Thirteen local clubs and schools have been recognised for their valuable contribution to grassroots football.
At a special awards evening at the Double Tree Hotel in Aberdeen, the clubs were presented with their Scottish FA Quality Mark Awards by SportScotland’s Jan Stander and North Regional Committee Chairman, Duncan Massie.
The Quality Mark Accreditation Scheme, run by the Scottish FA in partnership with McDonald’s and sportscotland, recognises proactive clubs and schools working to increase youth and community participation. There are three Quality Mark categories - Standard, Development, and Community.
The clubs who were recognised were: Westdyke Communtiy Club (Community Award); Dyce Boys Club, Glentanar Boy Club and Alness United FC (Development Awards); and Mintlaw Boys Club, Dee Boys Club, Buchan Girls & Ladies FC, Aberdeen Ladies FC, Torphins Tornados FC, Colony Park FC, Kintore Boys Club, Caithness Utd FC, Wick Academy FC (Standard Awards).
Clubs and schools receive the award after meeting standards in areas such as coach and player development, management, administration, welfare and planning. So far more than 250 clubs and schools have achieved accreditation over the three categories, and over 4,000 coaches have benefited from coach education and first aid training.
Scottish FA North Club Development manager, Mark Slater said: “I would like to congratulate all 13 clubs on a fantastic achievement. Their hard work week-on-week provides great opportunities for young players to learn and develop in the game.
“We’re particularly pleased to see Westdyke become the first Community Club in the North Region - I’m sure it will inspire other clubs to reach that level. It’s also fantastic to see so many clubs reaching the first level of the Quality Mark programme by picking up the Standard Award, and getting the opportunity to showcase their clubs to the rest of the region.”
McDonald’s, the Scottish FA’s community partner since 2002, are committed to helping young footballers shine by attracting 13,000 new volunteers and 10,000 new coaches by 2014, as well as supporting 600 clubs and 52,000 players through new and existing football networks.
Through Quality Mark, McDonald’s and the Scottish FA aim to provide support to grassroots clubs and schools across Scotland as they strive to broaden youth and community participation and to enhance player, coach and volunteer development.
The Quality Mark Accreditation Scheme is supported by sportscotland, the national agency for sport. sportscotland has one clear focus – to develop a world class sporting system for Scotland – and works with partners to build success for Scottish sport.
sportscotland is a key partner in the delivery of youth football programmes, investing over £1m per year in activities including employment of club development staff, discounted coach education and training for volunteers.
For further information on the Scottish FA Quality Mark programme, please visit www.scottishfa.co.uk/footballdevelopment