Following a successful evaluation of football participation rates in seven North West local authority areas, KKP was retained by the FA to conduct more in-depth analysis; culminating in the creation of local area football plans.

The plans set the context for the development of football in each local authority area, providing an outline of current football infrastructure in relation to clubs, teams, leagues and facilities. This provides a baseline from which to establish realistic KPIs and enables informed decisions to be made with regard to future activities and initiatives - the key ambition being to ensure that FA interventions make a discernible difference and tackle identified areas of need.

The FA National Game Strategy has a clear vision for the development of football up to 2012. The ‘National Game' is defined as all football played in England, both recreational and structured, other than the FA Premier League and Football League. The LAPs provide a clear sense of direction to everyone in the game, lay out the priorities and importantly describe how The FA, working with a wide range of partners, will seek to address these priorities.

Methodology

Data from a number of sources was analysed. These included the County Administration System (CAS) and Sport England Active Places. This was enhanced by demographic information appertaining to population, deprivation and participation levels. From this, key issues were identified for each of core aspects of grassroots football:

• Clubs - in particular, the strength of women's and junior club structures 
• Teams - including "teams per club" comparisons to similar authorities
• Leagues - demand for additional leagues to address unmet demand and accessibility to leagues by teams and clubs
• Facilities - for example, the extent to which clubs gain access to school sites

Local Area Plans for Football

Using the data and key issues identified, skeleton LAPs were developed for each local authority. Suggested as a starting point, these outline plans can stimulate further development of the issues identified.

LAPs were well received by pilot local authorities and have now been refined and adopted in each area. In Ribble Valley, the Borough Council has developed a 5 year strategic plan for football and is currently in the process of securing £2.2m capital funding to facilitate its delivery. The Council hopes that Local Area Plans will provide a blue-print to fast-track the Football Foundation application process and provide a more joined up approach for football investment.

Chris Hughes, Community Services Manager said,

"KKP's work has been a catalyst for the development of football provision and our wider sport and recreation priorities. I would urge other local authorities to invest in KKP's expertise to verify the FA's data and translate it into practical recommendations for the future development of local football."

To view an example of one of the Local Area Plans produced by KKP, see below.

Roll out potential

The FA has now adopted KKP's local area data template and published 07/08 season reports for each local authority area in England. These reports are now available on the FA website

The FA is committed to continually working to improve the quality of this information and so, whilst robust, it is not claimed that the data is 100% accurate. However, it does provide year-on-year comparison data that can be used to effectively inform the development of range of strategic frameworks.

KKP would be happy to support other local authorities to verify the FA's data and drive the development of further strategic local area plans and playing pitch strategies.

View an example Local Area Plan