The Football Conference Youth Alliance, in which the new Guiseley AFC and Carr Manor Youth Academy will compete, has made two major announcements concerning its future.
From Monday 3rd September, the Youth Alliance will occupy office premises in Foregate Street, Worcester, where the administration arm of the competition will operate. In conjunction with this move, grateful thanks are extended to Abbey Business Equipment for its help with furniture and office requirements.
Notwithstanding the new postal address, details of telephone and email contacts will remain the same. Graham Hill will continue as Secretary and oversee the control of the league membership of 84 clubs and co-educational colleges.
Part of the reasoning behind the move is to prepare for the likely increase in membership from season 2013-14. An application has been made to the Football Association to increase the Competition’s complement to 120 member clubs, such is the nationwide interest in co-educational-style links between clubs and local community colleges.
The competition is currently divided into seven divisions of 12 teams and covers the whole of the country from Gateshead to Dover. The membership comprises clubs from the Football Conference and many others above and below Steps 1 and 2 of the National League System, and caters for 16 to 19-year-olds.
To coincide with the move to new premises, for the first time since the formation of the Youth Alliance in 2000 there will be title sponsorship partners in the form of Prospect Training Services (PTS) and Education Through Sport (ETS). A 3-year agreement has been signed with both Partners. PTS operate many Government-backed schemes for young people and work closely with ETS, which is headed by Dean Holdsworth, the current Aldershot Town manager.
Louise Pinnell, the Managing Director at PTS, said, “As a leading provider of youth training, Prospect Training Services and Education Through Sport are delighted to be sponsoring the Football Conference Youth Alliance. The young people nurtured through the Youth Alliance framework level are our footballers and coaches of the future and we are very proud to be associated with them”.
Wayne Allen, the Chairman of the Youth Alliance, commented, “Our competition is growing, almost at an alarming rate, and though it is pleasing in some respects it does bring administrative issues which need to be addressed.
“Due to the new title sponsorship package we are able to open new offices dedicated to giving professional support to the largest youth league in the country. We anticipate growing more over the next two seasons, so it is vital to give a professional approach to our clubs and their partner colleges.
“We are, therefore, grateful to PTS and ETS for their financial support. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship”.
