St Agnes AFC will be the first club in Cornwall and one of the first nationally to host an FA sanctioned mixed gender open aged charity football fixture.
It will held at the club’s home ground Enys Parc, as part of an FA pilot looking into the format.
With encouragement from Cornwall FA, St Agnes AFC responded to a request from the FA for pilot competitions to apply for permission to host specific football events. The structure being in a format presently not permitted by the FA, with adult men and women playing together in mixed teams.
St Agnes AFC were the only club to receive permission, with six other league/county based pilots also sanctioned across the country.
The FA pilot will be monitored by Brunel University. They will be specifically looking at whether the experience of Mixed Gender Open Age Football differs in character or incident to a comparable single sex competition or fixture, as the FA looks to extend flexibility in football.
The fixture is on Sunday 14th May, 3pm ko at Enys Parc, St Agnes and will feature members of St Agnes AFC Ladies’ and Men’s teams. All proceeds from the match will be shared between two Cornish charities: Merlin MS Centre and Penhaligon’s Friends supporting bereaved children.
Richard Pallot from Cornwall FA supporting the project said:
“We are delighted that the application from St Agnes to host a Charity football match has been chosen by The FA as 1 of only 7 events nationally to act as a pilot for adult mixed gender football.
The opportunity for the male and female sections of the club to join forces on the pitch whilst also raising money for charity is a great idea and the club should be proud to have been chosen to pioneer this new FA initiative”
St Agnes AFC Chair Mandy Kimmins commented:
“As a club, we are always looking for new challenges, to support initiatives and hold different events . This is our next project and will be a fantastic opening for us to be part of this exciting pilot. We are really pleased to be able to plan and host this charity fixture whilst supporting two important Cornish charities.”
The other competitions granted permission by the FA’s Sanction and Registrations Committee to play in the mixed gender open aged format are:-
- Surrey CFA Business League
- Birmingham CFA – Football v’s Homophobia Charity Match
- Dorset FA Business League
- Merseyside Gay Pride Football Tournament
- Bedfordshire Teachers Five a Side League
- EFL Trust Futsal U19 League
