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AGM 2024
NORTHERN COUNTIES SCHOOLS FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 2024
held on Monday 10 June at the Hare and Hounds Pub in Rothwell, Leeds.at 7pm
present were
Cheshire John Clark, Cumbria Paul Tickner
Cleveland Simon Carey Durham Keith Gilbertson, Alan Johnston,
Greater Manchester Matt Broadhead Lancashire Michael Timberlake
Merseyside Eric Lang. Northumberland Neil Pont , Nigel Shields
North Yorkshire John Wharton, South Yorkshire Chris Truelove, John Cotterill-Bolsovan
Staffordshire apologies West Yorkshire Tom Walton,
Secretary Peter Tracey Treasurer David Balme
1 Welcome.The Chairman, Simon Carey (Cleveland) welcomed all present to the meeting and commented warmly on his year in Office. He made special mention of the co-operation from colleagues and his pleasure at attending such very good finals as we had this season.
2 Apologies for absence were received from Merseyside Girls (Jolene Murray), Greater Manchester Girls (Rosie Emerson), Life member Chris Newman, Alan Woodhead, and Geoff Wainwright (Durham).
3 The minutes of the AGM 2023 were read and approved as a true record.
4 Matters arising. The secretary agreed that the new rules regarding fixture compliance might require a sanction to enforce them, and that this might be looked into during the season about to start.
5. Secretary Report season 23-24. The report had been circulated and was well received. There followed a discussion on the management of events going forward and it was agreed that the option to appoint a Secretary,(on a revised job description), with three Competition Organisers (job specification as outlined in Secretary report), be adopted. Accordingly,
NCSFA Secretary will be Eric Lang of Merseyside
Competition Organisers will be
For Girls Under 14 and 16 Phil Eastwood of Lancashire
For Boys Under 14 and 16 Simon Carey of Cleveland
For Boys Under 18, Keith Gilbertson of Durham.
Record of Competitions for season 2023-24 was as follows
- Under 14 Girls. at Cheadle FC on 25 May. Greater Manchester 2 v 1 Durham
- Under 16 Girls. at Stockport Sports Village on 27 May. Greater Manchester 1 v 0 Lancashire
- Under 14 Boys. at The Cliff on June 12. Greater Manchester 4 v 2 Merseyside.
- Under 16 Boys. The Prothero Cup at Darwen FC on 19 May. Lancashire 4-0 Durham
- Under 16 Boys Cup. at Washington on 4 May Durham 4-2 aet South Yorkshire
- Under 18 Boys The Malcolm Berry Cup at Bishop Auckland FC on 6 May. Durham 2-0 Cleveland
- Under 18 Boys The Geoff Jennet Cup at Morpeth Town FC on 2 May Northumberland 3-1 Cheshire
The Secretary had indicated clearly his wish to step down from the post and thanked all for the support he had received. The succession would be dealt with in a later item.
6 Treasurer Report.
David Balme detailed the Income and expenditure items throughout the season. The financial year runs to the end of July but it was, nevertheless, possible to show that; our Income was affected by the loss of Capelli Sponsorship (-£3000); that the ESFA Grant of £2000 should arrive very shortly; that with bank interest added to affiliation and competition fees , and the addition of Current and Reserve account balances we had an Income total of £9, 298.
On the expenditure side, it was agreed that NCSFA would pay mitigation amounts to Home teams in Finals with full payment for Officials, and home ground hire costs. C £2000
For away teams, travel costs to semi final and final ties would be met at 50%. This would mean Mitigation Costs paid would be £5224. Other costs, such as medals and trophies, and other expenses, resulted in total expenditure of £6156.59.
Given the balances in the Current account and the reserve account, NCSFA can start the next season with available funds of £9844.54.
It was Proposed and Agreed that:
Affiliation Fees for 24-25 stay at the same level, £125 per county
Competition entry fees per team will stay at the same level.. £20 per team.
David was thanked for his authoritative presentation and for his work on the behalf of NCSFA.
7 Election of Officers for season 2024-25
Chairman Paul Tickner Cumbria
Secretary Eric Lang Merseyside
Competition Organisers
Girls Phil Eastwood Lancashire
Boys 14/16 Simon Carey. Cleveland
Boys 18 Keith Gilbertson. Durham
Treasurer David Balme
Hon Auditor Chris Newman
CWO Alan Johnston
Web site editor Neil Pont.
8 Proposals received.
i. A proposal from Greater Manchester and seconded by Merseyside was discussed .
