Hertfordshire County Football Association

Hertfordshire County Football Association

Formation	1885
Purpose	Football association
Headquarters	County Ground Baldock Road
Location	Letchworth Garden City Hertfordshire SG6 2EN
Chief Executive	Pete King
Website	hertfordshirefa.com

The Hertfordshire County Football Association, also simply known as Hertfordshire FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The Hertfordshire FA was founded accidentally in 1885 after the existing teams (then numbering around 20) agreed to hold a meeting to discuss their position, and ended up affiliating.

History

In the early 1880s there were already 20 clubs operating in Hertfordshire and with interest continuing to grow, the Secretary of St Albans F.C., Mr R Cook called a meeting in 1885 which was to have been held at The Football Association's Headquarters, then at 51 High Holborn in Central London but on arrival they found the offices closed. An alternative venue was found for the meeting at the nearby The Farringdon Pub in Holborn.

In its first season 20 clubs affiliated and numbers substantially increased year on year. Today the number stands close to 2,500 teams.

Key dates in the development of Hertfordshire County FA are detailed below:

1885 – Association formed with 20 member clubs

1894 – Under the guidance of Mr.H.W. English, a master at Hitchin Grammar School and Secretary of the Association from 1894–98 a scheme to control the Association's affairs by a council was introduced. The initial scheme, albeit developed and improved still forms the basis on which the administration of the Hertfordshire FA is conducted today.

1901 – Huge difficulties facing the association until a man of the moment, George Wagstaffe Simmons stepped in. During Wagstaffe Simmons 18 years as Secretary the Association's fortunes were transformed. When he took over there were less than 40 clubs with funds available under £20. When he handed over to his successor the membership had grown, over 200 clubs affiliated and had assets of £500-£66- an enormous sum on money in those days, coming at the end of The Great War.

1924 – Wagstaffe Simmons appointed Chairman of the Hertfordshire FA Council and also represented the Hertfordshire FA on the Council of The Football Association, positions he held until 1951. During his time with The FA he became Chairman of the International Selection Committee and established reputation, not only as an eloquent speaker on all subjects relating to the game, but as authority on its laws and admissions.

1935 – County Association reaches its Golden Anniversary with a Jubilee Banquet and Concert held at the Holborn Restaurant. During the evening Mr. Wagstaffe Simmons was able to say 'I do not suggest that the Hertfordshire FA Council is perfect, but its not far off'. Proposing the toast to the Hertfordshire FA was Sir Stanley Rous, Secretary of The Football Association, who ten years prior to his appointment to football's top job was a member of the Hertfordshire FA Council.

1951–61 – During this period Hertfordshire's population increased by 34% which caused huge problems in relation to playing fields and recreational facilities. The Association applied to The FA for financial aid, without which the necessary work could not be undertaken.

1960 – The Association celebrated its 75th Anniversary and at the Dinner Sir Stanley Rous, now a knight of the Realm, proposed the toast to Hertfordshire FA. In 1985 Sir Stanley completed an amazing treble when he was guest of honour at the Association's Centenary Celebrations held at Watford Town Hall.

1961 – Sunday Football was brought under the control of the Hertfordshire FA and its rapid expansion introduced many new players to the game by hundreds.

1998 – Hertfordshire County Youth F.A. becomes part of the Hertfordshire FA.

1999 – Hertfordshire FA becomes a Limited Company, one of the first Counties in England to take this step. Managing Director Ron Kibble announces that the Association's nomadic existence was finally over when we bought the Lease of Letchworth Football Club Ground through the hard work of Mr Kibble, Eric Hand and Cecil Hudson. New County FA Headquarters were opened in Letchworth.

Hertfordshire have many people who served their County year after year, some being Ernest Scott, W.R. Watson, George Wagstaffe Simmons, Percy Poulter and Arthur Aldridge. ^[1]

Organisation

Hertfordshire County FA has a team of staff that look to safeguard and develop football within the county. Based at The County Ground in Letchworth, both the Governance and Development teams work together in improving the football experience for all within Hertfordshire.

• The Governance Team – deals with Discipline, Competitions, Referees, Affiliations and all general enquiries regarding the administration side of grassroots football across the County.
• The Development Team – deals with Charter Standard, Coach Education, Women & Girls, Disability, Small Sided football, Facilities, Funding and working with key partners to develop more opportunities to Get Involved in the game.^[2]

Affiliated Leagues

Men's Saturday Leagues Hertfordshire Senior County League (1903) Hertford and District League (1910) Hertfordshire and Borders Churches League (2005) West Herts Saturday League[3] Youth Leagues Mid Herts Rural Minors League (1968) Royston Crow Youth League (1971) Watford Friendly League (1970) West Herts Youth League[4]

Men's Sunday Leagues Barnet Sunday League (1966) Berkhamsted Sunday League East Herts Corinthian League (1993) Hitchin Sunday League (1977) North London and South Herts League (1985) Olympian Sunday League – Watford (1972) Review Sunday League North West Essex Sunday League Stevenage Sunday League Waltham (Sunday) League Watford Sunday League Welwyn Hatfield Sunday League[5]

Ladies and Girls Leagues Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire County Girls and Women's League Hertfordshire Girls Football Partnership League (2008)[6] Small Sided Leagues Mercury Ware & District 5-a-Side League (1969) Stevenage Borough Football Academy (2003) Stevenage Corporate 5-a-Side League (1999) Ware Week 5-a-Side Senior Ware Week 5-a-Side Youth Welwyn 5-a-Side League (Football Mundial) Wodson Fives[7]

Affiliated Member Clubs

Among the notable clubs that are (or have been) affiliated to the Hertfordshire County FA are:

