2007-08 Season - League Secretary's Report

by John Monk (Hon. Secretary)

It is a time of change for the AFC.  Jim Buttress, Chairman since the Combination was formed in 2002, is hanging up his gavel (or would be if he actually had one).  It is not possible to overestimate Jim’s contribution to AFA football in general and to the AFC in particular.  He first joined the Old Boys League Council as a Club Representative in 1979.  After spells as Assistant Secretary then Secretary he became Chairman of the Old Boys League in 1994.  It was largely due to Jim’s forward thinking, vision and drive that senior officers from the Southern Olympian League and the Old Boys League came together to plan the formation of the Combination.  It would be fair to describe him as one of the fathers of the AFC. 

I know how hard it has been for Jim to stand aside but there have been increasing calls on his time from horticulture, his other great passion, and the media.  TV and radio appearances have brought Jim’s wit to a wider audience and he is in much demand.  After all he has done for the competition he thoroughly deserves a rest – not that any of us expect Jim to fade into the background, he is not the sort of bloke who can go unnoticed.  He is about to become the fourth President of the AFC and I can’t think of a better tribute to his Chairmanship.  David Goldring is to take over the Chairman’s role and I wish him all the best, Jim is a hard act to follow!

Several other AFC Officers are also stepping down this year including Andy McClinton, Chairman of the Fixtures Committee.  Andy’s contribution to the AFC is remarkable because his Club, Old Wilsonians, left the AFC in 2004.  Nevertheless Andy took on a key role for the competition - the Fixtures Committee is truly in the engine room of the AFC - a fantastic commitment to our football.  Martin Sanders has been a long serving League Match Secretary working alongside Andy and the other Match Secretaries to organise fixtures week by week through the season.  Their efforts ensure the smooth running of the competition and Martin’s experience and organisation will be missed as he is taking a break.

David Demeza, Chairman of the Appeals Committee has been a very long serving league councillor.  Unlike Jim it would be easy to miss David in a room full of people.  He has had to face some tough issues as well in the appeals role and has always done so efficiently and without fuss.  David is taking a well earned rest as is Keith Brett who has been our Minutes Secretary from the start of the AFC.

2007-08 has also been my last year as Secretary.  I have had the role for 5 years and have thoroughly enjoyed serving the competition.  It has been fantastic to have the opportunity to take part in the development of the AFC since 2002 which has seen a wealth of innovative ideas, not least of which is the Spirit of Football campaign.  I have found the Secretary’s job to be very rewarding but also it has been very demanding, particularly in terms of my time.  Over the last five years we have made great improvements in the efficiency with which the competition is run but at the same time fewer volunteers have been coming forward to help do the work.  Inevitably this has lead to increasing amounts of administration having to be paid for and this trend looks set to continue.  We have a great competition and we must ensure that our administrative standards are not compromised in the future.  If this means that the competition must shift to a more professionally run basis – and by that I mean that more of the administrative work will have to be funded – then in my view that is a price worth paying to preserve the AFC and the Spirit of Football.

Danny McConnell is set to take over as Secretary having previously been ‘Assistant Secretary’.  I have always felt guilty about that because I am sure that Danny puts in more time than I do on AFC administration without, so it seems, recognition for that in his job title.  In Danny I know that I am handing over to a very competent, hard working and committed Secretary and I wish him all the best in the role.

It has been a season of change at the top of the Premier Division as well and many congratulations to Old Aloysians who managed to prise the trophy away from Meadonians and deny them a sixth successive championship.  Aloysians’ achievement is remarkable because in mid December they occupied one of the relegation places with 5 points from 5 games.  They turned it around in the second half of the season and had a fantastic finish playing 4 matches in 14 days and winning all of them to secure the title snatching it away from runners up Albanian at the last gasp.

It seems you cannot keep Meadonians out of the headlines though and their win in the AFA Senior Cup final, defeating Nottsborough 4-3 on penalties, must provide them with consolation.  Their reserve team have also played exceptionally well this season and achieved a league and cup treble winning the AFA Intermediate Cup, the AFA Middlesex / Essex Intermediate Cup and AFC Division Senior 1.  In fact it would have been a quadruple had they not been defeated by Parkfield in the final of the London Old Boys Intermediate Cup.  Certainly the club will remain a force to be reckoned with for some time to come !

Congratulations also to UCL Academicals who won the London Old Boys Senior Cup 3-2 on penalties having drawn with Senior One side Old Challoners 2-2 after extra time.  Commiserations to Challoners who did very well to reach the final.

Bob Coates has continued to wear various hats for the AFC.  As well as League Match Secretary and Referees Secretary, Bob Chairs the Constitution Committee which I have often thought is a thankless task.  Every season Bob and the Committee wrestle with the conundrum which is the AFC Constitution.  No matter what structure and content the team come up with there are always some teams and Clubs who aren’t happy with the outcome.  Still, the Committee soldiers on and well done to them for their continuing efforts. 

Interest in the AFC has never been higher.  At this year’s AGM six Clubs will be proposed as new members with several others having become associate members during the season.  Others are waiting in the wings hoping to become members in 2009.  They all want to join the AFC because they are looking for a well run competition which sets and maintains high standards of discipline, fair play and hospitality and they recognise these as key and enduring features of the AFC. 

