Football NSW scoops NSW Community Sports ‘Innovation of the Year’ award
It was a crowning moment for Football NSW following Monday night’s NSW Community Sports Awards hosted at CommBank Stadium as the organisation took out the ‘Innovation of the Year’ award for it’s Club Standards and Benchmarking Framework.
The Club Standards and Benchmarking framework was introduced by Football NSW in 2024 in the areas of benchmarking, quality assurance and club support process to provide better services for the development of our representative players, coaches and clubs across the state.
“What an outstanding achievement,” said Football NSW CEO John Tsatsimas.
“This was only achieved due to the outstanding work led by Edward Ferguson and the Technical team, with significant contributions by Philip Myall and Neil Mann. Furthermore, this project was fantastically supported by Troy McColl.
“I wish to acknowledge those others within those departments and other areas of the organisation that made their own important contributions.
“This was a very considered and massive piece of work.
“It wasn’t only the data that needed to be assessed. A strategy had to be formulated based on what was evident and then selling it to clubs who have embedded cultures and expectations that needed to be changed.
“This exhibits what collective vision and collaborative teamwork between departments can achieve.
“Last night was the culmination of a great deal of commitment and perseverance and an illustration in ground-breaking thinking.”
The club standards focus on youth development committed clubs to understand their planning, delivery and anticipated outcomes and is reviewed consistently during the year. Significant research was undertaken to align the Football NSW talented player pathway and club environments to recommendations of FIFA, AFC, UEFA and Football Australia.
During 2023, Football NSW club programs were used to pilot the standards framework with submissions, input and reports generated for each. Four core areas of focus for the framework were established by the Technical Department: planning, delivery, technical qualifications and progression and retention.
The club standards and benchmarking framework aligns with key focus elements of the Football NSW Strategic Plan to produce football talent and provide leadership to clubs. The framework empowers clubs to create best practice environments for their players and coaches in support of retention, creating talent and making Australia an internationally competitive football nation.
Along with this award, Football NSW also celebrated 2024 George Churchward recipient and Eurobodalla Football Association’s long serving administrator Sue Badenock Kinsey who received the ‘Distinguished Long Service Award’.
The 2024 season marked 50 years of involvement in football for Sue which began in March 1975 where she held several key football administrator positions in Sydney before moving to the South Coast in late 1988 where she formed a relationship with Eurobodalla Football Association and has held it ever since. Sue was one of the driving forces in ensuring football was played by all in the South Coast region.
A special mention to the Macarthur Magic Special Needs Football Club who were nominated for an award in the ‘NSW Communities and Justice Community Club of the Year’.
