JERSEY’S Football Combination will cease to exist this time next year if plans to adopt the Jersey Football Association’s Restructuring of Football are adopted by Island clubs.
A JFA working party has been working hard on the restructure for just over two years and details were made public last night following the JFA’s annual general meeting where Charlie Tostevin was re-elected, unopposed, as president.
The new structure will also streamline the workload for many officials who currently do the same jobs for the JFA and the Combination.
Currently 18 members are elected for JFA and the Combination positions - plus two paid officials - the new structure proposes reducing the number to 12 plus the two paid.
The restructuring is mainly administrative and should not directly affect the playing of football.
This has been made easier as the Jersey Soccer League, which used to operate on Sundays, shows little sign of being revived after they ceased playing at the end of the 2002/03 season.
The restructure sees an Executive consisting of a president, three vice-presidents (one more than currently), plus a finance manager.
It also incorporates the paid JFA staff of the Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Officer and the Football Development Officer, the latter who will have a voice but no vote.
Honorary life vice-presidents will also be invited to sit on Council, again having a voice but no vote.
There will be six committees feeding into the Council, the three major ones being competitions, disciplinary and representative teams.
The others are referees, finance and the Jersey Football Partnership.
With the exception of representative teams, all would have one member on Council with three delegates on Council from the competitions committee.
JFA president Charlie Tostevin said: ‘The meeting went well, I was pleased.
There is a lot to take in and delegates will now take the restructuring away and discuss it at club level.
‘I do not see a lot of difference to what is currently happening, but a streamlining of officials.
I hope the clubs vote for it.
‘A lot of time is wasted at Council meetings currently because we are going over matters which have been discussed by sub committees.
‘Sub committees should come back with recommendations for Council to rubber-stamp matters and this is what we are looking to do.
‘A great example is disciplinary.
John Gasston tells us what has been dealt with and we more on.
‘The main committees will have our paid officials on them and they will do the secretarial work, all of which will be required one week before a Council meeting.’ Combination president Tim Darwin said: ‘It will mean the end of the Combination as we know it and that is a downside.
A lot of wonderful people have put in some excellent service over the past 30 years.
‘Those people were the forerunners of the Combination and we now need the foresight today to move on.’
Article posted on 20th July, 2004 - 12.00am
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