Brian Watts and the Communications Committee have had a very busy year with three important pieces of work on their agenda.  Firstly they have been assessing software systems designed to handle football administration to see whether any of them might further improve efficiency.  At the time of writing the system developed by The Football Association seems the most promising which is good news because we can access it free of charge.  There has also been a successful trial in using SMS messaging to collect results on Saturdays for publication.

The second piece of work involves sponsorship.  Brian has worked hard in leading negotiations with ‘The Sports Shop’.  In return for promotion of their Company the AFC will receive sponsored kit for the representative team, support for the Spirit of Football campaign plus a wide range of heavily discounted kit available to AFC Clubs and Players.  The deal will help to keep the AFC subscriptions down and the Company are expecting to be at the AGM to answer questions on what they have to offer.

The communications committee also organised and co-ordinated a survey of AFC Clubs, referees, league officers and others this season.  The survey was the brainchild of Danny McConnell and the object was to provide feedback on the way the AFC runs.  We received nearly 300 replies to the survey and Danny prepared a report which has been widely circulated describing trends and conclusions from it.  The survey results also formed the basis of discussions at regional meetings with clubs held last month.  A huge amount of data has been collected and discussed and Danny is still working to analyse the results and sift out the key messages for the AFC. 

Rory Vermeulen and Fred Nuckey have had an outstanding year in running the representative team.  There was the programme of friendly matches during which our team won two, drew one and lost one.  The highlight of the season though has been the team’s success in the National League Systems Cup organised by The Football Association.  In the first round we defeated Bedfordshire Football League.  Next came Sussex County League and we eased through that tie to face a stern test away to Guernsey Football League in the quarter final – a hard fought and exciting match finally decided on penalties in our favour. 

This success set up a semi final against AFA rivals the Southern Amateur League who we drew with in a friendly earlier in the season.  AFC v SAL matches are always highly charged and well contested and this time the SAL came out on top defeating our team 0-2 and ending a great and exciting run in the competition.  The SAL went on to win the final and their success and that of the AFC has drawn the attention of a wide audience to the quality and standard of football being played within the AFA.  By winning the competition the SAL have earned the right to compete in a European tournament and I wish them good luck on behalf of the AFC in their travels.     

The Referees Committee under the Chairmanship of Bart O’Toole have continued their excellent work to recruit, develop and retain our referees.  There have been further opportunities this season to appoint assistants to senior matches although debates continue about whether this should become regular practice which would mean less neutral referees to go around elsewhere in the league. 

CRB checks for refs are still problematic with many referees CRB certifications expiring soon but no clear procedure emerging yet from the AFA on their renewal amidst hopes of an about turn on current legal advice that our sport is covered under child protection legislation.  

Of more significance is the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (SVGA) which is about to come into force and which could require club referees as well as AFC appointed referees to be CRB checked.  This depends on whether the Act is considered to apply to ‘open age’ football which includes our matches.  The situation is not clear and The FA is in discussion with the Government over the implications of the Act.  Pressure is being applied to The FA by many involved in amateur football worried about the possible effects on our game of a huge increase in bureaucracy without benefit to the legitimate aims of the Act in safeguarding vulnerable people. 

Miles Briggs and the Dinner Committee did a great job in organising the annual dinner which was held earlier this month.  Highlights were two AFC awards for more than 20 years service to their clubs which were presented to Ernie Gray of Old Kingsburians and Martin Armstrong of Old Suttonians.  The ‘Referees of the Year’ were John Cammell, John Harkin and Andrew MacRae. Many congratulations also to Old Paulines who won this years Spirit of Football award. 

Miles and his team have also been busy looking at alternative venues for future dinners.  This is because the cost of the event continues to be a concern.  Finding a suitable venue in central London which is reasonably priced has proved very difficult however but the search goes on.

There has been a welcome improvement this season in Club administration.  The barometer for administrative standards is the income the AFC receives from fines which has dropped substantially this year.  While this is to some extent a result of a relaxation in fining policy in some instances, without doubt it also reflects fewer administrative errors which make the jobs of league Officers easier so a big ‘thank you’ to those Clubs which have made an extra effort this year.

There is regrettably a downside to the 33% drop in income from fines.  It has given Treasurer Alan Robinson and the Finance Committee a headache in putting together a budget for the new season which balances.  Since the AFC was formed there has not been any increase in club and team subscriptions but this season subscriptions will have to go up if the books are to balance.  Alan and the Committee have looked at a variety of ways to reduce costs but the shortfall cannot be met without a rise in subscriptions.

2007-08 has been a very much happier year for discipline in the AFC.  Last season was disastrous – certainly the worst in the 6 year history of the AFC and discipline overshadowed my report last June.  While not entirely blemish free – the Discipline Committee chaired by David Goldring has interviewed two clubs about their discipline and investigated a variety of incidents -  there has been no repeat of the weekly (as it seemed) reports about serious and violent incidents which we were getting last year. 

I am sure that this trend has been hastened by the increasing momentum behind the Spirit of Football Campaign of which the AFC can be proud.  This season Rob Gibbs has set up a new Spirit of Football Committee to manage the campaign which has gone from strength to strength and has attracted interest from outside our football.  Rob has ensured that clubs are well represented on the committee.

In summary this has been a good year for the AFC - possibly our best yet in many respects and I would like to congratulate all involved in our football, league Officers, Club Officers, players and referees, for making my final year as Secretary a successful one.