Royal Air Force Football Association Annual Trustees Report

Royal Air Force Football Association Annual Trustees Report 2012-13

Royal Air Force FA Chairman s Foreword Group Captain Simon Harper I am delighted to have the opportunity to write this foreword to the Annual Trustees Report and to reflect on another busy and a highly successful year for RAF Football. As the following articles will highlight, RAF Football is currently enjoying a period of unprecedented success. In addition to being the Inter-Service Champions for a record 6 successive seasons, the Senior Representative Team has the unique accolade of being both RAF Sports Team of the Year and Combined Services Sports Team of the Year. We remain the largest participation sport in the RAF and the RAF Cup and Festival of Football remain exemplars of Inter-Station competitions. Over 2% of RAF personnel have a footballrelated qualification delivered by RAF Football and we have players, coaches and referees involved in the highest forms of the national game. This season, the primary focus of the Trustees will be to ensure that our Senior Representative Team and Ladies Representative Team win their respective Inter-Service competitions and that the Development Squad continues to provide the opportunity to grow and showcase our emerging talent. The Trustees will take forward work across our 3 pillars of Excellence, Participation, and Community to provide opportunities for as many personnel as possible to be involved in football. Excellence Success across our Representative Teams remains our enduring effort and we will set the conditions for this while recognising the quality and commitment of our players, coaches and officials. The move towards a more modern and professional coaching and mentoring approach to player and coach development has provided the necessary winning margin in recent years. However, the changing way in which the Sports Board is funded and decreasing sponsorship revenue requires us to fund what we need rather than what we want and to cut our cloth accordingly. Thus, we will bring the necessary rigour and justification to our future spending plans in order to attract the necessary financial support from the Sports Board and from our sponsors. Participation Football is the largest participation sport in the RAF and we will continue to provide the opportunities for as many personnel as possible to be involved with football in line with the FA s National Game Strategy and the RAF Strategy for Sport. We will continue to offer a range of coaching and other football-related courses maintaining our target of training and developing circa 600 personnel per year. Turning to competitions, the Festival of Football and RAF Cup remain the RAF s premier inter-station competitions and the Trustees are committed to ensuring that both retain their relevance to the changing shape and geographical footprint of the RAF. We also look to reinvigorate Ladies grassroots football and to provide a blueprint that delivers a sustainable future for this critical part of the game. Community Across the UK, the RAF provides invaluable support to the local community through football. While we are very good at providing facilities to local clubs and many of our personnel our involved in supporting football in the community, we are less good at highlighting the fact. We will continue to use every opportunity to strengthen our links. By doing so, we emphasize the unique nature of RAF Football s contribution as a County FA through our critical capabilities of geographical location, flexibility of approach and quality of delivery. Through this activity, RAF Football will continue to meet its core remit by making a direct and positive contribution to the RAF s operational capability by promoting fitness, teamwork, and improving morale.

Royal Air force Representative Team Football Wg Cdr Keith Watt Progress occurs when courageous, skilful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better. Harry S Truman Over the last few seasons, during my tenure as the Director of Representative Teams, I have reflected on our successes. Those successes have been driven by the unswerving professionalism of both the players and the staff who support them. This report remains littered with success, but the the major theme for the 2012-2013 Season and thus this Report, will be that of change. There are lots of change management narratives at play in the modern Royal Air Force and I often used to say during my time that the only constant I ever saw in my 22 years was change. But as Truman said so well in my opening quote, change can (and should) been seen as an opportunity. Much of what came about in Season 12-13 centres around change and our collective attitude to overcoming the challenges that such change brings with it. Despite its substantial cost, the use of St Georges Park as an Inter-Service training facility, proved invaluable in the preparation for the Team s defence of their Inter-Service crown. The use of St Georges Park had additional benefits: it provided excellent PR for the RAF FA, and the RAF was the first Service sports team to use the facility; the conduct and professionalism of the SRT was commented on by senior FA representatives; and RAF FA coaching standards were in full view of National FA Coaching Staffs. The SRT retained the Inter-Service title for an unprecedented 6th time extending their historic record. Opportunity was seized with both hands. The commencement of the season saw the Senior Representative Team (SRT) affected by the retirement of many of the players who had worked so hard for 5 seasons to set history. That effort takes its toll and not only on the players as only one member of the previous season s backroom staff elected to stay. The SRT therefore underwent a complete rebuild. It took time for the new staff and players to build an understanding and this resulted in a staccato start to the season. However, slowly these new players and staff embraced the opportunity offered and the season improved. The Men s Development Squad operates with 2 main objectives each and every season. First, and most importantly, it is the breeding ground for new players, players who are developed to be good enough to supply the SRT. The second is to win the relatively newly created U-23 Inter-Service title. I mentioned earlier the new SRT staff. Those came in the main from the Development Squad as they seized the opportunity on offer to step up to the senior team. That opportunity meant wholesale changes for the Development Squad and the need then to appoint a new General Manager and a complete change in staff when the Head Coach and his team stepped up. Although the Squad were

