football can also be pulled onto external platforms like Every Body Moves.
“The FA’s efforts to make football more inclusive through programmes like Comets are a great step forward in ensuring equitable access to sport for disabled people. By collaborating with partners and leveraging digital tools like OpenActive, we can break down barriers and reach more of the disabled community. It’s about working alongside disabled people to co-produce opportunities to engage in sport, whether as players, coaches, or decision-makers. By prioritising inclusion and accessibility, we can foster a future where everybody has the chance to participate and contribute on their own terms.”
Barry Lloyd, Programme Manager, ParalympicsGB | Every Body Moves
By working in collaboration with like-minded partners and leveraging the power of digital and data, we can increase the visibility of our football opportunities, helping get more people active — a win for everyone!
