HSCLLEAGUE DEVELOPMENT

Special General Meeting

Wednesday 4 November 2009

Standards Review

BACKGROUND

I live in Broxbourne and have two children aged 18 & 21.

My son Dan until recently played for Cuffley where I was involved on the management committee for the last 16 years and finally as Chairman.

At Cuffley I over saw the expansion of the youth & senior sections, was involved in the running of numerous youth tournaments, organising fund raising events, setting up the successful Cuffley soccer school and was responsible for Cuffley becoming the first club in Hertfordshire to gain Charter Standard status some nine years ago.

Unlike a lot of club’s today, I was fortunate because I had a strong hard working committee and together we achieved most of our goals!

Workwise, I run my own business based in Hoddesdon.

Lawrence WorkmanLeague Development Officer

LEAGUE DEVELOPMENTGood evening, I’m sorry I could not be there tonight as I’m on a short break In beautiful Cornwall!

Firstly I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of your for the warm welcome I’ve received while visiting your clubs this season.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting me I hope the background bio has helped put a name to the face. In this short presentation I want to explain what my role entails and how I hope to assist you in improving your facilities.

As your aware the FA are currently reviewing the status of all level 7leagues and the good news is we are well positioned to retain our status unlike many other level 7 leagues whose requirements are not as rigorous as ours.

MY ROLE

My role is to try to develop the standards within the league and to assist clubs in finding ways of funding these improvements.

I am also responsible for ensuring wherever possible that clubs adhere to Appendix ‘A’ and, if not, what can be done to address the issues involved.

An important part of my role includes finding out how clubs operate in terms of off pitch assistance, support from local councils, players’ fees, funding, sponsorship, where your players come from and who owns the pitches you play on.

My target is to inspect every club at least once per season and to work with clubs in their efforts to develop their facilities.

InspectionsIf your club hasn’t been visited this season then you can expect the pleasure of my company in the coming weeks.

The first visit will be by arrangement. Following my visit you will be issued with a report and a time frame for any defects to be addressed.

Further random visits will be carried out by myself or my colleagues to ensure compliance. Match officials are also feeding me weekly reports on facilities.

Sadly some clubs seem happy to ignore the requirements of Appendix ‘A’ and prefer the heavy fines that follow?

Last season saw Croxley promoted primarily due to their facilities. And this season, promotion and relegation could again be influenced by club facilities.

Everybody I speak to throughout the league is absolutely committed to keeping our level 7 status (Bob will talk about this later) and the way to do that is to maintain our standards.

Issues

My visits this season have shown four main areas clubs generally need to look at;

i) Pitch Sizes: Please note the requirements for the Premier Division is 110 x 70yds.

ii) Showers: Test your showers before every game ensure they are operational.

iii) Walkways: The requirement is for a walkway along two adjoining sides of the pitch and connected to the changing facilities. These requirements have been in place for some time!

iv) Dugouts: Many of the dugouts being used no longer comply with the new FA requirements.

Dugouts

In the summer of 2007 the FA introduced a new specification for dugouts as follows;

The regulations that all clubs must comply with for their Technical Area are for the provision of two sheltered dugouts which are clearly marked “Home” and “Away or Visitors”. Football dugouts should be an equal distance either side of the halfway line and a minimum of 3m apart. Dugouts should be constructed from materials that provide an unobstructed view of the playing area (“all round visibility”).

Football dugouts must be able to shelter at minimum of 8 people either on fixed seats of a bench. Benches should allow for 0.5m per person. Football dugouts must be securely fixed when in use – whether they are portable of permanent.

Many of our clubs currently fail to meet this criteria and although the league are not currently enforcing these requirements, clubs should budget for upgrading their current dugouts in the near future.

DesignsThere are a number of designs available from www.in2dugouts.co.uk but we have selected the basicdesign as an example.

Features:Made from 50 x 50mm mild/stainless steel frameAvailable in 8, 1 and 15 man sizes5mm shatter proof Pet G protective panelsCan be logo engraved with customized graphicsChoice of PVC bench seats or moulded PVC seatsAdditional coloured cladding availableFrame available in a choice of powder coated colours or brushed stainless steelDimensions:Height: 1900mmRear Height: 1750mmDepth: 1200mmLength: 4000mm (8 man)Prices from £1995.00 +VAT

FundingWe are acutely aware that £4,000 for new dugouts is a sizeable sum for clubs in this league to find; hence this evening’s emphasis on fund raising methods.

There is funding available via the FA and I’d congratulate Mill End Sports, AFC Hatfield and Wormley Rovers who have either secured funding this season or are currently in the process of doing so.

There is also the new £20k ….grant available from the Football Foundation.

To enquire about funding for your club contact Karl Lingham (01462 650217 karl.lingham@hertfordshirefa.com) county development manager at the Herts FA.

Hopefully tonight’s presentations on fund raising will provide some new avenues for clubs to explore.

Charter Standard

Any application for funding is more likely to be accepted if your club is an FA Charter Standard Club.

Charter Standard status for senior football is relatively easy to achieve.

i)Your coaches will be required to hold coaching qualifications.ii)You will require a club constitutioniii)You will require a development plan for your club.iv)You will require a child welfare officer

For more information contact Ken Headington (01462 650222 ken.headington@hertfordshirefa.com) at the Herts FA.

League Help?

I’m currently in the discussions with a manufacturer about the feasibility of supplying dugouts to the league at a much reduced level of expenditure.

The design will be similar to that shown earlier and be supplied in a kit form for ease of supply.

Your League is always looking at ways of assisting clubs with the costs of conforming to standards and we hope to issue more details on this at a later date!

THANK YOU!

I would like to thank the clubs for their time this evening and I hope you all found the presentation interesting, informative and helpful.

I look forward to working with you in the coming months!

Best Regards

Lawrence Workman

PS Thank you to Brian for presenting this in my absence.