Bedfordshire FA Annual Report 2015
Transcription
Bedfordshire FA Annual Report 2015
2 3 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT The past season has been one of change and progress at the Bedfordshire FA, and it is with pride that we, as a County FA can reflect on many successes in all areas of activity in Football. Throughout the report, Clubs, Coaches, Players, Volunteers, Referees, Council members and Staff, will be mentioned indicating statistics, success and plans for the future. On the pitch it is great to report that the U16 Representative team won the Eastern Counties Championship and I congratulate the team, Steve Damon and his management on their success, well done! For our clubs, it has not been a great season for promotions, cups, runs etc…though the stand out performance from this is Barton Rovers reaching the play-off final of the Southern League Central Division and Stevington who won the treble this year. However, I would like to record a big thank you to the tireless work being done by volunteers in clubs throughout grassroots football. In the office there have been big changes and all these are detailed within the Chief Executive report. I would like to thank all of those who have left the association in the past 12 months, for their hard work and dedication in supporting the county. I give a warm welcome to all those joining the team and I am confident they will soon feel at home in our superb facilities, and help drive forward the county under the excellent leadership of Chief Executive Dan Robathan. During the past twelve months we have taken bold steps to ensure Bedfordshire FA is fit for purpose as we embark upon the new National Game Strategy to 2019. This will help us deliver and support football in all areas of the game to the benefit of all its participants. I would like to thank all the staff, council members and volunteers throughout the county for this support during the past season and wish them every success during the 15/16 season. Richard Everitt Chairman 4 CHIEF EXECUTIVE REPORT From the first day in this job, I have understood what an honour and responsibility it is to be Bedfordshire FA Chief Executive Officer. Over the past year, it has been my belief that we need to improve as an organisation and, as tasked by the Board of Directors, drive Bedfordshire FA into a period of substantial change. I want to ensure we meet the needs of every participant within the county. Having identified various areas of improvement that were required, the Board and Council have supported me through one of the toughest years I could have ever envisaged. Given our previous track record of achievement and the incredibly dynamic times we live in, I can honestly say, I have never been more optimistic or enthusiastic about what lies ahead for Bedfordshire FA. Having consulted with stakeholders and devised a Business Plan to lead us for the next 5 years, we have recently undergone a full workforce re-structure to ensure we support the success of the priorities we have set ourselves. The roles of County Development Manager, Referee Development Manager, Operations Manager, FDO - Youth, FDO - Adult, General Administrator, Finance Officer and Welfare Officer have been made redundant. Some members of staff that occupied these positions have been redeployed across the CFA, as outlined later on. Throughout the year we have also had changes that are not related to the workforce review. Ashleigh Cunningham left the association in February to take up a full time role at University, having spent some time at college training to become a Nurse. Holly Skinner has also left the association after just a year. We have lost Debbie Carr and Rebekah Monro, both leaving the association in September for new adventures. All of which remain in contact with the CFA and we wished them the best of luck for their new futures. New staff in Nicky Fearn, Mike Desborough, Jon Gardner and Alec Hill, have joined the team over the previous year. 5 Nicky replaces Debbie with a wealth of grassroots football experience and is supporting the Discipline department through the integration of the Whole Game System and then will join the development team in the Playing the Game department when the new roles start in July 2015. Mike joined us in November following the departure of Chris O’Donnell and has transformed the Central Appointments System, details follow in referees report. Jon and Alec are our two apprentices supporting Football Development, Disability Football and Marketing and Communications. All four have settled into the CFA really well. We will see a vast amount of staff come into the office as part of the new strategy. Alan Young, currently Referee Development Officer for Cambridgeshire FA, was successful in the RDO application process. Alan has a wealth of experience across refereeing, having worked in the same role for 2 other counties. Katie Quinlan joins us in a new and exciting role supporting the development of Players and Coaches across the county. Katie is an experienced coach, having worked for Chelsea and within various other Centres of Excellence. Katie has been working as Sports Development Officer for the University of Bedfordshire and has an excellent relationship across all stakeholders. We also have Charlie Mann joining us in a new role to support Facilities and Funding. Charlie is fresh out of university, though has lots of experience within grassroots and professional football, having been a pro at Crystal Palace. Charlie has a drive and desire to support grassroots football that will make him an excellent addition to Louis Mark’s team. Lauren Impey will join Katie in the Playing the Game Team as Recreational Football Officer, Lauren currently plays football within the Women’s Super League and has vast experience within our current initiatives. Our final new recruit will be an Administrator to support the Spartan South Midlands League – this has not been appointed at time of print. We wish all the members of staff that have left us over the previous year the best of luck with their futures and are excited to hit the ground running with the new members. Though there has been a lot of change within staff, there has also been a lot of change within processes and systems. One of the first challenges I faced was a ‘corporate governance clear up’. A review took place to overhaul all the processes within county to ensure we were legally compliant. Having spent many months, including the use of consultants to support the speed of the process, the county now has everything to ensure the organisation can move forward. 6 The Board of Directors supported this process and have been excellent in ensuring we have what is best for our staff and stakeholders. Having integrated new systems such as the Whole Game System, Central Appointments System as well as going through the design and development of a 5 year business plan and workforce review, it has been an incredibly busy period for the association. There have been many positives throughout the year where football has shown its excellence, as highlighted throughout the content of the document. The implementation of the Whole Game System has seen the department work tirelessly to support secretaries throughout the county. There have been various teething problems, as anticipated within any new system; though these have all been minimalized by the work the team have completed to ensure the effect on clubs is as small as possible. There are always areas of improvement within any system and the department are committed to ensure their great work continues to ensure a smooth introduction to the new season. The continued support from the volunteer workforce has seen a greater level of success for another year running. Our Deaf and VI Centre of Excellence achieved great success throughout the year having reached the National Finals and the Girls Player Development Centre continues to be one of the most successful in the region. Next season we will be changing the Player Development Centre and adopting an Advanced