ultimately unsuccessful in their quest to win the title, losing to both the Army and Navy, they were able to provide the SRT with 5 players who featured in their starting Inter-Service squad. Over the course of the season the staff looked at 85 players, given the opportunity to impress, from a variety of recruitment initiatives that the Squad has in place. These initiatives remain in place and will set the tone for future seasons. The LRT returned with their focus firmly fixed on winning the Inter-Service title that had eluded them for the previous 3 years. The first game saw the LRT play at home to the Royal Navy and after a fantastic performance they emerged victors, winning 3-1. The second game, away at Aldershot against the Army, proved to be a more difficult challenge and, despite some strong individual performances from the defence, the ladies lost 3-0. The highlight of the season was though without doubt the 1-1 draw with England School Boys, with a superb display of passion and professionalism that saw the Squad out play a very skilful England Team. In addition, the Presidents Cup win against the Netherlands Air Force rounded off the season on a real high point. The Ladies Representative Team (LRT) managed to attract a much larger pool of players, bringing more depth and flexibility to the squad. This was excellent news and the start of a consolidated campaign by RAF FA to grow the ladies game. Opportunity arose further for many of the players when a pre-season training camp was held at the United States Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), on the east coast of Oahu, one of the 8 islands of Hawaii. Notwithstanding the current high operational tempo this Tour provided a once in a lifetime opportunity for all. At the end of the season another staff change took place and for the first time in their history, the LRT have a female at the helm. Cpl Michelle Harvey- Perkins has assumed the mantle of Team Manager after enjoying numerous seasons as a player and team captain. Her first game as gaffer saw the LRT face off against the Australian Defence Force (ADF) at RAF Cosford in April 13. It was a strongly contested and physical match, with some outstanding individual performances by the RAF, who walked away triumphant in a 3-1 win; notably the only ladies team across Defence to defeat the ADF throughout their tour of the UK. The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. Ayn Rand Our Teams have faced a number of changes in Season 2012-13 but rather than be beaten by them they have been determined to see these changes as opportunities to regenerate and renew. Our skilful leaders have seized these opportunities and I remain convinced that RAF football remains at the top of that ladder of success.

Royal Air Force Football - Director of Communication Report Flt Lt Garf Parker number of matches covered from grass roots upwards but also help nurture new members of the communication team to allow talent to be identified and tasked accordingly. The Communication Team faced a difficult time during the 12-13 period with numerous changes of personnel enforced due to other commitments. However, through development of good links with the Air Media Centre and professional Communications representatives at Shrewsbury Town FC the Inter-Services home fixture for the men SRT ran smoothly and provides a baseline for develop of the communication strategy for the RAF FA. Establishment of better links with Forces media such as BFBS and the RAF News have been pushed to ensure that regular updates are pushed to the wider audience and articles written by the Communications Team and other members of the RAF FA for the RAF Challenge Cup, Inter-Services and White Cup have all been published. Additionally, the enhancement of the links with BFBS has seen a pro-active stance taken to ensure BFBS are fully aware of the full programme of RAF Football to allow them to decide which matches they wished to cover. Future Plans Through the utilisation of online media, the RAF FA web page, Facebook sites and investigation into the use of Twitter, we have seen the FA s message pushed whenever possible. The expansion of the Communications Team is well advanced with a new Director of Communication recruited and aspirations to produce a corporate branded set of RAF FA press releases, e-bulletins, match report templates and other templates to support the professional approach of supporting the FA s HQ element and the representative teams. The FA s e-circle bulletins are being looked at as a medium that could work for the RAF FA but alternative styles are also being progressed as there is likely to be insufficient resources available to enable production of a monthly publication. Work on the production of a communications guide and match reporting framework are well advanced and will be circulated to assist in the development of a team of match reporters. This approach is hoped to bring the benefits of both increasing the

