The Scottish FA Equity team say they'll continue to deliver initiatives set out by the Equity Action Plan and vowed to work even harder to ensure football is accessible to all.
In May of 2014 the Scottish FA achieved the Intermediate level of the Equality Standard in Sport. Since that achievement the Equity Officers and the members of the Equity Sub Group have continued to gain a greater understanding of Equality issue, legislation and best practice
The Scottish FA equity team said there is still room for improvement in terms of football offerings for minority groups and staff diversity, which they will endeavour to work towards.
Characteristics covered by the Action Plan include:
- Age
- Sexual Orientation
- Age
- Disability
- Race
- Religion and Belief
- Sex
- Gender Reassignment
- Pregnancy and maternity
The Scottish FA has been able to support the delivery of a wide range of positive action schemes working with groups from within the football family. For example, much work has been done to increase the number of participants within girls and women, people with a disability, the Ethnic Minority communities and the LGBT sector:
Through the Action Plan, the equity team have implemented positive actions to make the Scottish FA more inclusive and carry out Equality screening of internal policies and programmes with the biggest impact on minority groups and continue to implement positive actions to increase participation.
Scottish FA Chief Executive, Stewart Regan said: “Going forward there is still much work to be done and the Action Plan will be reviewed and updated by the Equity Sub Group as more initiatives are undertaken.
"The intermediate achievement demonstrates the Scottish FA's continuous commitment to address inequalities both within the organisation and in football in general, and I would like to commend all those across the organisation, particularly Viv Coady and Annika Crisp, who have played a part in the delivery of this key strand of our strategy.”