Coaching Centre, giving the girls a direct link to the England talent camps. This has been offered to us by The FA from the great amount of success of the PDC staff have done in promoting the centre and developing the girls involved. So where does this leave the county for the new season? The County FA is coming to an end of an era. We now embark upon a new 4 year National Game Strategy and 5 year Business Plan, which has been created to ensure we are seen as the most progressive, innovate and supporting County FA in the country. There will be challenges along the way and moving forward, with a 9% deficit due to funding cuts from The FA, we are committed to supporting football within Bedfordshire. As with any management of change, there are areas of improvement required; especially within communications and contact with the general football community. This is something both my team and I have identified as areas of improvement and we are dedicated to address. The new staff structure will support the priorities of The FA and the results of the England Commission, as well as focus on our local priorities. Our priorities have been identified from the feedback received as part of the consultations we held across the county. 7 The new structure, positions and people to successfully deliver the priorities and their new roles are below, with all contact details on the back of the document: Business Development Department Business Development Manager Tim Sergeant Running the Game Department Bar and Events Manager Jason Gault Running the Game Manager Louis Marks AGP Officer Stephen Williams Clubs and Competitions Officer Nick Snelson Marketing & Communications Officer Jon Gardner Discipline Officer Jane Cunningham Financial Control Officer Tracy Bailey Referee Development Officer Alan Young Business Development Administrator Sharon Lloyd Referee Liaison Officer Mike Desborough Facilities and Funding Officer Charlie Mann Facility Officer Alec Hill Playing the Game Department Playing the Game Manager James Petty Participation and CYP Officer Marc Di Carlo Recreational Football Officer Lauren Impey Player and Coach Development Officer Katie Quinlan Education Officer Lesley Farrah Playing the Game Administrator Nicky Fearn Inclusion and Safeguarding Officer Sarah Da Costa FA Skills Team Leader Steve Maker Every day I have the great honour of working within football with extremely talented and experienced members of staff, which constantly push the envelope of excellence, to ensure Bedfordshire FA is progressing forwards. We share the same passion for football as everyone that Plays, Coaches, Referees or Volunteers and my staff deserve the highest praise and will always have my sincere gratitude for the professionalism and success we have had through a very challenging year. On behalf of everyone at the Bedfordshire FA, I thank you for your continued support and assure you that we will continue to challenge ourselves to set the standard for excellence in Football Governance, Development and Refereeing, to make a positive impact on the football family within Bedfordshire, and to earn everyone’s trust and respect, not only for what we achieve, but for how we achieve it. Dan Robathan Chief Executive 8 REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS Season 2014/15 Results: U18 DOUGLAS FROST MEMORIAL TROPHY (Under 18) Sunday 14 September 2014 A v Berks & Bucks L 5-4 FA COUNTY YOUTH CUP R1 Sunday 5 October 2014 L 2-3 H v Cambridgeshire EAST ANGLIAN COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP - U18 SECTION (The Len Cordell Trophy) L 5-2 Tuesday 14 October 2014 A v Norfolk W 2-3 Sunday 30 November 2014 A v Essex D 3-3 Sunday 15 February 2015 H v Hertfordshire L 3-0 Thursday 19 March 2015 A v Cambridgeshire L 0-3 Thursday 26 March 2015 H v Suffolk 1 2 = 4 5 6 Hertfordshire Cambridgeshire Norfolk Essex Suffolk Bedfordshire P 5 5 5 5 5 5 W 3 2 2 2 1 1 D 2 1 1 1 2 1 L 0 2 2 2 2 3 F 14 9 11 10 9 8 A 7 8 10 11 9 16 GD 7 1 1 -1 0 -8 Pts 11 7 7 7 5 4 The Under 18 Representative Team lost a 9 goal thriller to Berks & Bucks in the Doug Frost Memorial Trophy and for the second season running lost in the First Round of The FA County Youth Cup to Cambridgeshire. The East Anglian Counties Championship campaign started with a heavy defeat away to Norfolk but an excellent win at Essex followed by a good 3-3 draw at home to the eventual champions Hertfordshire had looked to pick the season up, but two 3-0 defeats to finish left Bedfordshire bottom of the table in the end. Caps were awarded to Ryan Spencer, Carl Chambers & Pat McCafferty for 10 Appearances. The Leigh Glenister Trophy (U18 Player of the Season) was awarded to Tyler Ingham. 9 U16 RODNEY REDMOND MEMORIAL TROPHY (Under 16) Sunday 7 September 2014 A v Middlesex L 1-0 EAST ANGLIAN COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP - U16 SECTION (The Boardman Trophy) L 2-1 Sunday 7 December 2014 A v Hertfordshire W 2-1 Sunday 25 January 2015 H v Cambridgshire W 1-2 Sunday 8 February 2015 A v Essex W 3-2 Sunday 22 February 2015 H v Suffolk 1 2 3 4 5 Bedfordshire Hertfordshire Essex Suffolk Cambridgeshire P 4 4 4 4 4 W 3 2 2 1 0 D 0 1 0 1 2 L 1 1 2 2 2 F 8 8 8 8 7 A 6 10 8 6 9 GD 2 -2 0 2 -2 Pts 9 7 6 4 2 The Under 16 Representative Team started the season with a 1-0 defeat to Middlesex in the Rodney Redmond Memorial Trophy and then a last minute goal saw them go down 2-1 to Hertfordshire in the first East Anglian Counties Championship game of the season. From then on though it was all uphill, a 2-1 defeat of Cambridgeshire followed up by a 2-1 win in Essex had put Bedfordshire top of the table and in the final game a 3-2 win over Suffolk had a least secured a playoff for the title with Essex. They had to wait nearly 2 months for Essex to play their final game of the season at home to Hertfordshire and with the scoreline 3-0 at half time a playoff looked a certainty but 4 second half goals from Hertfordshire gave them a 4-3 win and took them up into second and ensured that Bedfordshire won the title. Thanks go to the Management Teams for all their work throughout the season: Iain Rennie & Jon Reed for the U18s, Steve Damon, Harj Singh & Lee Moore for the U16s and to the Physio for both sides Ian Cooper. 10 DISCIPLINE Here are the Discipline figures for 2014/15 in comparison with previous years: Season Caution 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 4893 4991 4819 4421 3985 4409 +10.64% Season 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 Standard Charges 672 694 735 629 527 634 +20.3% Personal Hearings 42 43 24 20 16 -20% Misconduct Charges 340 431 372 312 211 208 -1.42% Total Charges 5905 6116 5926 5362 4723 5251 +11.18% 11 AFFILIATED CLUBS Here is a comparison of Affiliated Clubs/Teams: Season 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999/2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 2002/2003 2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 Number of Clubs 503 472 462 505 477 501 507 504 509 505 509 510 505 408 438 421 414 403 381 363 Number of Teams 821 851 846 892 871 917 928 940 985 1139 1255 1304 1354 1277 1310 1320 1316 1302 1271 1326 12 NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS The 2014/15 season saw some excellent achievements by Bedfordshire clubs in the Senior leagues and FA Competitions as they once again put the county in the spotlight. A.C. Sportsman (Stopsley) - FA Sunday Cup Fourth Round (Last 16) A.F.C. Dunstable - 3rd in the Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division Barton Rovers - Southern Football League Division One Central Play-off Finalists Bedford - 3rd in the Spartan South Midlands Football League Division One & Promoted Crawley Green - (Sunday) - FA Sunday Cup Fifth Round (Last 8) Potton United - 3rd in the United Counties Football League Division 1 Stevington - Winner of the Treble including Junior Challenge Cup 13 Barton Rovers finished 5th in the Southern Football League Division One Central and having narrowly missed out the season before, this time round they booked a place in the Playoffs. They