Royal Air Force Director of Football Delivery Flt Lt Martin Blagojevic It is the role of the Director of Football Delivery (through his Regional Directors) to ensure that every opportunity is available for servicemen to participate in RAF Football be it the RAF Challenge Cup or the Inter- Regional Competition. The RAF Challenge Cup Last Season The RAF Challenge Cup and Plate competition remains the premier football competition. Last season s competition involved 29 teams and the Champions League format saw the top team in each group competing for the Cup whilst the runners up played in the Plate Competition. The Cup Final (held at RAF Cranwell) saw RAF Coningsby crowned RAF Cup champions for only the third time in their history. Despite a well contested final, the influence of Senior Representative Players was telling, particularly the Man of the Match (SAC Debnam) and saw Coningsby succeed against a strong RAF Lossiemouth side (2-0). In the Plate Final, RAF Brize Norton took on RAF Linton-on-Ouse in a David vs Goliath contest that resulted in a RAF Brize Norton win (4-0). Whilst Brize Norton were deserved victors, the score line belied a spirited performance by RAF Linton-on-Ouse. A look ahead to next season and beyond In the post SDSR period, we strive to maintain the RAF Cup as the premier inter-station competition. In order to do so, we must ensure its relevance to the changing shape and the geographical footprint of the RAF. At the end of the 2013-14 season, the Director of Football Delivery will conduct a formal review of the RAF Cup format to determine as to whether it remains fit for purpose and to consider recommendations accordingly. This will be considered by the RAF FA Board of Trustees prior to the commencement of the 2014-15 Season. The Inter-Region Trophy (The White Cup Sep 12) Last year s White Cup was moved to midweek and took place over an extended 3 day period. The aims of the competition were threefold: to provide an opportunity to identify new and emerging talent, to enable station players to compete at a higher playing standard and to develop coaching staff and identify coaches for the future. The additional day was to allow Richard Horner, FA Regional Coach Development Manager, to deliver a classroom/pitch-based coaching session; this was attended by more than 50 players from across the four regions. The session challenged individuals thinking about training and decision making before and during games, it also gave the Football Development Officer an opportunity to recruit coaches by extolling the benefits of gaining qualifications at a younger age. Part of the classroom session included watching and assessing part of the RAF Senior Representative Team match against the Army in the recent Inter-Service fixture.

Notwithstanding the overall aim of the competition, the players objective was to win the White Cup. The fiercely contested final between the North and Central regions saw the North emerging victors after a narrow 2-1 win. Their gritty determination was underpinned by great attitude; illustrated none more so than by player/manager Cpl Stephen Bradley, who was instrumental in his Region winning their first ever White Cup. A look ahead to next season and beyond Originally established as the window of opportunity for station players who were worthy of consideration for the RAF Development Squad or the Senior Representative Team, the competition has evolved considerably over the past few years as evinced by the inclusion of the FA delivered coaching session. The RAF FA s intent is to further develop the three-day event by including a Senior Representative fixture on the second day of the competition and to introduce the Regional Scouting Network at the White Cup in September 2013.

Royal Air Force Football Development Mr John Duff Football Development Department Board of Trustees Report - 2013 2013 has been another very busy year for the Football Development (FD) Department. The FD Department delivered 29 football related courses throughout the year, attracting 640 students. RAF FA courses are open to all military personnel (irrespective of Service), MOD Civil Servants, Air Training Corp (adult instructors) and adult RAF dependents. All our courses are authorised by the RAF Sports Board. Investing in the future of RAF Football Coaches and Tutors FA Level 4 (UEFA A Licence) European Coaching Qualification: The FD Department financed one of our high calibre L3 (UEFA B ) Coaches to achieve this prestigious coaching qualification. We currently have another B licence coach midway through the 3 year course with the Football Association and another coach has just been accepted to attend the 3 x day A Licence pre-selection course which hopefully, will see him start his A licence training during 2014. The European A Licence Coaching Certificate is the pinnacle of football coaching and puts individuals on a par with their professional game counterparts. FA Level 3 (UEFA B Licence) European Coaching Qualification: The FD Department financed one of our high calibre L2 Coaches to achieve this high coaching qualification. We currently have another 2 high calibre L2 coaches undergoing UEFA B training with the Football Association. These coaching qualifications have been a key element in underpinning the unprecedented success of the RAF Senior Representative Team (SRT) who in March 2013 retained the Inter Services Championship Trophy for the 6 th consecutive year, a new record for the tournament which was started in 1919. Football Association Coach Educators (Tutors): In conjunction with the Football Association the FD Department identified and financed 2 high calibre RAF Coach Educators (Tutors) to be trained as FA Youth Award Module Tutors which enabled us to deliver 3 FA Youth Award Module Courses (2 x module 1 and 1 x module 2) during 2013 attracting a total 78 x students. Identifying high calibre individuals, supporting and encouraging them through long and difficult courses is vital to the future health and success of RAF Football. Therefore, only individuals with the correct experience, ability, dedication, determination and perhaps most importantly, time left to serve in the RAF are selected to attend these expensive courses to ensure RAF FA receives a long return for its investment. FA Qualified Coaches - Continued Professional Training (CPD): To ensure all current RAF qualified coaches comply with the FA s annual CPD requirement for their licensed coaches, the RAF FA organised 3 CPD events during 2013 to give all our coaches the opportunity to achieve their mandatory annual CPD hours.

