As part of a safeguarding compliance operation by The FA, as of midnight on Sunday 15 January every single team in Cheshire had a coach attached to them, averting the need for any clubs to be suspended.

We now require all of those coaches to have an 'Accepted' FA Criminal Records Check (CRC) dated within the past three years.

The deadline for compliance with this request is midnight on 28 February 2017.

Any club who have a coach not compliant by that date will have its affiliation removed.

Any club who removes a coach from a team on Whole Game System needs to immediately replace that coach and ensure that any new coach has an FA CRC before the deadline or they will also have their affiliation removed.

It is very important that we start to take action now in order to meet the above deadline, as such we urge clubs to take the following steps:

1. Secretaries and club welfare officers need to check each coach or manager listed on the Whole Game System (WGS) against their club. Should any coaches not have a CRC, an expired CRC, or one nearing the three-year expiry, they need to start the application immediately.

2. Each club can register to carry out its own CRC applications, with the club welfare officer (CWO) as the document verifier. If your club is not currently registered, then your CWO needs to send an email to fachecks@thefa.com requesting access. He or she will be sent a PIN, password, and full instructions.

3. If your club does not currently have a CWO, or he or she is temporarily indisposed, then the county FA can oversee renewals or applications. Simply e-mail Damon Traverse at damon.traverse@cheshirefa.com for further guidance.

4. We strongly urge clubs to begin the renewal process three months before expiry to allow a small 'overlap'. CWOs can easily see which volunteers are nearing this date on WGS via the traffic light system.

Should you need any further assistance in completing this very important process, contact Damon Traverse at damon.traverse@cheshirefa.com or on 01606 871166 for further assistance.

For further guidance on FA CRCs for Coaches please download a helpful guide by clicking HERE.

For more information on FA CRCs in general, including The FA’s policy and eligibility criteria, please click HERE.