defeated Royston Town on penalties in the Semi Final and then faced a trip to Bedworth United in the Final for a place in the Premier Division, 2 goals in the final 10 minutes saw them lose 2-0 and miss out on promotion. AFC Dunstable enjoyed a successful campaign in the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division, after a slow start they lost just 2 games after the middle of October, a run of 29 matches, one of which was the last game of the season. They finished the season in 3rd spot and will be looking for a title challenging campaign next season. Bedford once again looked to have missed out on promotion by the narrowest of margins. Last season goal difference meant they missed out and this season they had the goal difference sorted but finished a point short of second place, however at the beginning of June it was confirmed the top 3 had been promoted. Potton United built on last season’s improvement with an excellent 3rd place finish in the United Counties Football League Division One missing out on a promotion spot by just a single point. Just 1 defeat in the final 19 games is a platform to build on for next season when they will be hoping to secure Premier Division football once again. In The FA competitions there wasn’t a lot of success but sides continued to do well in The FA Sunday Cup. This season it was AC Sportsman (STOPSLEY) who made the last 16, and Crawley Green (SUNDAY), who made the last 8, flying the Bedfordshire flag in the latter stages of the competition both losing out to eventual Runners-Up OJM of Birmingham. 14 COUNTY CUP FINAL RESULTS Senior Challenge Cup @ Luton Town FC - Tuesday 12th May 2015 Biggleswade Town 0-4 Barton Rovers Senior Trophy @ Arlesey Town FC - Wednesday 11th March 2015 A.F.C. Oakley M&DH 0-4 Crawley Green Intermediate Cup @ Biggleswade United - Wednesday 15th April 2015 A.F.C. Dunstable Reserves 3 - 1 Great Barford Junior Challenge Cup @ Biggleswade Town - Friday 10th April 2015 Stevington 1-0 Caddington Rangers Reserves Sunday Cup @ AFC Kempston - Sunday 26th April 2015 Green Man (LUTON) 1-2 Club Lewsey Sunday Junior Cup @ AFC Kempston - Sunday 26th April 2015 Slip End United 1 - 1, 3 - 4 pens St. Josephs Reserves Sunday Lower Junior Cup @ Barton Rovers - Sunday 12th April 2015 F.C. Houghton Centre Reserves 0 - 1 Green Man (LUTON) Reserves Sunday Centenary Cup @ Barton Rovers - Sunday 12th April 2015 A.F.C. Flitwick 1-3 Houghton Athletic (U21) Women's Cup @ AFC Kempston - Sunday 19th April 2015 Bedford Ladies 9 - 3 Offley & Stopsley Womens U18 Youth Challenge Cup @ Stotfold FC - Friday 27th March 2015 Bedford Town F.C. Eagles 2-1 Caddington Youth U16 Youth Challenge Cup @ Ampthill Town FC - Friday 20th March 2015 Eastcotts 1 - 1, 5 - 3 pens A.F.C. Sundon U14 Youth Challenge Cup @ Stotfold FC - Friday 13th March 2015 Barton Rovers 2 - 2, 3 - 4 pens A.F.C. Dunstable Blues U16 Saturday Youth Challenge Cup @ Shefford SC - Saturday 9th May 2015 Ampthill Town 0-4 Sacred Heart Youth Offley U14 Saturday Youth Challenge Cup @ Shefford SC - Saturday 9th May 2015 Riverfield Raiders 1-3 Sundon Park Rangers Colts Senior Girls Development Cup @ AFC Kempston - Sunday 19th April 2015 Woburn & Wavendon (Lionesses) 2 - 0 A.F.C. Kempston Girls & Ladies Junior Girls Development Cup @ AFC Kempston - Sunday 19th April 2015 A.F.C. Kempston Girls & Ladies 11 - 0 E.B. Lions A.F.C. 15 CUP FINAL APPOINTMENTS Senior Challenge Cup Sunday Centenary Cup Referee: Andrew Aylott Assistant Referee: Ayrton Hursey Assistant Referee: Mark Stevens Fourth Official: Tom Ratheram Referee: David Faulder Assistant Referee: Mark Robinson Assistant Referee: Rhys Davies Fourth Official: Zahid Hussain Senior Trophy Women’s Cup Referee: Richard Horswell Assistant Referee: Nicholas Fuller Assistant Referee: Bradley Hallybone Fourth Official: Lukas Wood Referee: Rachel Evans Assistant Referee: Andrew Gordon Assistant Referee: Andrew Gellender Fourth Official: John Casey Intermediate Challenge Cup U18 Youth Challenge Cup Referee: Paul Mihalache Assistant Referee: Anthony Fitch Assistant Referee: Yemi Elegunde Fourth Official: Brian Humphries Referee: Babatunde Ajisola Assistant Referee: Lee Evans Assistant Referee: Alex Francioni Fourth Official: Hugh Reilly Junior Challenge Cup U16 Youth Challenge Cup Referee: Derek Osborne Assistant Referee: Jack Giles Assistant Referee: Nick Wiltshire Fourth Official: Nerino Vianello Referee: Calum Bright Assistant Referee: Daniel Jones Assistant Referee: Christopher Ansell Fourth Official: Brian Cooper Sunday Cup U14 Youth Challenge Cup Referee: Manoj Dhokia Assistant Referee: Jack Scott Assistant Referee: Giani Pop Fourth Official: David Jones Referee: Jake Kebble Assistant Referee: Tom Patrickson Assistant Referee: Solomon Brown Fourth Official: Duncan Culver Sunday Junior Cup U16 Saturday Youth Challenge Cup Referee: Michael Bradley Assistant Referee: Christopher Jackson Assistant Referee: Gareth King Fourth Official: Tony Beal Referee: Oliver Dooley Assistant Referee: Jake Toyer Assistant Referee: Luke O’Toole Fourth Official: Terry McCarthy Sunday Lower Junior Cup U14 Saturday Youth Challenge Cup Referee: Tristan Ryder Assistant Referee: Neil Howard Assistant Referee: Stephen Prietzel Fourth Official: Ian Wright Referee: Tom Burns Assistant Referee: Joshua Norman Assistant Referee: Ross White Fourth Official: Angus McIntosh Senior Girls Development Cup Junior Girls Development Cup Referee: Chloe Williams Assistant Referee: Megan Gordon Assistant Referee: Amber Lee Fourth Official: Dean Carney Referee: Jack Murphy Assistant Referee: Daniel Coskeran Assistant Referee: Robert Harris Fourth Official: Gerry Catania 16 REFEREEING The implementation of our development initiatives is driven by the work of the Referee Development Team (RDT) alongside the Referee Development Manager and Referee Liaison Officer. By working to recruit, retain and develop referees, Bedfordshire FA continues to support officials from their entrance onto a course through to senior levels of football. Appointments The introduction of the Central Referee Appointments System for the 2014/15 season initially proved to be challenging and had a substantial impact on stakeholders. Dramatic improvements throughout the season have seen appointing timeframes and the level of communication with clubs and leagues significantly improve. This in turn has positively affected levels of referee coverage with the second half of the season at a comparable level to the corresponding period for previous seasons. A key priority continues to be the aspirational target of 100% of affiliated 11v11 & 9v9 games being covered by a qualified and able match official; the Central Appointments System remains instrumental to achieving this. As we continue to improve the service offered to our stakeholders, additional benefits of the system are being utilised within the Referees’ Department. Newly qualified referees now have a smoother transition into their first games and this process can be managed closely to ensure appropriate support is offered to inexperienced officials. Furthermore, referees targeting promotion are more stringently monitored and assessed as a result of administrative work not being duplicated. Development The continuation of the Academy and Development Group has provided development opportunities to our talented officials through a combination of practical, theoretical and fitness sessions throughout the season; including workshops hosted by Premier League referees such as Anthony Taylor and Kevin Friend. The 2014/15 season also saw the Academy link up with Arsenal FC for the first time, with 3 aspiring referees officiating an Under 13 fixture. The 2015/16 season promises greatly for those involved with continued collaboration with Arsenal and updated structure. Members of the referee workforce have also been provided with CPD events throughout the year with training taking place for assessors and coaches respectively. The expansion of these workshops to include mentors and tutors is targeted for the 2015/16 season. Further opportunities have been provided to officials at Cedars Upper School. Monthly training supported both their refereeing at a local level and their PE GCSE’s. 17 Improvements have been made to the referee pages of the Bedfordshire FA website throughout the past year to ensure that content is up to date, relevant and informative. Recruitment 5 Basic Referee Courses have been held over the season. These 82 new referees bring the number of officials to 419 (27 female / 392 male). The introduction of an online Referee Interest Form will allow for smarter recruitment as levels of interest can be tracked, both geographically and in terms of potential availability. This insight offers more control over those registering on courses and can be managed to ensure that candidates are enrolled based upon the shortfall across existing match officials. 