The Football Association (FA) - Chartered Standard Football Club Award - This award is the FA s kite mark of quality and indentifies and rewards Football Clubs that are being run in accordance with FA guidelines for running clubs. To achieve the award, RAF units must prove they are following the FA s strict code of conduct. Once a unit achieves the award, it has to complete an annual health check with the Football Development Officer to ensure the high standards are being maintained. The RAF currently has 25 units holding the FA quality kite mark which is a highly notable achievement. Moreover, this number of charter standard clubs highlights the professional attitude towards the sport that pervades RAF Football, from the grass roots teams to the representative squads. List of FA Approved Football Courses Delivered by RAF FA During 2013 Course Male Females FA Level 1 Coaching Course (3 x days) 4 78 2 FA Level 2 Coaching Course (6 x days) 1 28 0 FA Level 2 Compulsory Training (1 x day) 2 35 1

FA Level 2 Final Assessment (2 x days) 1 18 0 FA Youth Award Module1 (4 x days) 2 55 2 FA Youth Award Module2 (4 x days) 1 23 0 FA Safeguarding Children (3 x hours) 6 121 2 FA Basic First Aid for Sport (2 x days) 2 29 4 FA Emergency Pitch-side First Aid (3 x hours) 4 88 2 FA Basic Referee Course (4 x days) 2 33 0 Coaching CPD Events (1 x day) 3 40 0 Coaching Seminar (1 x day) White Cup 1 69 0 Sub Totals 29 617 23 Total Number of Students 640 RAF FA - Football Tournaments 2013 In addition to the 3 well established Inter-Station Football Leagues and the annual RAF Inter Station Cup Competition, RAF FA introduced two 1 day annual football tournaments to increase the opportunity for individuals to represent their unit in a competitive football environment. RAF Festival of Football This tournament continues to grow in popularity. The tournament was first introduced into the RAF calendar in 2007 to provide an opportunity for the RAF football community to get together annually. The festival is held as a 5-a-side indoor tournament at the fabulous 8 indoor pitch facility at the Derby Soccerdome. The festival attracts 48 teams from 36 RAF units and establishments across the UK. The tournament has exceeded all expectations with over 500 personnel turning up for this extremely popular annual event. RAF Inter Station Veterans (over 35) Tournament This tournament was first introduced into the RAF calendar in 2009 to provide an opportunity for over 35 s to be able to represent their units at football. The tournament is held annually at RAF Brize Norton.

Royal Air Force FA HQ Report Mr Vince Williams Although we are seeing a decrease in the RAF population the 2012-13 season remained a very busy time for RAF FA HQ as we remain the focal point and support centre for all RAF football matters. It now 7 years since the RAFFA HQ was set up and the original three staff all remain in post and I am pleased to report all still enjoying the job. We continue to be supported by The FA, RAF Sports Board and our Sponsors, our thanks to them for providing the financial platform that ensures we can deliver all that we do. The FA fund the staff, provide IT, systems, training and ticket opportunities whilst the RAF FA assist in the delivery of the National Game Strategy. During the 2012-13 season the RAF FA was invited to the new and impressive St Georges Park facility where David Sheepshanks CBE, Chairman of SGP, personally gave us a tour before we met members of the England football team. This was followed by the RAF Senior Representative side hiring the facilities for its pre Inter-Service training camp at SGP. We do our best to support FA events and in this two-way partnership it is good to see that The FA remains committed to military football and I hope they see a good return from the RAF FA. The RAF FA staff work to support all the Associations areas which in turn provide everyone in the RAF with the opportunity to be involved with football whether that is playing, coaching, refereeing or on the administration side and one key point is that RAF football individuals provide much for their civilian football communities which is probably more visible then what is seen within the military football walls. We continue to support the various military Leagues whilst running the RAF Cup and White Cup which provide excellent competition for Station footballers. With RAFFA HQ based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire the past year has seen RAF FA HQ continue to develop good relationships with our neighbouring County FAs with RAF FA Tutors assisting with the delivery of courses, coaches involved with civilian clubs, matches being refereed and myself sitting on Oxfordshire FA Disciplinary hearings. It was a pleasure to be involved with the organising and hosting of the Australian Defence Force tour to the UK in April 2013. A total of 65 individuals made up their three teams (Mens, Ladies and Veterans) with their base being RAF Cosford. The ADF played matches were played against the three UK Services and also the Combined Services as well as having

