We are delighted to confirm that BAFA has successfully secured £250,000 of funding from Sport England. This one-year investment will support a range of crucial activities aimed at strengthening and further professionalising BAFA.
This financial boost will enable us to solidify our emergence as strong, dynamic and agile National Governing Body, helping us better serve our members in both Contact and Flag football. The funding will also play a significant role in laying the groundwork for growing Flag football in Great Britain, following its inclusion in the LA 2028 Olympic games. These goals align with Sport England’s national sports and activity strategy, Uniting the Movement.
BAFA Chair Nichole McCulloch said: “The success of this application follows significant work by our former Chief Executive, supported by Operations Manager Amanda McDonald, to help develop and present our application with input from many of our key volunteers. The announcement was delayed by the General Election, but we are now delighted to share this pivotal moment in our journey with the Britball community. It provides a springboard for our new CEO Chad Ehlertsen to shape the future of our organisation on the run up to the LA 2028 Olympics.”
Incoming CEO Chad Ehlertsen added: “While this announcement will cause understandable excitement across the sport, as those responsible for securing grant funding in our clubs will know, the money can only be used to support specific objectives in line with the aspirations of the funder. We will be rigorous and meticulous throughout this process, ensuing this funding is a catalyst for us to grow and become a robust organisation that meets the requirements for ongoing investment.”
The funding will be used for activities linked to the four key pillars of our sport – Participation, People, Places to Play and Pathway to Performance, which align closely with Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy.
The investment will support us to further improve our policies, processes, governance and operational support as we work towards achieving the next level of governance required for future funding. Some of main areas of work that will be supported by the funding, and what we hope to achieve over the coming 12 months are outlined here.
Participation
Ensuring we have an inclusive offer to create a culture of lifelong participation and establishing the best structure for American football to deliver growth
- External expertise to help us review our approach to diversity and inclusion, including policies, developing an action plan for our sport and creating guidance for clubs
- Make changes to our membership systems to capture the right data to help us better understand our membership
- Initiatives to grow American football within under-represented communities including dedicated resource to focus on female participation, further development of disability football resources and supporting additional opportunities for young people and women to play American football, including our upcoming U19 11v11 series.
- Further improving our digital presence – including updating our website, increasing our social media presence, updating our club finder tool, creating a hub of useful resources for clubs, and developing a central digital recruitment campaign and shared suite of materials to help clubs grow participation
People
Building a strong, skilled, supported and valued volunteer workforce
- Develop a BAFA workforce plan
- Plan, coordinate and deliver coaching initiatives with support from UK Coaching
- Increase the number and accessibility of Flag Football officiating courses
- Understand and access our people data more easily including creation of a membership data dashboard
Places to Play
Supporting our clubs and teams to build sustainable communities of football, establish high quality and safe environments to play and perform
- Develop a club accreditation process and club development strategy, action plan and resources
- Review and enhance safeguarding provision, and provide training and resources for clubs
Pathway to Performance
Ensure the right progression from the fundamental skills required to achieving GB selection and Olympic podium success.
- Support to help us secure future funding bids and manage reporting requirements
- Ensuring our anti-doping and integrity policies are fit-for-purpose for future competition
Policies, Processes, governance and operational support
Further professionalising our governing body
- Implement new finance and accounting processes through creation of a part time finance support role
- Contribution towards existing costs for Operations Manager
- Ensure appropriate software, tools and infrastructure in place at NGB level
- GDPR and records management training and support for staff and core volunteers
Common questions
Will athletes still need to contribute when representing our National Programme teams? Yes – the Sport England funding is about supporting BAFA as a governing body. We cannot use the investment to support individual players, but by strengthening and professionalising our organisation we’ll be able to better serve all our members.
What reporting will you provide? We will be providing regular reporting back to Sport England who will be monitoring their investment and the impact it’s making. We will provide updates to our membership on this via our annual report and at our AGM.
What happens after 12 months? BAFA and Sport England will work together over the next 12 months to deliver against the project objectives. Afterwards, both organisations will revisit discussions on potential future investment.