2015/16 will see the implementation of the new FA Referee Course. For the first time newly qualified referees will be judged on their ability to referee a game of football before being allowed to enter grassroots football. Promotions Following another successful season a number of promotions were achieved by our match officials. Our congratulations go out to all of the individuals: Promotion to National List Assistant Referee (Football League) Josh Smith Promotion to Panel Select Assistant Referee (National League) Lee Forrester Promotion to level 2B Josh Smith Promotion to level 3 Tom Danaher Darren Knox Promotion to level 4 Jordan Cushen Nicholas Fuller Ben Weldon Promotion to level 5 Rachel Evans Anthony Fitch Timothy Gibson Julia Robathan Giani Pop Tristan Ryder Tom Welsh Lukas Wood Ian Wight Promotion to level 6 Jake Bloom Mark Brookes Andrew Gordon Christopher Jackson Matthew Langthorne James Rees 18 FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT We have now completed the last month of the current National Game Strategy that has taken us up until the end of June 2015. There have been a number of significant achievements and accolades that have happened over the past year and strategy itself (see success summary on pages 22 & 23). The Beds FA Youth Council received 3 National Awards at St George’s Park for the excellent work they have continued to produce that followed the Football Legacy Award in 2013. The FA Coach Mentor programme has now been implemented for a 2nd full season and during this season we have seen the workforce increase to benefit 10 Charter Standard Club coaches across Bedfordshire. It has also been another successful season for the County FA’s Representative teams as the U16s triumphed over the other County FA’s in the East Region to win the East Anglia County Cup U16 title. As we enter a new strategy there have also been staff members that have moved onto pastures new. Holly Skinner and Kevin England have left the association whilst Katie Quinlan (Player and Coach Development Officer) and Lauren Impey (Recreational Football Officer) have both recently been recruited to fill the vacant roles. The workforce changes will coincide with the start of the new 4 year NGS coming into effect as of 1st July 2015. The team will be managed by James Petty (NGS Manager- Playing the Game) with Lesley Farrah (Education Coordinator), Marc Di Carlo (Participation & Children Young People Officer), Sarah Da Costa (Inclusion and Safeguarding Officer), Nicky Fearn (Administrator) and the 2 most recent arrivals to join the association that form the Playing the Game team. This new direction and approach poses a very exciting time ahead for the association, however there will no doubt be obstacles along the journey in order to deliver success in Bedfordshire. Nevertheless we will be looking to further enhance and support excellence within coach development whilst introducing innovative methods and incentives we have not yet explored previously to get more people participating in football. Integration of volunteers is a continual priority as is improving relationships between grassroots clubs and professional clubs. We will aim to give the football community a voice and ownership over how football is delivered, engaging minority groups to maximise potential and implementing an Inclusion Advisory Group and local antidiscrimination plan helps provide an insight into some of the work you can expect in the delivery of the next strategy. 19 Barton Rovers have been able to revel in the huge success of Keshi Anderson (20 years old) who has progressed through the Barton Rovers system and realised his dream by signing for Premier League club Crystal Palace in February. This emphatic achievement capped an excellent year for Barton Rovers who proudly missed out on promotion to Step 3 football in the play-off final but were crowned Senior Cup winners after beating Biggleswade Town 4-0 at Kenilworth Road. Disability Our provision for school children and adults with disabilities continues to expand in Bedfordshire. Our County Disability League has grown to 22 teams with 4 leagues comprised of an SEN School League and 3 adult ability counts leagues. This involves over 200 players, volunteers and referees that contribute to the programme. Games are played every Friday at Beds FA 3G pitch all year round except for the school holiday with the individual leagues playing once a month. Games are refereed by young adults who also have a disability or special need, all of whom have recently qualified. We have also held an FA level 1 coaching course for players with disability and special needs with financial support from Team Beds and Luton. All candidates on the course have been supported by mentors and we are very proud to say that 16 new coaches have qualified this year alone. This is the third year we have held this course and over that period over 30 new coaches have obtained the certificate. As we progress it is anticipated that funding will be removed completely for the 2016-17 season so the sustainability and sponsorship is vital as we approach this time period. We are again very grateful for the continued support of The Rotary Club of Dunstable who has kindly donated £750 towards the running cost of our league, which helps with its continuation and growth annually. 20 Women’s & Girls School football has been well supported across the county with festivals being organised by the School’s Games Co-ordinators that effectively caters for 6-16 year old girls in education. This is a fantastic opportunity for girls to take part in small sided festivals in their school environment. It is also great to see a large number of female players taking part in the Dunstable Lower schools league which can act as a feeder for school activity. The School Club Link programme continues to support clubs looking to introduce new girl’s mini soccer teams. There are an increasing number of established CS clubs that regularly provide a pathway for the generation and inclusion of new teams each year as a natural succession plan. For the coming season (2015/16) the league are inviting youth teams to enter age groups from U8 upwards with formats starting at 5v5. The Bedfordshire FA are interested to support any club who may be able to enter a new girls team at the introductory age groups of U8/9/10 for the new season as our commitment to grow girls football in the county continues. The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Girls and Women’s Football League (BHGWFL) have continued to provide football opportunities for all female youth teams in Bedfordshire. With 7 Youth Leagues catering for U9-U16 age groups and 3 open age Divisions it enables a smooth transition to adult football. The League also incorporates a free Futsal Festival that was hugely popular with 33 teams from the U9-U16 age groups taking part. Female Football has had great success in the FA People’s Cup Competition, with both AFC Kempston Girls U14 and Toddington Rovers Ladies FC getting through to the National Final in Manchester in May. We are very proud of both teams and delighted that AFC Kempston Girls U14 won the competition that saw them pick up their trophy at Wembley Stadium during the opening ceremony of The FA Cup Final where Arsenal triumphed 4 - 0 over Aston Villa. Bedfordshire FA has also supported Luton Town FC in their recent female football programme. The Community Trust have been running The Football League Trust programme Female Football Development (FFD). They have been working with girls aged 13-15 in local schools to encourage physical activity with a football theme. 