CHELMSFORD City Football Club have joined only a dozen other clubs in Essex by achieving a major accolade - FA Charter Standard Community Club status - after confirmation emerged of the Clarets' prestigious award.

CHELMSFORD City Football Club have joined only a dozen other clubs in Essex by achieving a major accolade - FA Charter Standard Community Club status - after confirmation emerged of the Clarets' prestigious award.

The main criteria to become a Charter establishment include having a minimum of one FA Level One-trained coach for each team, ensuring all volunteers complete an FA CRB Check and adopting a Code of Conduct and Child Protection Policy to ensure high standards of club discipline are met. Any club is capable of gaining Charter status and The FA is aiming for 75 per-cent inclusion of youth and mini-soccer teams to be playing within Charter Standard clubs by 2012.

The club have already held the honour of Charter Standard Club and Development Club status since 2005, but this new award arrives as a result of the hard work of a number of volunteers, including Female Teams Secretary, Dawn Barnard, and Youth Chairman, Gordon Williams.

Dawn was overjoyed with the news, beaming: “We are a fully inclusive club who not only try to cater for quality players, but also for anyone of any age and ability to play and enjoy football. We've had a number of players with disabilities come through our ranks, two of them currently playing for the England and British Deaf squads. We strive to ensure our teams try and play the right way, with our managers, coaches, players and supporters projecting the right image on and off the field.”