Grass Roots Football Admin

With the bad weather upon us, there will be very little non-league football this weekend. So, what will your club be doing behind the scenes?

Well firstly, the players will be doing their keep fit stuff. But an awful lot of other stuff needs to be done as well. The unglamerous side is our dear friend “admin”. Yes, clubs have masses of paperwork to do. And guess what, as it’s done by volunteers, it usually isn’t done that well either. No, I’m not having a “pop” at anyone, just saying what I observe.

The admin people have a truly thankless task. Yet they get little help, and no praise. But lots of bollockings when things go awry.  If you have some spare time to donate, get hold of your local club and ask if you can help out. They are sure to “bite your hand off”. In many ways, it is better to help rather than give financial assistance.

What the average fan does not know is how wealthy the local governing FA bodies are. Let me use the Gloucestershire FA [GFA] as a classic example (only because they are on my doorstep).

Clubs get fined for incorrect or late paperwork. Players also get fined for every booking, sending off etc. All the fines go straight to the local FA authority. If you have never visited it, have a nose around the GFA headquarters. It is right next to the Almondsbury Town FC pitch. The GFA building is comparatively new, air conditioned, with lots of staff who all have their own networked computers. It’s a place you would be rightly proud to work in.

Now here’s the killer: It’s entirely funded by fines levied across local affiliated clubs . Yup wages included. The whole flippen lot. So that’s taking loads of money directly out of grass roots football clubs. It’s an awful lot of money.

Don’t get me wrong. There must a “fine” otherwise no paperwork would ever be submitted. But you have to admit that if players didn’t get booked as often, I’m particularly thing of dissent here, or clubs filed paperwork on time, then the money stays within the club. Surely that has to be good. Doesn’t it?? A simple direct way of your club having more disposable income. Sounds good to me.

But the fans do not know who the transgressors are. So how about public visibility and deduct points from the clubs concerned then?  Public embarrassment should ensure the clubs take their administration duties more seriously. Oh, silly me. The FA would then have to find funds elsewhere. Like out of all their TV money…….

Now we cannot have the FA leaving money in grass roots clubs now, can we…..