21 As a first year club in the programme Luton have been very successful with engaging young people to take part, including hosting a girl’s schools football festival at Luton’s Home Ground Kenilworth Road in May. The Female County Cup Final Day was held at AFC Kempston on Sunday 19th April, it was great to have all of the female finals taking place at the same venue on the same day. With help from the Women’s and Girls Sub Group, there was also a raffle which raised money for the clubs on the day. In the Senior Girls Development Cup Final, Woburn & Wavendon Lionesses won 2 - 0 against A.F.C. Kempston Girls & Ladies. In the Junior Girls Development Cup A.F.C. Kempston Girls & Ladies triumphed over E.B. Lions A.F.C and in the Women's Cup Bedford Ladies won 9 - 3 against Offley & Stopsley Women’s. At local adult level the Charter Standard BHGWFL league consist of 11 teams that are based in Bedfordshire. Congratulations to all teams on a successful season but also to those who have overcome barriers of small squad sizes to retain their teams for next season. There have also been successes in the retention of regional league status being maintained by Offley and Stopsley Ladies and AFC Dunstable as well as our two highest performing teams taking part in the newly formed FA Women’s Premier League: Bedford Ladies and Luton Town Ladies. The Bedfordshire FA has had a very successful fourth season running the Girls Player Development Centre (PDC). The PDC selected squads at U9, U11, U13 and U15 receive specialist coaching and advice along with fixtures representing the county throughout the region. The PDC feeds into licensed Centre of Excellence (COE) programmes at a number of professional clubs. The new addition of an U18 team has seen female players supported through the transition into open age football at local level as well as promoting 12 newly qualified female level 1 coaches into local charter standard clubs. Well done to all players that have represented the county this season. 17.6% Centres 20+ Mini Soccer Teams 407 Female Teams 46 Logged Volunteer Hours 10,000 + Disability Teams 120% 22 of the Year Nationally 8% 75% Percentage of Mini Soccer / Youth Teams in CS Clubs Invested in Facilities 16.5m SUCCESS SUMMARY BEDFORDSHIRE FA 33.3% 10 Clubs Teams 500+ hours of support 5 Mentors 6 CS Leagues 11 Community 8 Development 25 Dev. Plans 2015 Organised Small Sided 372 Central Referee Appointments Implemented New Chief Executive & Senior Management Team Youth Male Teams Granted Licence for Girls ACC 2015/16 All Affiliated Leagues now using Full-Time 535 5.3% 3 800+ Teams 100+ Health Checks £10,000 Invested in Coach Education Awards National 24 For the 2015/16 season the county will be running a Girls Advanced Coaching Centre (ACC) in line with the NEW FA Eastern region talent pathway (subject to an FA license). This poses an exciting new challenge for coaches and players alike and we are looking forward to the new season ahead. Finally our female referees have taken part in a variety of showcase games and events this season. This has encompassed successful promotions as well as two national appointments (Rachel Evans and Mary Harmer) to the FA Girls Youth Cup Final between Arsenal and Aston Villa on May 31st. Club Development The Charter Standard Programme has continued to flourish and we are thrilled that over 80% of our mini soccer and youth teams are playing in Charter Standard Clubs. To summarise the achievements of the programme effectively equates to over 800 teams,11 Community Clubs, 8 Development Clubs and 25 development plans spanning aspiring non-CS clubs as well as those wanting to progress through the hierarchy as they develop. The clubs are supported through the 6 Charter Standard Leagues that enable provision and structure to grow and develop further. This has resulted in mini soccer teams growing by 18% and youth male teams by 5.3% from 2013/14 to 2014/15. Targeted work with existing clubs have seen impressive maintenance of the renewal process with over 100 annual health checks completed. Working in partnership with the leagues has enabled a follow up process that has made this season far more enjoyable for the club and Beds FA staff in signing off annual health checks and identifying the needs of the workforce as they prepare to enter another season. Significant achievements this season have been the development of youth boys and girls futsal through the Bedfordshire Youth Saturday League and Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Girls and Women’s Football League organising futsal competitions across their age groups. These competitions have acted as a local qualifier for the Regional Futsal Finals that have seen entries at all age groups: U10, U12, U14 and U16 (boys and girls). 25 The Charter Standard scheme will continue to have tangible and intangible benefits as supported by The FA and McDonald’s community football programme until 2018. This commitment to the programme beyond this season is further highlighted through Nike match balls, first ever opportunity to access England Senior tickets, purchase of one Nike team kit for U7 to U18 teams up until 2018 (Sandy Colts pictured below) and Nike football distribution upon successful completion of the annual health check. This year the Luton & District South Beds Football League th has become the 6 league in Bedfordshire to achieve Charter Standard League status. This has been a season long effort with support meetings to integrate new and existing clubs whilst providing growth across the two divisions. The culmination of this achievement is the league embracing the organisation and delivery of the annual Unity Cup event. The community cohesion event is designed for 16+ year olds to be united through football. It also provides a platform for newly formed teams to be created and existing teams to be bolstered prior to the new season starting. Coach Education Bedfordshire FA continues to lead by example by providing the highest quality of support and training to our Clubs and Coaches at a number of venues across the County. We have processed over 1500 candidates on a wide variety of Coach Education courses and continually work to increase our high standard of pass rates. Course No Pass Rate Level 1 Coaching 421 91% Level 2 Coaching 54 72% Youth Award Module 1 29 96% Youth Award Module 2 15 99% Our work with local Clubs and organisations to provide flexible bespoke courses in the County continues to increase. Bespoke Courses Level 1 Coaching 3 Safeguarding Children 5 Emergency Aid 11 26 With the help of funding from Team Beds & Luton we have also supported candidates with a disability and run another specific Level 1 Coaching course for the 3rd consecutive year in a row to benefit the workforce in disability football. We have also worked in partnership with Luton Town FC and Princes’ Trust to deliver the qualification to young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) further to deployment into local clubs and Luton Town through community engagement schemes. There has also been an increase is the number of Junior Football Leader (Student) Courses, seven courses of which five of those were requested by local Schools. The two remaining courses were to support young volunteers as part of the Football Futures scheme with the ultimate end goal of progressing through to the Football Futures programme and volunteering locally. To support The FA Licensed Coaches Club (LCC) we have also increased the number of free CPD Events this year running a total of 11 and processing over 250 attendees. Unfortunately due to the fact these are free, we get a high proportion that book on but do not attend. We have seen a massive increase of 240 new LCC members last season and it helps we provide bespoke CPD events that cater for our 600+ LCC members in maintaining their status whilst being supported on their own journey through the coaching pathway. We continue to support the Clubs and Coaches from both in and out of the County on a wide number of daily queries, from setting up FAN records, help with password setup, course information, lost certificates and qualification queries. With the Charter Standard Programme being a key focus we have also offered several Level 2 Certificates in Coaching, Youth Award Module 1 & 2 courses to our Charter Standard Clubs at heavily reduced rates. Members of the public and general football community are continuing to benefit from our partnership with Tresham College that help keep the cost of courses down to a minimum. This partnership enables subsidised prices for our candidates and we are extremely proud that we have not increased the cost of our Coach Education courses since 2010. 