Birmingham County Football Association

Birmingham County Football Association
Motto "At the heart of football,
in the heart of the country"
Formation 1875
Purpose Football Association
Headquarters Ray Hall Lane
Location
Chief Executive
 Mike Pennick
Website Official Website

The Birmingham County Football Association, also simply known as Birmingham FA, is the governing body of football in the counties of West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The Birmingham FA run 13 cup competitions at different levels for teams in the West Midland region. The County Football Association was formed in 1875 and was affiliated with just 10 teams, now they are affiliated with 2,500 clubs.

Birmingham FA’s representative teams gives the region’s most talented players the opportunity to benefit from competitive football amongst others of similar ability. In the 2009–10 season Birmingham FA’s under 18’s representative squad lifted The FA County Youth Cup

Birmingham FA’s award-winning Development Scheme provides opportunities for everyone to get involved in grassroots football by playing, coaching or volunteering. The work carried out in the girls and women’s game earned Birmingham FA an FA Football Development Award in 2002.

Birmingham FA register over 1500 referees to ensure that fair play is observed by all—from Parks to the Premiership. The Referee department work closely with The FA’s Regional Manager for Referees to highlight the role of the Referee and the important part they play in maintaining a fair, enjoyable game. The department also are working towards TheFA’s National Game Strategy of recruiting 8000 new referees nationally by 2012.

Recently the County FA gained the Foundation Level of Equality Standard, an award that recognises an organisations commitment to Equality. The Standard is the industry benchmark for equality and is recognised by the Sports Councils for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The achievement was the culmination of 12 months hard work, involving promoting and enhancing equality and maintaining appropriate conduct and behaviour which the BCFA conducted collectively.

History

The Association was formed back in 1875 following a request from 10 teams wanting to play within a structured environment – these days, the Association now boasts over 4500 Teams, playing in over 50 leagues from the region’s 7 professional clubs to the grassroots entry level of U7 for Mini Soccer. In addition there are hundreds more playing Futsal or small sided football at dedicated centres.

The county boundary is vast, extending beyond just Birmingham, to encompass the Black Country, Coventry, North and South Warwickshire, Burton, Tamworth plus other parts of Staffordshire and Worcestershire.[1]

County Cup Competitions

Birmingham County F.A have had a history of hosting county cup competitions, with the Birmingham Senior Cup being the longest serving cup in the county dating back to 1875/76 season and is currently still being played.

Birmingham County FA organises 13 Cup Competitions, providing all Member Clubs with the opportunity to compete on a County-wide basis, outside of their regular league programme.

Each category of football is catered for from Girls to Veterans, with competitions also playing a vital part in Referee Development. All of the finals are either played at BCFA Headquarters or Semi-Professional Grounds around the County whilst the Senior Cup Final is played at one of the local Professional Club Grounds.[2]

Current competitions

CompetitionHolders (2013–14)
Birmingham Senior CupWest Bromwich Albion
Birmingham Saturday VaseCadbury Athletic
Birmingham Saturday Junior CupNetherton Athletic
Birmingham Midweek Floodlit CupBolehall Swifts
Birmingham Sunday Challenge CupTBC
Birmingham Midweek Youth CupRedditch United Floodlit U18s
Birmingham Sunday Junior CupOld Crown Coventry
Birmingham Sunday Youth CupColron Boys U18s
Birmingham Womens CupCoventry City Ladies
Birmingham Girls CupStourbridge Juniors Girls
Birmingham Minor CupNorthfield Town "Colts" U16's
Birmingham Veterans CupTBC
Birmingham Sunday VaseBoldmere Falcons Senior

Defunct county competitions

Past Birmingham County Cup Competitions
Competition[3] Year Founded[3] Year Dissolved[3] Last Winners[3] Most Crowned Team[3]
Youth Cup (Sat & Sun) 1963/64 1992/93 Burton Albion Northfield Town (4)
Lord Mayor Of Birmingham Charity Cup 1990/91 1997/98 Moor Green Solihull Borough (3)
Campbell Orr Shield 1920/21 1994/95 Birmingham & Dist. A.F.A
Harrison Shield 1963/64 1994/95 Nuneaton & Dist. Sunday Football League
Featherstone Cup 1948/49 1987/88 Birmingham & Dist. A.F.A
Keegan Cup 1963/64 1992/93 Brandish Vauxhall Minor FL

Leagues

League football in the Birmingham county area is thriving. There are currently 52 mainstream Affiliated and Sanctioned Leagues through Birmingham County FA which include competitive football in organised Adult, Youth, Mini Soccer and Disability leagues.

Birmingham County FA understands the importance of Leagues and their role in providing a safe and structured environment that allows everyone connected with the game to enjoy their participation in it. Staff from our Development Team work closely with all league officials and league volunteers to ensure Birmingham County FA can identify areas of support that are required to help the leagues thrive.

The Birmingham County FA encourages and supports all Leagues to gain the FA Charter Standard accreditation.[4]

The Birmingham FA currently has 9 Charter Standard Leagues who are affiliated to the county. The benefits of achieving Charter Standard League status are that leagues will have a clear development plan in place, together with an agreed support package with Birmingham County FA. Charter Standard Leagues will also be demonstrating that they are committed to the Respect programme, a key priority for all those involved in Football. Leagues will also gain recognition that they are committed to providing a quality experience for all and that they are a well run league.[5]

Below is a list of leagues who are currently affiliated with the Birmingham County F.A:
(Note: The Leagues highlighted in BOLD are Chartered Standard Leagues; Years in (brackets) denote the founded year of that particular league.)

Saturday Associations and Leagues

Minor / Youth Leagues

Sunday Leagues

Womens Leagues

Girls Leagues

Other Leagues/Competitions

References

  1. ↑ "Birmingham County Football Association About Us". Birmingham County F.A.
  2. ↑ "Birmingham County Football Association Cups". Birmingham County F.A.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Birmingham County Cups Past Winners". Birmingham FA. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Birmingham FA Leagues". Birmingham County FA.
  5. ↑ "Birmingham FA Charter Standard Leagues". Birmingham County FA.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.