Stewartfield Football Club has been recognised for its valuable contribution to grassroots football.
Dave McKenna and the other hard working Stewartfield coaches were presented with the Scottish FA Quality Mark Standard Award in East Kilbride this week by Scotish FA Club Development Manager John Brown.
The Award, part of the Quality Mark Accreditation Scheme run by the Scottish FA in partnership with McDonald’s, recognises proactive clubs working to increase youth and community participation.
Clubs receive the Quality Mark Standard Award after meeting a series of criteria in areas such as coach and player development, management, administration, welfare, and planning.
Stewartfield is a well established community based football club that has provided a clear player pathway for the youngsters in the area to follow. The club has participation for young players starting out in the game through to children’s seven-a-side and eleven-a-side youth groups playing in the Lanarkshire Football Development Association.
Stewartfield's Dave McKenna said: “We are delighted to be recognised for the work we do within football here in East Kilbride. We have a dedicated group of coaches, parents and players who have travelled far and wide to represent the club and enjoyed the many benefits that their involvement in sport has brought.
"We are pleased that the club’s partnership work with the Scottish FA has been recognised through this award. We are keen to continue to develop the Club and achieve the next level. We have exciting times ahead with the club becoming part of a brand new set up and playing as East Kilbride FC in the seasons ahead.
Scottish FA Club Development Manager, John Brown said: “The standard of organisation at Stewartfield is first rate and with Dave heading things up and looking after the gathering of Quality Mark evidence, football in the town is in good hands! I would like to offer the Scottish FA’s hearty congratulations to the entire club, form the Committee down to every young player who has represented the club so admirably."
There are three Quality Mark categories - Standard, Development, and Community. So far almost 100 clubs and schools have achieved accreditation over the three categories, and over 4,000 coaches have benefited from coach education and first aid training.
McDonald’s, official partner of the Scottish FA Quality Mark Accreditation Scheme, will invest £100,000 in the scheme over the next three years as part of its ongoing commitment to grassroots football in Scotland. The scheme is part of McDonald’s long-standing partnership with the Scottish FA, which has also helped to create over 1,400 community coaches across Scotland since 2002.
Through the scheme, 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 scheme is supported by the Big Lottery Fund, which contributes to the employment of all Scottish FA club development staff, as well as discounted coach education and first aid courses for grassroots volunteers. The Big Lottery Fund is a key Scottish FA partner, contributing £6m to the delivery of the Scottish FA Youth Action Plan.
For further information on the Scottish FA Quality Mark programme, please visit www.scottishfa.co.uk