Information about how the club is run

Training

​Sessions usually run once a week and are organised by the team manager. This will include warm ups, routines to improve skills, set piece drills and a match at the end. The emphasis is on improving players abilities, so there will be lots of encouragement and explanation of what is to be expected. Any child, whether in the team or not, is allowed to join the training, although there may be a match focus to them.

We teach them about hard work, playing together in a team, and taking responsibility for your actions.
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For children under nine, parents must be present at training. Older kids can be left, but parents must be back before the end of training to collect.

Matches

​Players in the team need to be registered at the beginning of each year. Players can join mid-season if they are not signed up for another club.

The team manager will let you know if you will be in the team a few days before the match. For the younger teams, games are usually played at the same location for the whole year; Under 13 teams and above will play home and away. Please be early for the matches as they must start on time.

Referees are provided by the FA. Their decisions during the game are final - we do not allow players to argue with the referees. 

Please support your child during the match. One parent will be the designated Respect Ambassador, who is responsible for policing good behaviour from the crowd on the touchline. A volunteer will be required to be a referee assistant.

There are usually competitive matches and development matches. In development matches, the team manager will usually try players in different positions and ensure everyone has equal game time. In competitive matches, there will be more emphasis on winning. In all cases, the players must enjoy it! 

At the end of the match, a Player of the Match and a Player of the Week will be awarded.

Teams

​Each team has a manager or coach who is either Level 1 qualified or on the training. There will be a qualified first aider in each team. 

​Teams are split based on the age of the child in the current school year. Children may play in older teams (up to a year older) but not younger teams. Under FA rules, girls may choose to play in a boys team but boys cannot play in a girls team. 

We welcome any help from parents! See our recruitment page for more information.

Fees

​If your child plays in the team, there is a subscription fee of £20 per month during the football season, from September to May. However, to cover high yearly costs at the start of the season, a double payment is due in September and ends a month early in April. The subscription covers the team strip, all training sessions and match expenses.

​​We prefer you pay by standing order, to cut down on administration.

There is a club registration fee of £20 for all new team players, to cover the cost of membership, insurance and FA & league registrations.

If your child only trains with the team, this will cost £2 per session. Please pay this by cash to the manager before each training session.

Description	Fee
New team player registration	£20
Existing player re-registration	Free
Team players	£20 per month or ​£180 per year
Non-team players for training	£2 per session

There may be additional costs for extra activities (such as out-of-season training, tournaments, or social events) and additional team wear such as training sweaters (team kits will be paid for by the club).

​In the rare cases of a player given a yellow or red card during a game, a fee will be charged by the FA which the club has to pay. This must be reimbursed by the player. ​

Club Events

​There is a ceremony at the end of the year where all players will get a trophy for their participation. Special awards will be given for Most Improved Player, Player's Player and Manager's Player. 

Social events are organised for the entire club at Christmas. There are also various tournaments during the summer. Individual teams organise their own events.

Occasionally, there is a Managers versus Parents match, which can get very competitive!

Administration

All players must be registered with the club with main contact details, emergency contact and medical information. We will ask for permission to use photos of your child in public material, though we will never identify your child by name. 

Safeguarding

We take the welfare of children very seriously, which our policy explains. Everyone officially involved with the club – from committee members, to managers, coaches and assistants – has an up-to-date Criminal Records Check (CRC). All coaches will also have attended FA Safeguarding courses to be aware of their responsibilities.

Our Welfare Officer is in charge of the club's policies on safeguarding children. If you have any concerns, you can contact them directly via email at welfare@belpersportsfc.com.
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If children want to raise any welfare issues, we recommend they discuss with their parents/carers or their manager. If this is not possible, there are organisations that can help such as ChildLine or CEOP. 

Keeping Contact

Each team chooses their method of communication with players (Facebook, Whatsapp, text messages, email). However, you must have an email account for club communications.
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Teams with Facebook will setup a private/secret group to help organise matches, post private pictures, chat and arrange social events.

The club has a public Facebook page to publicise club events and other news. Like us on Facebook!

Making Friends

It's not just about football, but also about making friends. Each team arranges their own social events so there's time to play together outside of training and matches.

Complaints

All our volunteers try to do our best when running the club, but if you have a complaint, we recommend you have a quiet word with your manager first. If you need to escalate an issue, you can contact our welfare officer, any of the committee or via this website.

Finally

​Above all, you must enjoy your football! It's our sport and we want to keep loving it.