30-12-2009

Rossvale acheives SFA Quality Mark

Rossvale Boys’ Club in Bishopbriggs has just had the result of its life by becoming the first club in East Dunbartonshire to achieve the Scottish Football Association (SFA) Quality Mark.
This quality stamp is a new SFA Youth Action Plan initiative which aims to support and sustain grass roots football by rewarding those clubs that are well run and properly administered.

John Grey founded Rossvale in 1976 and his son, Ian is now the Chairman. Ian is thrilled that the club has been recognised by the SFA. He said, “We worked very hard with the Council’s Football Development Officer to achieve this quality mark and to be the first in the area to do it is a real bonus for us. Before we could succeed we had to show that we had proper coaching in place, that training was run properly and that we had proper child protection policies in place.

“We have been on the go for more than 30 years and we now have 25 teams within the club. It takes a huge amount of commitment and energy from a lot of volunteers to make it run smoothly and I’m delighted for them that we have the seal of approval from the SFA.”

Stuart Alexander, an SFA Football Development Officer with East Dunbartonshire Council, has worked with Rossvale for the past year to help them achieve the Quality Mark.

He said, “Rossvale is an excellent club that is popular with hundreds of local youngsters and they thoroughly deserve this quality mark. Ian Grey and his colleagues do a marvellous job.

“I’d encourage other local clubs to get involved with this SFA initiative. I will be happy to work with them to help them achieve the quality mark. As the quality mark becomes more popular we will be recommending those clubs that hold it to parents looking for a team for their child so it’s a good time to get involved.”

For more information on the Quality Mark, please contact Stuart Alexander on 0141 574 5712.