tours of Wembley Stadium, St Georges Park and a cultural & historical visit to Portsmouth Docks. A successful tour in which the RAF FA played a significant role and we note our invitation to tour down under and take part in the ADF Football Carnival sometime in the future. On the administration and communication front this past year has seen the RAF FA develop its Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) site, this offers excellent visibility and access to documents for everyone on DII and covers all areas of the Association s business. This works well alongside our website and a forthcoming improvement that we are looking forward to is the DII upgrade which will enable the website (www.royalairforcefa.com) to be accessible to all military users. Royal Air Force Football Referees Report Flt Lt Danny McGinley The season 2012 / 2013 has been a busy and successful year for the Royal Air Force Football Referees. With 125 registered referees across the varying levels matches up and down the country have been covered with a qualified referee and in some cases also with two assistant referees. This includes matches from local service leagues to the RAF Cup. This figure is an increase of 27 officials from the previous year which is a positive sign that more and more individuals are taking up football refereeing. We continue to monitor and be flexible in our work practices to try and keep everything efficient and up to date, with contacts and distribution lists being a key and time consuming area due to the nature of military postings and turnover this is always an uphill battle. To help the RAF FA HQ work on both military and FA based servers to provide the easiest and widest possible coverage. All in all it has been another productive year for the RAF FA HQ and whilst the future holds many challenges we are looking forward to doing our bit to maintain the success of RAF football. Of the 125 registered officials this includes 15 referees at the senior level (Level 4 and above) and with a constant flow of basic referee courses, promotion seminars and through-season mentoring it is our hope that more and more of our aspiring referees will reach this senior level. The Referees Committee is committed to ensuring not only the recruitment of new referees but the retention of current officials. However, it is the commitment and work ethos of all RAF Football referees that make the RAF refereeing community what it is.

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 May 2013

Royal Air Force FA FA Council Member Wg Cdr Neil Hope MBE RAFR The FA, of which the RAF FA is a County member has a Council which effectively looks after the running of football at all levels in England. This Council sits 4 times annually at Wembley Stadium and consists of 122 Council members from across the County FA s, Professional game and other diverse areas. The Council decide on all matters across football utilising a set of separate committees answering to the National Game Board and FA Board. The current RAF FA Council Member is Wg Cdr Neil Hope MBE. Neil has sat on the FA Council since November 2008 and sits on 4 FA Committees. He is the Vice Chairman of the Football Development Committee and also sits on the Youth, Disability and Rules and Registrations Committees. As such he is heavily involved, on behalf of the FA and RAF FA in the running of many essential areas of English football. The RAF is considered to be an essential cog in the workings of the FA through the work completed on its behalf through Neil and also through the exceptional work completed by Vince Williams, John Duff and Sheila Haining at the RAF FA HQ at RAF Brize Norton. In addition to his work on behalf of the RAF FA with the FA Neil is also the man that runs the Taking Football to Africa and Beyond Appeal. The Appeal began in May 2006 with the intention of collecting unwanted football shirts and re-distributing them to Africa. The appeal has become a huge success and has delivered 73280 items including 25542 football shirts to 43 countries worldwide to date. The appeal has also become a conduit for service personnel to take part in the annual distribution visits to Kenya, where the vast majority of the kits end up in the slum towns of Kibera, Kibagare, Gilgil and Mathare. Kits continue to come in from clubs and people across the UK, including huge donations from the FA (England Umbro kit, County FA s (especially Sheffield & Hallamshire FA), Aston Villa, QPR, Manchester United, Shrewsbury Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers as well as many teams from grass roots level up.

Royal Air Force Football - Sponsors

The Royal Air Force Football Association (a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales ) Company no. 06641135 Registered office: Alexandra House, St Johns Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 2SB. HQ Offices: RAF FA, RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire OX18 3 LX Registered Charity no. 11 29 4 60. Royal Air Force Football Association Trustee Report 2012-2013 Printed by the Air Media Centre. Produced by Flt Lt Garf Parker GCGI MCMI RAF Deputy Director of Communications RAF FA