27 Young Leaders- Football Futures The Bedfordshire FA have utilised many volunteers again this year through developing the club workforce, school work experience programmes and college and university cohorts. Bedfordshire FA will be represented by two young leaders due to the success of the county’s programme at The FA’s National Football Futures Camp. The Young Leaders that will represent the county are Chris Howes and Rhys Shekle The current season has seen well over 150 Young Leaders (aged 13-25) that have been accepted and have volunteered locally as part of the Football Futures programme. The Bedfordshire FA also held the annual County Football Futures Camp (56 young leaders in attendance) in February half term. This County Football Futures Camp was held for various ages ranging from 13 upwards. The Camp was run over two full days of which our Young Leaders took part in various activities and workshops. The Football Futures Camp and programme rewards young volunteers for their hard work and supports them with their continued personal development. The County’s Football Futures programme runs alongside the Youth Council who have direct representation on the Bedfordshire FA Council. Youth Council The Bedfordshire FA Youth Council is continuing to have a positive impact on grassroots football supporting Bedfordshire FA. The Bedfordshire FA Youth Council were successful at The FA National Football Futures Awards 2014 achieving the following awards: 28 - County FA Youth Council of the Year Award: Winner (Bedfordshire FA Youth Council) Refereeing Award (Male): Winner (Jordan Cushen) Refereeing Award (Female): Winner (Mary Harmer) The Bedfordshire FA Youth Council continues to be a lead county whereby other counties continue to request guidance with establishing their own Youth Committees. The Youth Council continued the successful Mentoring Referee Scheme, this season led by Chris Howes (Project Manager Referee), to support newly qualified referees (12 referees supported). The programme has been recognised as best practice nationally. The Youth Council have also seen the inaugural season for a new Young Coach Mentor Scheme. This scheme was designed and implemented by Courtney Harding (Project Manager Coach). The purpose of the scheme is to support aspiring young coaches after completing their Level 1 course and offering CPD to support their development as a coach (16 young coaches supported). You can follow the progress of the Youth Council via Twitter @BedsFAYC 29 FA Skills Team th The FA Skills programme celebrated its 6 Season within Bedfordshire during 2014/15. During the season the coaches continued to support local Schools, Charter Standard Clubs, Professional Clubs, and develop players and create pathways into football through our local FA Skills Centres and FA Skills holiday courses for 5-11 year olds. Some of our highlights include; - - Supported 85 different schools and over 180 teachers across Bedfordshire Delivered in 29 different Charter Standard Clubs to 48 different teams, supporting 74 Grassroots Coaches within their training sessions Provided opportunity for over 250 children to attend our weekly FA Skills Centre training at 5 locations across Bedfordshire, including provision of Futsal and Girls only. Helped 37 children join a local Charter Standard Club and 5 boys and 1 girl join a professional club programme. Delivered Introduction to Futsal events for local Charter Standard Clubs Supported growth and development of 8 girls teams Delivered FA Skills Centres in Luton, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Sharnbrook and Shefford. Plans to support 5-11 year olds for next season include: - A comprehensive Futsal programme that will enhance ongoing pockets of activity. Change to our Skills Centre programme to include new venues and a Skills Extra programme. Support of local Charter Standard Clubs, with particular impact on support of girls only and needs led development. Continue to deliver a support programme within our local primary schools. Thank you to the Bedfordshire FA Development Team for their continued support of The FA Skills team. If you would like to know more about The FA Skills programme in your area please visit www.thefa.com/skills or contact [email protected], Team Leader for The FA Skills programme in Bedfordshire. 30 FA Coach Mentors nd We have just finished the 2 year of the FA Coach Mentor programme and we are delighted the team have continued to provide excellent support, knowledge of grassroots football in abundance and have allowed for extensive networking of clubs across the county as a result. Matt Smith - [email protected] Matt has been mentoring AFC Oakley M&DH and AFC Kempston throughout the 2014/15 season. Highlight of the season was the organisation of a bespoke Goalkeeping CPD event for his mentor clubs involving 34 coaches and 16 club goalkeepers ranging from U7 to U16 age groups. Butch Fazal - [email protected] Butch has enjoyed working with mentees at Ampthill Town and Barton Rovers Youth in his first year of the programme. Improved communication lines between the clubs and the CFA have ensured all coaches receive up to date information about the opportunities. Observing the positive impact mentors have on the coaches which is then transferred to the children manifesting themselves in excellent coaching sessions. Gary Breeden - [email protected] Gary has been mentoring E.B. Lions and A.F.C. Dunstable in his first year of the programme. Gary’s highlight was giving coaches the support and confidence to develop their coaching knowledge and then seeing the knowledge used to develop the players as a high point through the scheme. 31 Mike Nolan - [email protected] rd Mike will be entering his 3 year of being an FA Coach Mentor. Mike was the only mentor from the original pilot that started in 2013. In this time he has worked with Flitwick Eagles, Leighton United and Houghton Athletic. The highlight of his 2 years to date have been developing a club philosophy at Leighton United, supporting coaches with their teams and linking coaches with others at their respective clubs. Mike has also helped to set up Communities of Practice to support candidates on the Level 2 and B Licence courses. 