Glenburn get SFA mark of quality

Oct 15 2008 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

A LOCAL football club have been issued with the mark of quality.

Glenburn United, who are based in Airdrie, recently received the SFA’s Quality Mark accolade.

The award is given to clubs who meet specific criteria in relation to management, administration, player and coach development and planning and welfare.

The scheme is part of a youth action plan which supports initiatives at grass-roots level.

Glenburn, who are only in their fourth season, are members of the Lanarkshire Youth Football Association.

Head coach Ian Black said the club were delighted at what they have so far achievedr.

He said: “The Scottish Youth Football Association are trying to get every club to become a Quality Mark club.

“We worked for over a year in making sure all the paperwork was sorted and eventually handed in the folder in May.

“It is quite a hands-on project and there are free workshops available which provide assistance for your case.

“You also have to be a member of Monklands Sports Council.”

“Our four coaches are all SFA-accredited, we have first-aid trainers and a child protection officer. These things are all part of the overall criteria.”

He added: “We were delighted to get the award. It is a feather in your cap and it shows you are on the right path and doing the right things.

“Getting the Quality Mark certificate means we can have the use of things like an SFA minibus that we used to take the boys down to Silloth in Cumbria recently.

“We went camping and played a game against a youth team from down there.”

Ian admitted his players have yet to hit the ground running this term but is hopeful about the club’s prospects.

He added: “We have achieved a lot in such a short space of time given that we are only four years old.

“We just have the one squad, the under-14s, and 16 players on our books, which is the ideal number to have.

“We finished seventh in our league last season and we would like to do better than that this season.

“At the moment we are third-bottom but you can see the training is helping the boys.

“We brought in six new players during the summer and the team is still very much a work in progress. But we know we are heading in the right direction.”