In partnership with The FA, via the Whole Game System, Northumberland FA are now in a position to offer its sanctioned leagues and clubs access to a centrally run player registration platform. Use of the player registration system is available to all participants of the game in Northumberland at no extra cost.

The key benefits of the player registration platform have been identified as:

Maintaining a single record of players within the system was found to be a secure and efficient way of managing player records, whilst for those clubs using Full-Time, the integration of records provided clubs with a single view of their players across WGS and Full-Time, removing needless duplication of effort and increasing the integrity of player information.

Future benefits include greater efficiency of player discipline administration and streamlined league registration processes.

The processes have been designed to be as simple as possible and in the first instance you, and any club official you choose extend the player registration role to, are invited to:

- Match players in WGS with those in Full-Time (only applicable to clubs already using the player registration function in Full-Time).

- Add any players already in the FA database to your club list.

- Create new records for those players not currently held in the database.

- Assign all players registered with the club to their appropriate team(s).

By completing these short steps, you will have a complete list of all your players within WGS, matched where appropriate to Full-Time and attached to the individual’s team. This will have the additional benefit of saving your time next summer should your league decide to use these WGS records as the base for league registration for the 2017/18 season.

To help you through the process, The FA and County FAs have made available a series of support resources. Below, you will find a link to download a copy of the comprehensive Player Registration training guide, which also provides details of the E-Learning resources that have been posted on WGS portal.

There is a support helpline, which can be contacted on playerregistration@thefa.com

Whilst the path to delivering online football administration to the grassroots game through WGS has not always been a smooth one, we now have an opportunity to build on the progress made by clubs with affiliation, sanction and discipline processes in recent years. Northumberland FA does hope that you and your club colleagues will work with us as we take the next important step on the journey. If your club or league is interesting in registering players via the Whole Game System please get in touch with Andrew Cook.

Safeguarding Considerations

Safeguarding was a foremost consideration within the development of the player registration functionality within the Whole Game System. Player information is collected and inputted by affiliated clubs and sanctioned leagues for the purpose of the administration and organisation of football with information only accessible between relevant parties as necessary for this purpose. Clubs and leagues will have access to their own player’s details as they would do normally and only with consent from parent/guardian would appointed officials be allowed to add or transfer players.

By signing to play for an affiliated club within a sanctioned league, parents/carers are already providing implied consent to the sharing of information between the club and league who organise and administrate football, and County FAs/The FA who regulate and govern the national game. Clubs and leagues will already hold information in formats which are covered by data protection legislation and WGS player registration is no different and is potentially more secure.

- The system does not collect or share mobile phone or Email/social media contact details for children and young people within youth football.

- Images, if required by a league for the ID purposes, and/or the production of player ID cards, consistent with individual league practices, are stored securely and in line with data protection legislation and will not be shared.

We would advise leagues and clubs to acknowledge within their registration documentation that individual player information will be stored on The FA’s Whole Game Player Registration system, which is compliant in line with the relevant UK data protection legislation.