Forres Girls Football Club awarded the Scottish Football Association (SFA) Quality Mark Award
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A LOCAL football team has been recognised for its commitment to young players.
Forres Girls Football Club (FGFC), founded in December 2018, has now been awarded the Scottish Football Association (SFA) Quality Mark Award.
FGFC chairman Graeme Sutherland confirmed the accolade recognises the work of aspirational clubs who have the desire to be the best they can, while the SFA accreditation programme supports club structures relating to governance, environment and people.
The club has continued to thrive despite the coronavirus pandemic. The coaches have sanitized footballs more than 1700 times and goal posts on 350 occasions!
Mr Sutherland said: "It is remarkable to see the amount of time and effort people are prepared to give on a voluntary basis, just to let people play football.
"Forres has a host of sporting organisations working incredibly hard, under challenging current circumstances, to offer opportunities for our young - and sometimes not so young - people.
"Our club is delighted to be recognised with this award which highlights the progress we have made in a short period of time. Since we started just under two years ago, we have had some wonderful support. This has been wide ranging and includes local businesses sponsoring kit and equipment, assistance from all of the other local football groups, input from the local Active Schools network and, of course, from parents and guardians."
Around 50 girls are registered with FGFC, all born between 2009 and 2014. They train on Monday evenings at Grant Park or Forres House Community Centre. The girls play at monthly tournaments in Inverness at under-7, under-9 and under-11 levels. They have also enjoyed a number of social activities together, all helping the players to increase fitness and develop new friendships.
Mr Sutherland added: "This has been an excellent commitment form the players and their parents/guardians. The girls have done really well against some tough opposition."
SFA club development manager, Mark Slater, explained that a quality mark is a key component of a club's vision and ethos, and can help with future planning as it becomes more established with a growing membership.
He said: "FGFC's award highlights all the great work done by the club to reach standards which ensure strong governance and support. The club is developing its volunteer coaches and providing a safe, secure environment for players and club members."
