Staffordshire FA will continue to spread a positive message of Respect across youth football throughout the 2019/20 season and beyond.

The ‘We Only Do Positive’ campaign – part of The FA’s wider Respect initiative – will return for the beginning of the youth football season this weekend following a successful 2018/19 season helping to create a positive environment for players on and off the pitch.

The campaign aims to highlight the importance of positive behaviour on and off the pitch for young footballers, educating parents and coaches on their role in creating a fun, safe and inclusive environment for children to play the game.

Results from last season showed increased awareness of the Respect initiative amongst all grassroots participants and, in particular, within youth football, with widespread positive feedback from over 200,000 coaches and club officials and 86% saying fixtures are now being played in a positive environment.

Staffordshire FA Chief Executive Officer Adam Evans, said: “Positive encouragement is vital to a young person’s development. As adults we should actively support our players, coaches and referees so that they develop their playing and life skills in a safe and enjoyable environment. The Staffordshire FA is fully committed to the ‘We Only Do Positive’ campaign and Respect is embedded into everything that we do.”

The FA’s wider Respect initiative launched in the 2008 after a build-up of behavioural problems in the National Game. Other recent campaigns include 21 Days of Positivity, which was taken up by thousands of coaches across the country and supported by England Manager Gareth Southgate and players across England’s senior teams.

For more information on The FA’s Respect campaign, please visit www.thefa.com/get-involved/respect