ESFA Newsletter - January 2004
Message from the Chairman Mr Phil Harding
As we enter our Centenary Year, with its opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our unique organisation over the past hundred years, it is important that we also look to the future, and to the contribution that the ESFA can make to enhancing the educational experience for young people through the medium of football. Optimism and enthusiasm are infectious and, in my various Chairman’s duties so far this season, I have been greatly encouraged by the range and quality of activities that take place under the auspices of the ESFA.
I was also most impressed at our recent Under 18 selection weekend, not just by the excellent young men who were endeavouring to get into the national squad, but by the tremendous dedication and professionalism of our management team. At the weekend, we also interviewed six exceptionally strong candidates for the post of Assistant Team manager from 2004-5, when Vic Bragg’s two-year stint as Manager will end, and Pete Chisholm will step up from his current position as Assistant. I found the interviewing experience very encouraging, reflecting as it did the high quality of the candidates involved, all of whom we would have been happy to appoint to the post.
Many Associations will by now have received details of the grant aid they will shortly get from the FA Business Plan. I very much hope it will further stimulate activity and that the significant number of Associations that did not apply will recognise the importance of doing so later this year. Money is also available from Awards for All – the application procedure is very straightforward and can lead to Associations receiving up to £5,000 every year. Details are elsewhere in this Newsletter and, having been successful in applications for my Local and County Associations, I will be very happy to give advice to any colleague who is considering making an application – just give me a call.
Finally, I renew my plea for your support over the coming months. Order tickets for the Rest of the World game on 8th May, get a table together for the Dinner on the same date, purchase some Centenary Whistles (they have just arrived in the Office at Stafford) for your referees, and anticipate a good read by ordering a copy of Colm Kerrigan’s excellent History of the ESFA.
Phil Harding
COUNCIL
We are pleased to announce that we now have three 'Field Officers' working with their Council Members. Joining Jack Tarr in the Midlands we have Tim Leigh assisting in the North and West and Terry Moore in East Anglia and the East. More assistance is needed around the country, so if you are still involved in schools’ football but have retired from full time teaching, please contact your local ESFA Council Member. Field Officers are appointed locally and serve their local Council Member, but may also assist in attending National functions when Council Members cannot be released from their teaching duties. Field Officers are entitled the same level of travel and support subsistence as Council Members. Come on, volunteer, there is plenty of work for all to get involved in as we reach the busy part of the Centenary and the finals of the 15 National Competitions.
It is likely that there will be vacancies on Council in 2004-2005 for Area B (Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside) ands Area F (Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Oxfordshire). Please give thought to standing, or approaching someone else you feel could stand – we will be writing to the Associations in these Areas soon, to invite nominations.
Long Service Awards
By the time you receive this Newsletter, the cut off date of 30 January for submitting nominations for these Awards may well have passed. We hope that you have found our new procedure of acknowledging your requests to have been helpful. Council will study the recommendations and 10 and 25-year Awards will be given to the appropriate Council Members for local distribution after the Council meeting in March. It is hoped to present the 40/50-year Awards at Villa Park on 8th May at the PFA Invitation Schoolboy International, England v The Rest of the World XI.
Competitions
A few regional newspapers have contained reports on our local small-sided finals. Unfortunately, none of them mention our sponsor Sainsburys. Please take every opportunity to support the companies that support us. Have any of the Districts thought about approaching their local Sainsburys store manager to see if they will run a promotion for you and advertise your games? Let the ESFA Chief Executive know if you require any help in contacting the stores and we will get their PR personnel to contact you.
Council have agreed that the following changes will be made to the 2004 /2005 Sainsburys Small Sided Competitions.
- New competition: girls only under 11 individual schools 6 a-side
- New competition: boys only under 11 individual schools 7 a-side
The Small Schools Sixes will remain at 6 a-side and be for schools with fewer than 100 pupils on roll. The Inter District 7 a-side Competition will remain the same as before.
This year's finals will be held at the National Sports Centre, Lilleshall on Saturday 24 April 2004. They will include the winners AND runners-up from each of the four area finals.
Football Association Funding
Thank you for your patience, but we got there in the end! The Business Plan and joint support contract were both signed off in November of last year and we received the first support cheque just before Christmas. Associations that applied for a grant have received notification of their grant and when it is to be paid; amounts allocated are based on a points system determined by activity. Unfortunately, fewer than half of our Associations appear to require a grant! We will be looking at the best way to distribute the 2004 money during the next few months and we hope to be paying out, on receipt of the money from the FA, in November 2004. Although this is a five-year agreement with the FA, it will be regularly monitored and adjusted each year.
