The FMHA

28/11/2025

Understanding Neurodiversity in Grassroots Football

A comprehensive training course designed to educate coaches, players, referees, parents/carers and volunteers on supporting neurodiverse players and their families.

More here: https://vault.thefmha.com/understanding-neurodiversity-in-grassroots-football/

28/11/2025

Still think ADHD is just 'can't sit still'? Or autism means 'can't make eye contact'? You're missing 90% of what's actually happening with neurodiverse players. Time to actually understand what you're dealing with.

https://vault.thefmha.com/understanding-neurodiversity-in-grassroots-football/

28/11/2025

What if that 'problem player' became your best player - just because you changed YOUR approach, not theirs? Coaches are leaving this training with practical strategies that work immediately. Next session:

Understanding Neurodiversity in Grassroots Football is a comprehensive training course designed to educate coaches, players, referees and parents/carers on supporting neurodiverse players.

28/11/2025

We get calls and emails all the time like - good people, the backbone of leaving due to lack of ongoing support - WE ARE CHANGING THAT: www.fmha.academy

28/11/2025

Understanding Neurodiversity in Grassroots Football

Monday 8th December 2025
6pm - 9pm
Online via Zoom
£39.00 per person

Included in the price is:
Digital Certificate
Copy of the Understanding Neurodiversity in Grassroots Football Presentation (62 pages)
FREE bespoke, comprehensive Club Neurodiversity Support Plan (39 pages)
FREE bespoke club-branded website/social media graphics to promote your club’s stance on neurodiversity
FREE bespoke digital A4 poster to print for your clubhouse/changing rooms etc.
Press release to announce the training on your socials and website
FREE Overview of RSD, PDA and ODD Handout
FREE Understanding Stress in Neurodiverse Players Handout

https://vault.thefmha.com/understanding-neurodiversity-in-grassroots-football/

28/11/2025

It's no longer the 90s! Equip yourself and your club with the tools to create a more inclusive, supportive, successful and safe football environment - and reduce the risk of unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act (2010).

https://vault.thefmha.com/understanding-neurodiversity-in-grassroots-football/

28/11/2025

The Facebook algorithm actually rewards conflict. conflict, that is why it gets pushed up your feed when it kicks off inevitably in a grassroots football Facebook group.



https://fmha.academy/ or Google FMHA Academy

28/11/2025

Right now... your club is probably breaking the law.
And you don't even know it...
The Equality Act 2010 has been in force for fifteen years.
Most grassroots clubs... have no idea what it means for them...
Here's what it means.
If a player is neurodivergent... ADHD, autism, dyslexia, anxiety... that can be classed as a disability.
Which means your club has a legal duty... to make reasonable adjustments.
Not if they ask. Not if you feel like it.
You have an anticipatory duty.
That means you should be thinking about accessibility... before someone complains...
And if you're not documenting those adjustments?
You're exposed...
When a parent complains... when someone threatens legal action... when you're asked to prove what you did to support their child...
What have you got?
Nothing.
Your coach's memory of what they tried three months ago?
Good luck with that...
This is where clubs get destroyed.
Not because they didn't care. But because they can't prove it...
But here's the thing.
This isn't just about compliance...
When you properly support a neurodivergent player... amazing things happen.
They stop melting down at halftime. They start communicating with teammates. They actually enjoy football.
Their parents stop being adversaries... and become partners.
Your coaches stop guessing... and start knowing what actually works...
That player who struggled with instructions? Give them visual cues instead of shouting across the pitch.
The one who can't handle the noise? Position them away from the parent's touchline.
The kid who's brilliant one week and gone the next? Track patterns. Adjust your approach...
These aren't complicated interventions.
They're practical strategies... that help players thrive...
Assist does both...
Log what you observe in under two minutes.
Get evidence-based reasonable adjustments... specific to grassroots football... that actually work.
Track what's helping. Build a documented trail.
Timestamped. Consistent. Defensible...
Every player gets better support.
Every coach knows what to do.
Every club can prove they gave a s**t...
Because access to mental health support is getting harder. Waiting lists are getting longer.
That responsibility... is coming downstream to you.
More neurodivergent players. More complex needs. More parents who know their rights...
You can either be the club that's scrambling when the complaint comes...
Or you can be the club that's already three steps ahead...
Assist.
Better outcomes for players. Protection for your club...
Because documentation isn't bureaucracy.
It's proof you cared enough to do it properly.

𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼.

28/11/2025

Grassroots football clubs are turning to Facebook to solve their biggest problems - a sad indictment of the ongoing support that (up to now) has been lacking from football.

www.fmha.academy or Google FMHA Academy

27/11/2025

Taming Pre-Match Nerves

Whether you’re eight or eighty, playing in your first match or your thousandth, pre-match nerves are part of the game.

The good news? Those butterflies don’t have to control your performance or enjoyment. Here are three simple techniques you can use in just five minutes to help manage those pre-match jitters.

More here: https://vault.thefmha.com/taming-pre-match-nerves/

27/11/2025

Still think ADHD is just 'can't sit still'? Or autism means 'can't make eye contact'? You're missing 90% of what's actually happening with players. Time to actually understand what you're dealing with.

Understanding Neurodiversity in Grassroots Football is a comprehensive training course designed to educate coaches, players, referees and parents/carers on supporting neurodiverse players.