Three-year strategic plan in place for Blacktown and District Soccer FA

Blacktown and District Soccer Football Association kicks off a three-year strategic plan in 2019 which will aim to see participation numbers soar and a consolidated focus on football facilities in the area.

The BDSFA is home to almost 10,000 football players in the local area and with the competition continuing to grow year on year, the association has put in place a three-year strategic plan to help ensure the game continues to grow but also that their clubs are resourced to cope with that growth.

One particular area of growth that the association is focusing on in 2019 is in women’s football.

“To promote this, the BDSFA will be hosting a girls open day on March 24 at Blacktown Football Park and this is in conjunction with the BDSFA’s launch of its Women’s Phoenix League”.

BDSFA Chief Executive Officer Bill Kostandas said the open day was designed to create a fun atmosphere for new players to come and have a taste of football under the expert guidance of some of the region’s best female players.

“We are targeting schools in the local area to try and encourage as many girls to come down ad try football,” he said.

“We will have some of our local clubs present and there will also be Blacktown Spartans 1st Grade players on hand as, well as Girls SAP (Skills Acquisition Program) players and coaches as well.”

The open day forms a big part of the association’s three year plan which focuses on five key pillars:

• Playing Football
• Attracting and Holding Members
• Referee Retention and Development
• Facilities Improvements for Clubs
• Reducing Cost to Players

In a bid to help its clubs ensure they are taking advantage of any available grants for the improvement of facilities, the association has put together a team to help clubs writing bids for grants.

“We will be working hard to help the clubs writing grants,” Kostandas said.

“We will be having a grants workshop through the Office of Sport in February and we’ve got Daniel Ristic from Football New South Wales, to help us as well.

As an association, we will be writing letters of support for facility upgrades which may be available to our clubs as well as partnering with clubs when approaching Government, especially local council.”

Referee retention and development is the other area coming into immediate focus in 2019.

The association is employing a part-time Referees Co-ordinate to provide greater structure around the recruitment, retention and development of referees.

“It’s a very important appointment for us and will help us to recruit and develop referees along the refereeing pathway,” Kostandas said.

There will also be a special M5 Management sponsorship workshop that will take place in February so stay tuned for updates on that.

Any interested players or referees interesting in joining a local club should head to http://www.bdsfa.com/ to learn more about the local clubs in the area, refereeing and more about the grants workshops or check out the club local listings below.