Unfortunately, we have had to suspend the Bursary Scheme due to a lack of available funding from the Football Youth Trust. We are investigating the position and hope to be able to re-instate the scheme shortly.
From the feedback we are receiving, relationships with our colleagues in the FA Counties may be getting better. Please keep reporting back how you are getting on and in particular how your LFP and education committees are operating.
It has become apparent that some professional clubs are organising school age group football on Saturday mornings, in complete disregard for Local Association and school matches. If this is happening in your area please inform the Chief Executive so that the matter can be raised at a forthcoming meeting with the Premier League and the Football League early in February.
Centenary Launch
If you are the proud owner of Sky TV, you will have seen the launch of our Centenary in the Godwin Primary School, Newham East London. The school (as an elementary school in 1904) provided London District with the goal scorer that won the very first ESFA Trophy Final in 1904.
Trevor Brooking was the guest of honour and said some pleasant things about schools' football and his memories of playing for the ESFA Under 15s against West Germany at Middlesbrough in 1964. As Director of Football Development at the FA he stated that he believed in schools' football and the development of the game at grassroots level. The event was well staged by Navigator Sports, the parent company of Sfi (Schools’ Football Initiatives). Sfi organized a small football coaching session for the watching media.
International Squad
The England Under 18 International squad has now been selected. Sixteen players have passed through the many trials and selection matches to reach this stage. They will be smartly turned out in international uniforms supplied by DeeJay Menswear of Scunthorpe. Equally smart on the field of play they will play in a specially designed and manufactured England kit made by PUMA. Congratulations go, not only to the players, but also to their teachers/coaches, schools/colleges and parents/guardians for their support of these future England internationals:
- Chris Astley
Filton College, Gloucestershire CSFA - Matthew Knight
Forest Hill School, Inner London CSFA - Ben Miley
Monkseaton High School, Northumberland CSFA - Tom Champion
East Barnet School, Middlesex CSFA - Ben Elkington
Waddesdon C of E School, Buckinghamshire CSFA - Adam Cook
Preston College, Lancashire CSFA - Tom Clements
West Suffolk College, Suffolk CSFA - Russell Martin
Varndean College, Sussex CSFA - Matthew Burke
Salford College, Greater Manchester CSFA - Steve Aslett
Simon Langton, Grammar Kent CSFA - John Mousinho
Dr Challoners, Grammar Buckinghamshire CSFA - Matt Shaughnessy
Filton College, Gloucestershire CSFA - Chris Lines
Filton College, Gloucestershire CSFA - Sean Sonner
St Michaels School, Hertfordshire CSFA - Johnnie Dyer
Charters School, Berkshire CSFA - Chris Davis
Marling School, Gloucestershire CSFA
In addition to the Centenary Match against the Rest of the World XI at Villa Park on 8th May, the team will also play in the British Isles Centenary Shield and one invitation international. Your support at the home games would be most welcome.
- Friday 27 February
v Northern Ireland at Windsor Park, Belfast - Friday 26 March
v Republic of Ireland at Northampton Town FC - Monday 12 April
v Scotland at Springfield Stadium, St Helier, Jersey - Sunday 2 May
v Hungary at MTK Budapest, Hungary Budapest, Hungary
Assistant International Team Manager
From a very strong field, the ESFA have appointed Tony Martin to be the England Under 18 Assistant Team Manager with effect from the 2004-5 season. Tony’s involvement in schools’ football dates back to the late 1960’s when he was selected for the London Senior Schools’ under the guidance of Don Palmer. He subsequently represented England Senior Schools and the England (Amateur) Youth team. While at Loughborough, he played for English Universities and captained the Great Britain Universities. Subsequently, his teaching career has been spent in Hertfordshire, where his extensive involvement with schools’ football at all levels has in recent years been the catalyst for his role as SE Regional Coach for the ESFA.
We congratulate Tony on his appointment and look forward to his involvement with our Under 18 team in the coming seasons.
Funding Opportunities
There are various avenues for schools to attract funding to assist with the provision of football within schools. These include: -
Small Grants Scheme (including the “free kit scheme” up to the value of £300.00) – Further information can be accessed from the Football Foundation website www.footballfoundation.org.uk
Awards for All - to fund projects which involve people in their own community. For more information see www.awardsforall.org.uk Many Local and County Associations have successfully applied for grants up to £5,000.