32 Walking Football Regular Walking Football sessions coordinated by Bedfordshire FA, Central Bedfordshire Council and local clubs now take place on a weekly basis in Dunstable, Flitwick, Redborne and Shefford. Aimed at the 50+ Walking Football is vastly becoming more popular across the country, providing a great opportunity for people to take part in physical activity at their own pace and providing social gains. Flitwick Eagles have now taken ownership of the Redborne session and it runs as part of their community programme with a regular group of attendees. Shefford Saints have recently shown their support to the initiative with a new session running at the Shefford Sports Centre. Participants from the Dunstable, Flitwick and Redborne sessions culminated together to take part in the local round of the FA People’s Cup competition in February along with the Bedford Walking Football Team who progressed to the National Final in Manchester in May. Local Authority Projects A group of 12 young Asylum seekers in Kempston have progressed from turning up and playing football to taking part in a local small sided league. By working with Central Bedfordshire Council, this group of young players attended 10 weeks of football coaching in an informal environment and were given the support to enter the local small sided league once these sessions were complete. Football Mash Up Sessions Football Mash Up has continued to provide informal football opportunities for 14-16 year olds with 14 centres in total around the county, an increase of 6 more centres from 2013/14. These centres include female, disability and futsal specific that provide links into local clubs at an age group where dropout rates are high nationally. 33 Mars Just Play Just Play Centres and Just Play Fund Activity sessions are still proving very popular in Bedfordshire. A great example of development is the University of Bedfordshire Friday Night Futsal League. The original sessions progressed from recreational futsal into an affiliated league whilst still providing informal opportunities for students at the Bedford campus. The Just Play Teachers League has been a huge success, with local school teachers having the opportunity to take part in a small sided league across the academic year against different schools in the county. There are 15 teams in the North Division and 11 in the South Division, with these divisions looking set to grow still in 2015/2016. Social Inclusion Projects A network of social inclusion projects are beginning to be formed across Bedfordshire and with the opening of the new 3G site at Wixams this has further been enhanced. Provision for informal football for 16+ year olds on a Friday evening are proving popular, with Wixams and Beds FA delivering projects between 8pm-10pm every week in a safe and enjoyable environment. We are pleased to be able to offer various informal football opportunities across a range of age groups in the community. We are looking forward to expanding and introducing new initiatives in 2015/16 including conversion leagues, business leagues and further enhancing the work of the existing veteran and U21 provision. 34 ARTIFICAL GRASS PITCH This season has seen further development at our 3G Artificial Grass Pitch with a continued use of grassroots clubs throughout the season and a variety of programmes increasing participation as we find new and innovative ways to make the most of our top facility. The Mini Movers programme for 3-5 year olds best represents that progression. This activity runs on a Saturday morning to provide young children with a safe introduction to football and after moving to 2 groups for the first time last year now runs with 6 groups of children participating. This substantial increase has come through the easy of an online booking system, new staffing structure and development to a second venue on Saturday mornings at Wixams. Once old enough, players from this programme are fed into the FA Skills Sessions or local grassroots clubs to help create new mini soccer teams in Bedfordshire. While Mini Movers is excellent for our youngest participants we also aim to be as inclusive as possible and cater for everyone in the community. Be it from 5-11 year olds in our FA Skills Session on a Thursday to our Walking Footballers on a Monday, we have diverse range of opportunities to play no matter your age, gender, race or ability. 35 Perfect examples of this are the Adult and Schools Disability League we host during our off peak periods and our Women’s 5aside League which provides a casual opportunity to keep the Women Footballers engaged throughout the summer and uses the casual environment to recruit new players. The Friday Night Football Social Inclusion Project continues to have a consistent 35+ participants every week and provides young people with an informal way to play football with direct links to local clubs and keeping them from trouble in the local area. By providing this age group with something constructive to do on a Friday night we have seen crime rates & anti-social behaviour progressively decreased and seen more local young people with an interest in getting involved with helping the County FA. The Bedfordshire FA's facilities continue to be the home of increasing coach education events including CPD's, Level 1’s and Youth Module Courses as well as being used more by the refereeing department too. The AGP has become the new home of the County Referees Academy who will use it for training events throughout the year to give referees a practical practice opportunity as they progress as officials. 36 WELFARE & SAFEGUARDING During the season 2014/15, every club complied with the requirement to have a fully trained CWO in place. Many of them have been in role for several seasons and continue to support their clubs efficiently and proactively. Poor practice cases are managed effectively by CWO’s and the County Welfare Officer offers support and advice as required. Serious incidents are managed by the County Welfare Officer who works closely with The FA Safeguarding Team and Statutory Agencies Over the course of the season, approximately 700 people attended Safeguarding Children Workshops (through 15 standalone workshops and 18 level 1 courses) We trained 24 new CWO’s at 2 Welfare Officers’ Workshops. There was also a significant increase in online safeguarding recertification and we continue to work closely with the Football Development team to ensure courses are offered where required. 37 A new Workshop will be delivered in 2015/2016 called Safeguarding Deaf and Disabled Footballers. It’s a workshop designed to help CWO’s support children with additional needs within clubs and may also be offered to managers and coaches in the future. 30 Club Welfare Officers attended January’s CPD event, focussing on social media and the DBS process and online checks are now being carried out by 135 Bedfordshire Clubs. There have also been quarterly newsletters sent to the Bedfordshire FA CWO cohort, updating them on local and national FA Safeguarding matters. At the start of 2014/2015 season, we asked all clubs to name their managers and coaches on the Whole Game Affiliation in order to ensure that all those working with children have had an accepted Enhanced FA DBS check. This task was completed by all clubs with youth teams and continues to be updated throughout the season. The County Welfare Officer has been working closely with the Discipline department to manage incidents involving youth teams and provide guidance and education where appropriate. Large clubs have been encouraged to recruit an assistant CWO to help them in their roles and this has proved a valuable support to many. We would also encourage clubs to formulate succession plans in clubs where CWO’s are planning to step down. As a result of the recent Beds FA workforce review, the role of the County Welfare Officer will be changing to become the Inclusion and Safeguarding Officer. This will be a full time role which will encompass the current welfare and safeguarding responsibilities but also support the delivery of the FA Inclusion and AntiDiscrimination Plan and implement the design and delivery of a local antidiscrimination plan The role will also be responsible for the FA’s RESPECT programme locally and will continue to work with local and national stakeholders to provide a safe environment for children to play football in Bedfordshire. 