A spokesman for the national governing body said it does not comment on individual cases but has “robust safeguards in place”.

In an email from late October, seen by the BBC, the FA invited one of the complainants, who we’ll call Kate, to a meeting to discuss her experiences as part of their investigation into safeguarding. They added that they would not be able to share with her any details of their investigations, including any results reached once completed.

Kate first contacted the FA in July 2023, where she told them she had reported the man to the police for a historical rape she says happened when she was 15. However, she believes nothing has been done by the FA so far.

“Football authorities and (the government) seem to have turned a blind eye, turned a deaf ear and chosen to say and do nothing to protect women from the threats they pose to girls and women,” she told the BBC, as reaction to the news of an FA investigation.

While Kate is glad the investigation has been opened, she says she has serious concerns about the lack of transparency about any action taken. “We need reassurance that all the women at the club are safe,” she adds.

The boss was also investigated in 2021 after an allegation that he sexually abused another 15-year-old boy in the 1990s. No further action was taken in the case due to legislation which stated that if a crime of “unlawful sexual contract” between 1956 and 2004, and the alleged victim was a girl between the ages of 13 and 15, she had to file a complaint within a year.