Choosing or Changing a Club Name

Clubs cannot adopt a name or change its affiliated name except with the consent of the County FA. 

Applications to form a new Club or change an existing Club name must be made in writing to the County FA via Support@Berks-BucksFA.com.

Berks & Bucks FA reserves the right to refuse the use of a Club name which is deemed inappropriate or offensive to others or if it believes it is in the interests of the wider football community to do so (for example if it is deemed sufficiently similar to an existing Club name that third parties could confuse or conflate the two entities).

Berks & Bucks FA is not liable for any costs incurred by a Club adopting a name which is subsequently rejected.

Where a Club is a Full or Associate Member of the Football Association, the National League System or the Women’s Football Pyramid they must comply with any applicable Regulations which may be in place from time to time. 

Where there is a conflict between this policy and FA Regulations, the FA Regulations shall take priority.  

Use of Historic/Defunct Club Names

Where an application is made by a Club to adopt a name previously used by another entity the following principles will apply:

• A Club may not take on the name of a historic/folded Club until a period of five full seasons has passed since the previous entity last affiliated; and
• The Club must not misrepresent themselves as a continuation of the historic/folded entity. This includes but is not limited to the use of similar crests/logos/slogans or references to the history or historic achievements of the previous entity. 

Where an application is made by a Club to adopt a name which is deemed similar to an existing entity, or may cause confusion within the football community the County FA may contact the existing entity/entities to obtain their observations on the proposed name change. 

Academies

A Club cannot refer to itself as an Academy unless it meets the criteria defined by The FA. 

An Academy is defined as: "an establishment for the coaching and education of Academy Players operated by a Club in accordance with the requirements of the Professional Game Youth Development Rules"

Right of Appeal

Should you disagree with the Berks & Bucks FA’s decision to refuse a proposed name or name change, you have the right of appeal to The FA. To lodge an appeal please contact JudicialServices@TheFA.com. 

More Information

If you need any further support on this topic, please contact us via the Support Hub.

For more information about managing a grassroots football Club or League, please visit www.Berks-BucksFA.com. Alternatively, find us on socials @berksandbucksfa for the latest news and updates.