38 FACILITIES & FUNDING There are a number of initiatives in place to provide improvements to facilities across Bedfordshire. These range from advice on grass pitch renovation, resurfacing of wearing football turf pitches, extension of changing rooms, advice on programme usage and maintenance of new football turf pitches. Clubs are supported to access small grants for new 9v9 goalposts, Respect equipment, supported with applications to help progression through the National League System and strategic plans to support the local authorities to plan and deliver their playing pitch strategies to service the need of the customers. The Football Foundation continues to be a major partner in revenue funding through the Grow the Game Scheme. This year’s applications saw an oversubscription nationally and due to success in Bedfordshire previously the county’s allocation to clubs has increased. This season will see 9 additional clubs from Bedfordshire that will be supported with the total amount of funding allocated to Bedfordshire clubs being £28,500. This funding will support these clubs to develop (59 qualified coaches) and grow (19 new teams) throughout the next 3 seasons. The biggest achievement in the past year in terms of fully developed sites has been the new state of the art Flitwick Football Centre. The new football centre that received over £214,000 funding was proudly opened to the public in December and is the home of Flitwick Eagles and Flitwick Town who boast a variety of pitches to cater for its 28 teams. The facility enables 5,7,9 and 11aside teams to play matches whilst possessing dual-gender changing rooms for players and referees, function suite, kitchen and additional car parking spaces making it a hub site for football. 39 Charlie Mann will be starting the Facilities and Funding Officer role in July with one of his priorities being to ensure that affiliated football and competitive match play are permitted on a host of existing football turf pitches. This is based upon successful testing and subsequent listing on the 3G register in addition to the newly developed sites at Etonbury, Lea Manor School, Ashcroft School & Lincroft School that are due to come into fruition throughout the new strategy. The Wixams 3G has finally been used to pilot flexi leagues, social inclusion project, local clubs training nights and a small sided leagues for adults. The great news moving forward is that the facility will roll out a greater programme of use for grassroots football activity from the 2015/16 season. 40 SMALL SIDED PROVISION Bedfordshire FA currently have over 381 affiliated small sided teams that are a direct result of 11 small sided providers that account for 2286 players that regularly participate across the county. The Bedfordshire FA hosted The Regional Futsal Finals for U10’s and U12’s at the University of Bedfordshire on the 30th May 2015. This event had teams competing and representing counties from the east region totalling 150 players on the day. The teams representing Bedfordshire played some great futsal in the process and finished 2nd in the U10’s (Leighton Town Youth) and U12’s (Kempston Futsal) Boys sections and 3rd in the U10’s (Mid Beds Tigers) and U12’s (Leighton United) Girls sections. The discipline and spirit of the event was evident throughout with each team being a credit to their respective County FA. Despite the competition acting as a qualifier for The FA National Futsal Finals the atmosphere created was typified by repeated mexican waves rippling across the bleacher seats of the 200 strong crowd. 41 A number of futsal projects have been set up to ensure that Sixth Form and College students can engage in Futsal to keep active and this has resulted in a number of Football Mash Up (14-16 year olds) and Just Play Centres (16 years +) being set up across the County to engage more 14+ year olds through small sided games and informal activity. The Bedfordshire Teachers 5 a-side League continues to grow with 26 teams/schools competing throughout 2014/15 on a monthly basis in North Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire sections. The fourth season of the Bedfordshire Veterans 9aside League has been completed and this has resulted in regular activity of 21 teams, initially 8 teams in first season, across the County on a Sunday evening that has also led to the use of Football Foundation facilities. This year has seen the continuation of 2 small sided leagues creating 17 new small sided teams that have been developed and affiliated through the University of Bedfordshire students seeking local and small sided provision. The University of Bedfordshire (Bedford Campus) has seen the Futsal league grow to 9 teams. The University of Bedfordshire (Luton Campus) 6 a-side league continued with 8 teams competing to fill the demand of intramural football for Luton based students. The Development team will be working closely with our small sided providers to develop on small sided football and lead into 11v11 adult football in ways that have not been previously explored including conversion leagues and short term flexi leagues. 42 COUNTY LOUNGE Apart from December 2015 every Saturday is booked here at the Peter Newton Pavilion which is fantastic to see. More Friday’s are being booked as we offer a slightly reduced rate to Customers as they are not able to book the Saturday they require. We have seen an increase in Weddings & Wedding Anniversary’s in 2015 and have had a couple of new bookings to include Luton Scrabble club holding their Tournaments here as well as accommodating School Reunion parties for those memorable times. Looking forward, we aim to make Parties & Events held at the Peter Newton Pavilion enjoyable & memorable greeted by friendly and helpful Staff. We look forward to see New and Existing Customers for the rest of 2015 & beginning 2016. 43 Our Training Room and Council Chambers are available to book for Business Meetings and Training Days and are getting busier as we go through 2015. The rooms are equipped with Overhead Projectors and Screens with Flipchart available to use. We can also provide Catering & Beverages to suit all requirements. We are currently taking bookings for 2016 for Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings and Engagements. If you would like more information on prices and dates available then please contact Jason Gault on 01582 567726 or email him at [email protected] and we would be more than happy to deal with any questions you may have about bookings, packages or what we can help you with to make your event a Memorable & Special One. BEDFORDSHIRE FA STAFF CONTACTS Chief Executive Officer Dan Robathan Tel: 01582 565111 [email protected] Playing the Game Manager James Petty Tel: 01582 567719 / 07432 702697 [email protected] Participation and CYP Officer Marc Di Carlo Tel: 01582 567718 / 07984 222441 [email protected] Recreational Football Officer Lauren Impey Tel: 01582 565111 [email protected] Player and Coach Development Officer Katie Quinlan Tel: 01582 565111 [email protected] Education Officer Lesley Farrah Tel: 01582 567716 [email protected] Playing the Game Administrator Nicky Fearn Tel: 01582 567723 [email protected] Inclusion and Safeguarding Officer Sarah DaCosta Tel: 01582 567721 / 07960 500723 [email protected] Marketing and Communications Officer Jon Gardner Tel: 01582 565111 [email protected] Business Development Administrator Sharon Lloyd Tel: 01582 567714 [email protected] Financial Control Officer Tracy Bailey Tel: 01582 567715 [email protected] Disability Football Les Dedman Running the Game Manager Louis Marks Tel: 01582 567724 / 07525 592200 [email protected] Clubs and Competitions Officer Nicholas Snelson Tel: 01582 567712 / 07834 955549 [email protected] Discipline Officer Jane Cunningham Tel: 01582 567722 [email protected] Referee Development Officer Alan Young Tel: 01582 565111 [email protected] Referee Liaison Officer Mike Desborough Tel: 01582 567724 / 07803 623374 [email protected] Facilities and Funding Officer Charlie Mann Tel: 01582 565111 [email protected] Facility Officer Alec Hill Tel: 01582 565111 [email protected] Business Development Manager Tim Sergeant Tel: 01582 567725 [email protected] Bar and Events Manager Jason Gault Tel: 01582 567726 / 07919 597368 [email protected] AGP Officer Stephen Williams Tel: 01582 567725 Stephen.Williams@ bedfordshirefa.com FA Skills Steve Maker Stephen.Maker@ thefa.com Female Football Julia Robathan Century House, Skimpot Road, Dunstable, Bedfordshire LU5 4JU