“Counties to be allowed to name and use up to 18 players in a squad for matches at all age groups”.
The proposal was defeated on the grounds that NCSFA always follows the ESFA rules, which allow only 5 subs in a match.
ii. A second proposal from Greater Manchester and seconded by Merseyside was discussed .
“should a county cancel a fixture twice because of weather or pitch conditions, the opponents should have the option of arranging the fixture”.
It was agreed that this was a matter that did not require a change to our rules, but that it would best be dealt with by the new Competition Organisers, as they saw fit.
9 Competition Arrangements for 24-25
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i) Entries received |
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14 G |
16G |
14B |
16B |
16B Cup |
18B |
18B cup |
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Cheshire |
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X |
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Cleveland |
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Cumbria |
X |
X |
X |
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X |
X |
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Durham |
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Gr Manchester |
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X |
X |
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Lancashire |
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Merseyside |
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X |
X |
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Northumberland |
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North Yorkshire |
x |
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x |
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X |
X |
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South Yorkshire |
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Staffordshire |
X |
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X |
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X |
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West Yorkshire |
X |
X |
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X |
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Total entries |
8 |
8 |
7 |
10 |
10 |
7 |
7 |
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ii) Agreed format |
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14Girls |
West |
Cheshire. GM. Mersey. Lancs |
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Home and away |
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East |
North. Durham. Cleveland, S Yorks |
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Home and away |
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16 Girls |
West |
Cheshire. GM. Mersey. Lancs |
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Home and away |
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East |
North. Durham. Cleveland, S Yorks |
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Home and away |
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14 Boys |
West |
GM. Mersey. Lancs |
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Home and away |
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East |
North. Durham. Cleveland, S Yorks |
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Home and away |
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16 Boys |
West |
Cheshire. GM. Mersey. Lancs. |
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Home and away |
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East |
North. Durham. Cleveland, Cumbria. N Yorks. S Yorks. League x1 fixture |
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18 Boys |
West |
S Yorks. Lancs. Staffs. Cheshire |
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Home and away |
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East |
North'd. Durham. Cleveland (2?). |
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Home and away |
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It was agreed that the Knock out Cups be drawn on an open basis. Competition Organisers to sort.
Cleveland Schools wish to enter both an A Team and an Alpha Team at Under 18
Merseyside raised the matter of possible knock out cup formats for Under 14 and 16 Girls. No agreement was reached but a further enquiry to each County might help resolve this query. Is there a demand and capacity for this?
iii) a reminder of the fixture requirement that
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All teams to have completed two fixtures before Christmas |
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All qualifying matches to be completed by end February |
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iv) Use of Sin Bins
The meeting discussed this matter in the light of developments at an NCSFA fixture in the season just finished. After discussion and some searching on the Smart phones available, it was agreed that:
Temporary dismissals (to a sin bin) are now encoded within the Laws of the game under IFAB regulations, and that the Referee of any match has the power and authority to make use of such measures as a Temporary Dismissal for any breach of the laws, for a short period of time described in the Laws of the game
v) Cup Final Venues for 2025
Finals to be hosted by semi Final winners as follows
U14 Girls. Winner of East v West semi final
U16 Girls East v West
Under 14 Boys West v East
Under 16 Boys West v East
Under 18 Boys West v East
vi) Expectations and Standards.
The meeting endorsed the expectations for all NCSFA matches, as follows
1) That the best possible venue be arranged, and publicised.
2) That all visiting County teams be well received with a warm welcome,
3) That staff and players etc. be well accommodated after a long journey,
4) That post-match there should be refreshments provided for the visitors,
5) That a programme showing the details of the match, and our CWO, be produced
6) That names of match sponsors be well promoted.
7) That competent, qualified Match Officials be appointed and confirmed.
10) Open Forum
The meeting touched upon, but made no decisions on, whether we should look to introduce a Competition Framework for Under 15 Boys. Several ideas were floated as well as tentative offers, but no firm decision was reached. This may be a matter for further thought and development as the new season develops..
11 Chairman for Season 2024-25
Paul Tickner of Cumbria took the chair and was welcomed by the meeting.
12 Any Other Business
Simon Carey rose to give a vote of thanks to Peter Tracey, retiring after 17 seasons as secretary, and presented him with a framed picture, bought from the donations made by every county member of ESFA. It is a beautiful landscape picture of part of the Northumberland Coast. It was very well received. Thank you all.
PMT.
June 13 2024