Football Association’s time is secure (4)
I believe the answer is:
fast
'is secure' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'football association's time' is the wordplay.
'football association's' becomes 'fa's' (abbreviation).
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'fas'+'t'='FAST'
(Other definitions for fast that I've seen before include "Avoid food; rapid" , "Not eating food" , "Tight; quick" , "debauched" , "Moored - fleet" .)