Issued – Friday 16th October 5.30pm

The following information applies to Grassroots Football at NLS Feeder Leagues (Step 7) and below:

Earlier this week the government announced plans to simplify Covid19 restrictions by categorising all local authorities or boroughs as:

• Medium – Tier One
• High – Tier Two
• Very High – Tier Three

Most of the North West was placed in Tier Two from the outset other than Liverpool and surrounding areas such as St. Helens, Knowsley, Sefton, Halton and Wirral.
This morning the government announced that it had reached an agreement with Lancashire to place the following Lancashire boroughs and unitary authorities into Tier Three and further communications are expected in relation to Greater Manchester.

The following defines which local authorities are aligned to which regions and which Tier they are in:

 The following guidance applies to all County FA’s in Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Westmorland and Cumberland.

Further guidance for Liverpool FA will be provided directly from the County FA.

• With immediate effect based on the guidance currently provided adult clubs and individuals cannot move in or out of a ‘Very High’, Tier 3 region or local authority to participate.

• With regards to youth football (Under 18’s) the updated FA guidance of 23rd September FA with its strict conditions remains in place. At this present time there are no new restrictions on movement of youth teams and players irrespective of which Tier you are in.

There maybe local restrictions per local authority/borough which supersedes any provisions in the FA Guidance, for example, Spectators attending matches.

It is our understanding that this is also likely to apply to the rest of the country (e.g. for teams travelling to the North East etc who currently remain on Tier 2)  

We cannot stress enough the critical importance of all involved in the game doing their level best to allow the grassroots game to continue. The key guidance remain as follows:

• Social distancing wherever possible for players, and always in the case of spectators
• Robust hygiene standards as per risk assessments but including the wearing of masks in toilet blocks etc.
• Effective registering of attendees primarily via the NHS Test and Trace QR code system
• Actively discouraging all spectators at adult games
• Consider minimising spectators at youth games to one adult per child wherever possible
• Provide local adult fixtures within your catchment area, as detailed in the statement above.

We know these additional government restrictions will cause further disruption to individuals in clubs and leagues. However, we remain able to play football to a significant extent albeit effectively under licence. We are reliant on each and every one of us complying fully with the current restrictions and we thank you all in advance of that compliance.

Note for all Clubs at levels Step 3-6 of the National League System

The FA had requested clarity from the UK Government clarity from the UK Government on travel into or out of areas with ‘very high’ local COVID alert levels by players in Steps 3-6 of the National League System and DCMS have confirmed, in collaboration with the FA, that player travel for these fixtures is within the guidelines.

However, we ask that spectators follow the Government guidance and do not travel into or out of ‘Very High’ Tier 3 areas.

Simon Gerrard  
CEO – Lancashire FA

Colin Bridgford
CEO – Manchester FA

Mike Watson
CEO – Cheshire FA

Dave Pugh
CEO – Liverpool FA 

Jo Ashworth
CEO – Westmorland

Ben Snowdon
CEO – Cumberland

Read the Message from Ben Snowdon for Cumberland (16 October)

Read the Updated FA Statement (16 October)