Baldock Town Barnet Belstone Bishop's Stortford Boreham Wood Berkhamsted Town Broxbourne Borough V & E Cheshunt Codicote Colney Heath

Garston Ladies Hadley Harpenden Hatfield Town Hemel Hempstead Town Hertford Town Hitchin Town Hoddesdon Town Kings Langley Knebworth

Letchworth Garden City (now defunct) Leverstock Green London Colney Oxhey Jets Potters Bar Town Royston Town Sandridge Rovers Sawbridgeworth Town St Albans City

St. Margaretsbury Stevenage Borough Sun Postal Sports Tring Athletic Tring Town (now defunct) Ware Ware Sports F.C Watford Welwyn Garden City Wodson Park

County Cup Competitions

The Hertfordshire County FA run the following Cup Competitions:

Hertfordshire Senior Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Senior Centenary Trophy Hertfordshire Charity Cup Hertfordshire Charity Shield Hertfordshire Intermediate Cup Hertfordshire Junior Cup Hertfordshire Sunday Senior Cup Hertfordshire Sunday Intermediate Cup Hertfordshire Sunday Junior Cup Hertfordshire Veterans' Cup Hertfordshire Women's Cup

Hertfordshire 7 v 7 Girls U10 Hertfordshire 9 v 9 Girls U14 Hertfordshire U10 Girls 7 v 7 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire U11 Girls 7 v 7 Hertfordshire U12 Girls Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Girls U12 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Girls U13 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Girls U14 '9 v 9' Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Girls U14 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Girls U15 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Girls U16 Challenge Cup

Hertfordshire Boys U9 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Boys U10 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Boys U11 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Boys U12 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Boys U13 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Boys U14 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Boys U15 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Boys U16 Challenge Cup Hertfordshire Boys U18 Challenge Cup

Source^[8]

List of recent Hertfordshire County Cup Winners

Season	Hertfordshire Senior Challenge Cup	Hertfordshire Senior Centenary Trophy	Hertfordshire Charity Cup	Hertfordshire Charity Shield	Hertfordshire Intermediate Cup	Hertfordshire Junior Cup
2004–05	St Albans City	Oxhey Jets	Hemel Hempstead Town	Potters Bar Town	Buntingford Town	Marina O.S. Sports
2005–06	Bishop's Stortford	Codicote	Boreham Wood	Sawbridgeworth Town	Bishop's Stortford Swifts	Bengeo Trinity
2006–07	Barnet	London Lions	Potters Bar Town	Leverstock Green	Kings Langley	Kings Sports
2007–08	Boreham Wood	Hoddesdon Town	Cheshunt	Tring Athletic	Kings Langley	Nirankari North Herts
2008–09	Stevenage Borough	Hoddesdon Town	Hemel Hempstead Town	Broxbourne Borough V & E	Bishop's Stortford Swifts	Hemel Hempstead Rovers
2009–10	Bishop's Stortford	London Colney	Hemel Hempstead Town	Oxhey Jets	Oxhey Jets Reserves	Berkhamsted Sports
2010–11	Barnet	London Lions	Bishop's Stortford	Leverstock Green	Hadley Reserves	Park Street Village

Source^[9]

2010–11 County Cup Winners

Competition	2010–11 Holders
Hertfordshire Senior Challenge Cup	Barnet
Hertfordshire Centenary Trophy	London Lions
Hertfordshire Charity Cup	Bishop's Stortford
Hertfordshire Charity Shield	Leverstock Green
Hertfordshire Intermediate Cup	Hadley Reserves
Hertfordshire Junior Cup	Park Street Village
Hertfordshire Sunday Senior Cup	Belstone (Sunday)
Hertfordshire Sunday Intermediate Cup	FC Nirankari Reserves
Hertfordshire Sunday Junior Cup	Bedwell Rangers (CSSL)
Hertfordshire Veteran's Cup	Garston Veterans
Hertfordshire Women's Cup	Arsenal Ladies Reserves

Source^[10]

Directors & Officials

Board of Directors EWJ King (President) MR Bayliss (Chairman) B Curtis (Vice Chairman) ML Miller (Finance Director) P Donovan (Competitions Secretary) RG Dowden SR Trulock G Phillips AJ Willmott C Spriggins [11]

Key Officials Pete King (Chief Executive) Karl Lingham (County Development Manager) George Wells (Operations Manager) Lauren Halsey (Football Investigations Manager) Danielle Quelch (Coach and Referee Education Officer) Marianna Okoh (Finance Officer) Callum Riley (Marketing and Communications Officer) Lin Ennis (Football Administration Officer) Joseph Karram (Operations Administrator) Ken Headington (Adult Football Development Officer) Beth Dawes (Youth Football Development Officer) Richard Drake (Raising Standards Officer) Phil Sharp (Referee Development Officer) Adam Jones (Leagues Officer)[12]

External links

• Hertfordshire County FA Official Website

References

1. "Hertfordshire County FA – About Us – History". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
2. "Hertfordshire County FA – About Us". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
3. "Hertfordshire County FA – Saturday Leagues". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
4. "Hertfordshire County FA – Youth Leagues". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
5. "Hertfordshire County FA – Sunday Leagues". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
6. "Hertfordshire County FA – Youth Leagues". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
7. "Hertfordshire County FA – Small Sided Football". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
8. "Hertfordshire County FA – Fixtures & Results – County Cups". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
9. "Hertfordshire County FA – Fixtures & Results – County Cups". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
10. "Hertfordshire County FA – Fixtures & Results – County Cups". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
11. "Hertfordshire County FA – About Us – Contacts". Hertfordshire County FA. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
12. http://www.hertfordshirefa.com/hfa-hidden/meet-the-team. Missing or empty |title= (help)