Website
The ESFA’s website is currently being re-designed and re-developed. One major aspect of the new site will be a national database of all schools. We are asking all schools to register onto this new database. We feel that a complete database of all schools will allow us to communicate more easily with schools and will give schools access to up-to-date and relevant information relating to schools’ football. The site will also have a facility to allow schools to enter national competitions online – we hope that this will be up and running for the start of the 2004/2005 season.
Easter Festivals
There are still places available for teams to sign up for our various Festivals:
ESFA Under 19 Inter-County Festival of Football at Lowestoft. Dates are 13th to 17th April. Festival Chairman is Alan Ball – 01903 812006
ESFA Under 14 Festival for district teams will again take place on the Isle of Wight from 12th to 16th April. Gerry Smith on 01793 750955 will be pleased to supply further details to interested Associations.
Under 11 Jersey Festival commences on Easter Saturday (10th April) and is a wonderful experience for Primary age players representing their district. An added attraction on the island this season is the England Under 18 v Scotland Centenary Shield match on Easter Monday. Organiser of the Festival is Pat Cullinane – 01534 723672.
Under 11 North Tyneside Festival is a similarly popular event, always enjoyed by its regular participants but able to accommodate any new districts that are interested. Please contact Andy Littleton on 0191 290 1908.
Under 13 Durham Festival for district teams. In addition to a number of Associations staying on a residential basis, various local districts take part. Alan Johnston on 01207 284916 can provide further information.
Obituary
It was with great sadness that we heard last week of the death of Arthur Rice, ESFA General Secretary from 1980 to 1985. We end our condolences and sympathy to his family. A full tribute will appear in the next Newsletter.
Book
We have been asked to publicise a new book describing the history of football in South Africa. It is entitled “Soccer through the Years 1862 – 2002” and has been written by Peter Reath. It is available at Waterstones for £29.95 and can be previewed on the website www.soccerthroughtheyears.com
THE FOLLOWING IS AN OPEN LETTER TO ALL SCHOOLS FROM THE ENGLISH SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION THAT WILL BE MAILED DIRECT THIS MONTH
TO: HEADTEACHERS, SCHOOL LIBRARIAN AND HEAD OF PE
Welcome to the New Year and the English Schools' Football Association's Centenary Year. The ESFA was founded in January 1904 at the National Union of Teachers Conference in North Wales by a group of schoolteachers who ran their local District Football Associations. Their intention was to bring their Associations together and to compete for a National Cup. The cup, presented by the National Union of Teachers was later turned into a Trophy, which is still competed for today. The full history of this competition can be found in Colm Kerrigan's excellent book "The History - English Schools' Football Association", which will be published in March of this year. The book also chronicles the history of the Association from its origins to the modern day where the Association is undoubtedly the largest schools' sports organisation in the world. Some 26,000 schools with 15,000 regularly playing in one or more of the ESFA’s fifteen national cups and an average of 20,000 school teams playing every week. We recommend the book to all students of the game and an absolute must for all taking their GCSE and A level PE examinations. A copy should adorn every school library in the country!
Another unique opportunity for schools during this celebratory season is the "ESFA Player of the Year Award". These highly sought after medals can be bought by schools, districts and counties and can be awarded as school, team or year group awards. An added bonus is that if the organization purchasing and presenting the award wish to purchase 40+ match tickets to the schoolboy international against the Rest of the World on 8th May, the medal will be presented at Villa Park prior to the match in front of what we hope will be a capacity crowd. What a great thrill for any young player (boy or girl). With local media and press coverage your "Player of the Season" could well become a local hero and think of the good publicity that will bring the school.
Whilst on the subject of presentations, why not consider purchasing an ESFA Centenary whistle? Either for your own use, or for your team/club as an end of season presentation. Nicely packaged in a presentation box you may well feel an appropriate gift for your favourite referee!!
Ticket orders for our prestigious match against the Rest of the World at Villa Park, Birmingham on Saturday 8th May are now being taken. Tickets are £10 and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. The sooner you place your order the better your seat! Also available for purchase are seats at the Centenary Dinner, to be held in the Holte Suite, Villa Park after the main match. Gordon Taylor, the Chief Executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association has accepted our invitation to be the senior guest at the dinner. A number of past and present England internationals have intimated their desire to attend, but that will depend on other fixtures being held on the day. Dinner tickets are £35 per head, although if purchased with a match ticket the combined price is £40. This would be an ideal opportunity to treat your successful school team to a unique occasion. Organizations can book tables for twelve people with twelve match tickets for the discounted price of £400.
