FAW begins wide-ranging reforms to way Welsh football is run
- Published
Steve Williams succeeded Kieran O'Connor as FAW president in June 2021
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has begun implementing a wide-ranging reform to the way Welsh football is run.
The changes - aimed at modernising the FAW - have been described as the most significant in a generation by its president Steve Williams.
It comes after the association ratified 80 recommendations made as part of an independent review of its governance structure.
The overhaul will include a merger of responsibilities between the FAW and the FAW Trust, the body for football development in Wales.
The changes will also affect elite football for men and women with a new technical director role established.
For future appointments of national team coaches, the FAW will use a new 'high performance group', a panel that could include former players and managers from across the game.
Decision-making processes will also be streamlined and brought into line with other European associations in what is a move away from the traditional power of the FAW's council.
Williams believes the shake-up will help "make our beautiful game stronger, bigger, greater and a lot less political to manage".
Speaking to BBC Sport Wales, Williams adds: "Change will take away the stagnation, the overlaps, the waste. And it will create one organisation which will streamline and focus on the right thing.
"So we won't be treading on each other's toes, we won't have cross-functional issues, we won't have a little bit of politics. It's all about being driven top down.
"This will make the governing body and our beautiful game a lot more sustainable, a lot more understanding, and we will get more value out of our money."
Williams, 57, was voted president last June after serving with the FAW Council for more than two decades and having sat as vice-president in recent years.
A month after Williams' election, the FAW also appointed a new chief executive, Noel Mooney.
Between March and September 2021, the FAW commissioned the independent organisational review, entitled 'A Sustainable Association for the Future', which led to the 80 recommended changes.
The FAW has previously been criticised for its structure with the emphasis on its traditional council, its 'shareholders' that effectively own the association.
Now more top-level decisions will be overseen by a board, including three non-executive independent directors.
With Wales hoping to add World Cup qualification to appearances at the past two European Championships - as well as a boom in the women's game - Williams says there was an appetite for the FAW to capitalise on their progress and that "the fact the shareholders have bitten the bullet, they've embraced it, they've signed it off, says one thing for the future of the game".
He believes it could open the door to younger voices, with the shareholders still playing a key community role in the governance process.
Yet the FAW hopes the changes to the way it is run will ensure efficiency of finances and resources, as well as helping it meet targets laid out in a recent strategic plan which includes boosting participation numbers and improving facilities.
The review took on board surveys across Welsh football - including fans - as well as research into other associations and sports.
It has led to the shake-up Williams says has been needed.
"If you wind the clock back to 2015, we underwent a governance review then, of which I was part of the steering group," he says.
"And that, at that stage, was a massive step in taking the association forward. When you create change, you're not going to get it right first time.
"We knew when we undertook that bit of work that it was significant to change the operations of the FAW.
"From 2015 to today we've worked that process, but we realised and we recognised that there was the need to take the association forward once again due to the growth of football in Wales, the FAW as a business and the growth within the Trust.
"So hence the reason for the review to look at a more sustainable association of the future."
According to an FAW statement, the 80 recommendations passed by its shareholders and ratified by its board have "provided a blueprint for change" and will deliver:
"Clear roles and responsibilities for both the FAW and the FAW Trust, with the former focusing on the core processes of performance, participation, commercial growth, governance and regulation, whilst the latter will be clearly repositioned as the FAW's partner for supporting and financing targeted participation and accessibility strategies, equality, diversity and inclusion strategies and sustainability and social responsibility strategies (including health, education and community development).
"A greater emphasis on grassroots football with two new FAW grassroots hubs, based at Colliers Park, Wrexham, and Dragon Park, Newport, supporting the work of the six area associations, focusing specifically on club development services and the long-term sustainability of local community football.
"Alignment of the six area associations behind the FAW strategic plan with nationally agreed objectives, KPIs [key performance indicators] and progress reports to ensure the FAW can track its strategic performance.
"An FAW-owned and operated portfolio of football development facilities and a clear strategy to improve the quantity and quality of pitches across Wales.
"Visible change in equality, diversity and inclusion through a review of both the FAW membership criteria and the representation of all relevant stakeholder groups within Welsh football.
"An overhaul of the FAW's executive structures, systems and processes with an emphasis on people, data, technology and insight as key enablers for change.
"The establishment of a new para-football organisation in Wales, affiliated to the FAW and committed to the development of football for all players with a disability or special needs.
"The creation of a sustainability strategy with tangible outcomes, owned at a senior level and supported by the board, fully aligned with the Welsh government's Wellbeing of Future Generations 2015 Act.
"A commitment to delivering gender parity in all Welsh football legislative bodies at national and area level.
"An emphasis on collaboration with new partnerships being launched including the creation of a Welsh Football Coalition, involving the FAW, FAW Trust, Welsh government and Sport Wales plus the establishment of a stronger bond with the higher and further education sectors within Wales."