County football association
Local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player registration as well as promoting development amongst those bodies and referees.
There are currently 50 county FAs. Most county FAs align roughly along historic county boundaries, although some cover more than one county, and some of the major cities, particularly those with a strong football tradition, have their own FAs.[1] The Sheffield FA was the first to be created, in 1867. Additionally, the three branches of the British Armed Forces, as well as the Amateur Football Alliance, which has a strong presence in the south-east of England, are listed as having their own County FAs not corresponding to geography.[2][3]
County football associations host 'county cups' – knockout cup competitions held at a sub-regional level, which are open to affiliated members of the county FA. Typically, county FAs will host cup competitions at the following levels: senior, intermediate, junior, women's, veterans, senior Sunday football, intermediate Sunday football and junior Sunday football.
List of county FAs
Other FAs with equivalent status
There are an additional five recognised bodies that have representation on the FA Council on the same level as County FAs.[3]
| Association[3] | Founded |
|---|---|
| Cambridge University | 1856[54] |
| English Schools | 1904[55] |
| Independent Schools | 1960s[56] |
| Oxford University | 1872[57] |
| Women's Football Conference | 1983[58] |