2010 Annual report - Scottish Football Association

03 off the field:
Initiatives
03 off the field:
Disciplinary
The Disciplinary Committee dealt
with its first case of Improper
Conduct involving simulation since
the introduction of new provisions
in season 2008/09 designed to
eradicate the scourge of the modern
game.
The incident occurred between
Rangers and Aberdeen at the end of
last year and involved a player, Kyle
Lafferty, feigning a head-butt injury
which resulted in an opposing player,
Charles Mulgrew, being incorrectly
dismissed.
Lafferty was found guilty and a
two-match suspension imposed in
accordance with the guidelines.
The department has also been
heavily involved in the development
of the disciplinary section of the Club
Extranet, which allows clubs to log in
and check disciplinary information for
all of their players.
The improvements made to the site
mean that clubs can now see a
summary of player suspensions and
points totals at all levels, from firstteam
squad to under-11s. A facility is
also in place for clubs to view what
act of misconduct was incurred in a
specific match.
National Youth Project
The National Youth Project exists to
support young players as they enter
into a full-time career in football.
They have overseen an expansion in
the courses undertaken by players
through a network of colleges,
schools and private training providers
who complement the delivery of
the Scottish Vocational Qualification
in Achieving Excellence in Sports
Performance at SVQ Level 3.
This season, 130 new candidates
entered the programme having
joined 20 full-time clubs in the SPL
and SFL. They join the existing
140 players who have moved
into the second year of
the programme. The
courses are at a level
appropriate to each
player and in a subject
area of their own choice,
ranging from Standard Grades and
Highers to modules in practical skills
at HNC and HND levels.
Leonardo da Vinci Programme
Eight Scottish clubs benefited from
the opportunity to have their youth
teams spend two weeks attending
training camps in this EU-funded
initiative.
Motherwell and Dundee travelled to
Cyprus, Hibernian and Queen’s Park
were in Portugal, Aberdeen were in
Spain, and Kilmarnock, St Mirren and
Rangers enjoyed first-class facilities in
Turkey.
The clubs enjoyed two training
session per day on high-quality
pitches and had full access to the
kind of facilities not readily available
during the winter months in Scotland.
The programme was an enriching
experience on sporting, educational
and cultural levels and the coaches
and players involved spoke of the
benefits of encountering different
scenarios, styles of football and
standards of opposition.
In addition, players developed
foreign language and, for some, a
first experience of the responsibilities
of independence away from their
families. The Scottish FA has already
submitted a bid for the continuation
of this initiative.
Security
Through the provision of grant
assistance to the Football Safety
Officers Association Scotland by
the Association and the Leagues,
more clubs now have Safety Officers
trained to SVQ Level 4 certification
than ever before. Five years’ ago
such competencies at Scottish Clubs
would never have been imagined.
This accreditation means not only
compliance with the requirements of
the recently published Fifth edition of
the Green Guide, but also provides
a measure of confidence to the
police commanders around the
country regarding the competencies
of the Safety Officers within our
Clubs. Through this initiative and the
improvements in the quality of the
Stewards being employed on match
days, who themselves now require
specific training for their role, it is to
be hoped that the balance of police
deployed at many matches will
decrease, with stewards undertaking
some of their previously identified
duties.
This, in turn, will provide economic
benefits to clubs, whilst at the same
time meeting a Scottish Government
expectation that more police officers
will be returned to what their primary
role is – more officers on our streets in
the various communities.
Department. Lead times from placing
an order to delivery can now be
some 15 to 18 months and our new
kit partner, adidas, was challenged
with providing a new design of
Scotland kit for our national teams in
under six months. At the same time,
our Kit Department was challenged
to manage the limited existing stock
of Diadora equipment for all of our
national teams at the various age
levels until the new adidas kit was
delivered.
Willie Neil and his colleagues, George
Boor and Brendan McIlduff, have
burnt the midnight oil on a number of
occasions ensuring that kit returned
by one team could be turned around
and re-cycled for another team
going out a week or so later.
Sports Medicine
The Sports Medicine Centre has
continued its expansion of service
provision to Scottish football, the
wider sporting community and the
general public.
The team of experts has been
recruited to offer support to the
Commonwealth Games in Delhi
this year, London’s Olympic Games
in 2012 and advance planning
has already been undertaken for
the Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow in 2014, in partnership with
sportscotland’s Institute of Sport.
complimentary service extended
to all Scottish Premier League and
Scottish Football League clubs.
More than 12,000 clients visited
the centre in the past year, which
represents a 13% increase in
attendance. The centre has also
cultivated a strong research and
educational relationship with
university and college student
teaching, offering project support
as well as tutorials and lectures for
doctors and physiotherapists.
The clinic continues to provide a wide
Citizenship Through Football
range of services to the Scottish FA,
2009 witnessed the first full year of
incorporating the national teams,
the Scottish FA’s involvement in
Early indications are that the first
referees, club licensing, Medical
the Citizenship Through Football
“police free games in Scotland” are
Committee and staff medicals. They
A new service is also being offered
project. Co-ordinated by Gavin
not far away. Scottish football will
are the major providers of Sports
to monitor the health and fitness of
Gray, who has been seconded
be watching this development with
First Aid training in Scotland with
football managers across the country
interest.
expansion of service to cover all
to work with the Scottish FA from
in an increasingly demanding and
amateur and junior clubs in Scotland
the Scottish Government, the “CTF
competitive environment.
The project received recognition in
Kit
and the versatility of the centre is
Project” Group met bi-monthly
November 2009 at the SQA award
exemplified by the support to the
under the Chairmanship of the SFA’s
The announcement of Scotland’s The ongoing partnership with the
ceremony in Edinburgh, where the
business community, Scottish Ballet,
Chief Executive, Gordon Smith, to
new kit supplier, adidas, in October, Scottish Government, University
NYP was presented with a Highly
Glasgow School of Sport and the
discuss with the various partners in
2009, following the departure
of Glasgow and Scottish FA has
Commended trophy for innovation in
Dance School of Scotland.
the project how football can help
from the football scene of our kit culminated in a free cardiac
delivery.
contribute in the development of
partner, Diadora, presented a set of screening programme for all active
better citizens.
challenges for the Association’s Kit 16-year-olds in Scotland, with the
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SCOTTISH FA
SCOTTISH FA
ANNUAL REVIEW 2010
ANNUAL REVIEW 2010 27