Birmingham County Football Association
 |
|
| Motto | "At the heart of football, in the heart of the country" |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1875 |
| Purpose | Football Association |
| Headquarters | Ray Hall Lane |
| Location |
|
|
Chief Executive
|
Mike Pennick |
| Website | Official Website |
The Birmingham County Football Association, also simply known as Birmingham FA, is the governing body of football in the counties of West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The Birmingham FA run 13 cup competitions at different levels for teams in the West Midland region. The County Football Association was formed in 1875 and was affiliated with just 10 teams, now they are affiliated with 2,500 clubs.
Birmingham FA’s representative teams gives the region’s most talented players the opportunity to benefit from competitive football amongst others of similar ability. In the 2009–10 season Birmingham FA’s under 18’s representative squad lifted The FA County Youth Cup
Birmingham FA’s award-winning Development Scheme provides opportunities for everyone to get involved in grassroots football by playing, coaching or volunteering. The work carried out in the girls and women’s game earned Birmingham FA an FA Football Development Award in 2002.
Birmingham FA register over 1500 referees to ensure that fair play is observed by all—from Parks to the Premiership. The Referee department work closely with The FA’s Regional Manager for Referees to highlight the role of the Referee and the important part they play in maintaining a fair, enjoyable game. The department also are working towards TheFA’s National Game Strategy of recruiting 8000 new referees nationally by 2012.
Recently[when?] the County FA gained the Foundation Level of Equality Standard, an award that recognises an organisations commitment to Equality. The Standard is the industry benchmark for equality and is recognised by the Sports Councils for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The achievement was the culmination of 12 months hard work, involving promoting and enhancing equality and maintaining appropriate conduct and behaviour which the BCFA conducted collectively.
Contents
History
The Association was formed back in 1875 following a request from 10 teams wanting to play within a structured environment – these days, the Association now boasts over 4500 Teams, playing in over 50 leagues from the region’s 7 professional clubs to the grassroots entry level of U7 for Mini Soccer. In addition there are hundreds more playing Futsal or small sided football at dedicated centres.
The county boundary is vast, extending beyond just Birmingham, to encompass the Black Country, Coventry, North and South Warwickshire, Burton, Tamworth plus other parts of Staffordshire and Worcestershire.[1]
County Cup Competitions
Birmingham County F.A have had a history of hosting county cup competitions, with the Birmingham Senior Cup being the longest serving cup in the county dating back to 1875/76 season and is currently still being played.
Birmingham County FA organises 13 Cup Competitions, providing all Member Clubs with the opportunity to compete on a County-wide basis, outside of their regular league programme.
Each category of football is catered for from Girls to Veterans, with competitions also playing a vital part in Referee Development. All of the finals are either played at BCFA Headquarters or Semi-Professional Grounds around the County whilst the Senior Cup Final is played at one of the local Professional Club Grounds.[2]
Current competitions
| Competition | Holders (2013–14) |
|---|---|
| Birmingham Senior Cup | West Bromwich Albion |
| Birmingham Saturday Vase | Cadbury Athletic |
| Birmingham Saturday Junior Cup | Netherton Athletic |
| Birmingham Midweek Floodlit Cup | Bolehall Swifts |
| Birmingham Sunday Challenge Cup | TBC |
| Birmingham Midweek Youth Cup | Redditch United Floodlit U18s |
| Birmingham Sunday Junior Cup | Old Crown Coventry |
| Birmingham Sunday Youth Cup | Colron Boys U18s |
| Birmingham Womens Cup | Coventry City Ladies |
| Birmingham Girls Cup | Stourbridge Juniors Girls |
| Birmingham Minor Cup | Northfield Town "Colts" U16's |
| Birmingham Veterans Cup | TBC |
| Birmingham Sunday Vase | Boldmere Falcons Senior |
Defunct county competitions
| Competition[3] | Year Founded[3] | Year Dissolved[3] | Last Winners[3] | Most Crowned Team[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Cup (Sat & Sun) | 1963/64 | 1992/93 | Burton Albion | Northfield Town (4) |
| Lord Mayor Of Birmingham Charity Cup | 1990/91 | 1997/98 | Moor Green | Solihull Borough (3) |
| Campbell Orr Shield | 1920/21 | 1994/95 | Birmingham & Dist. A.F.A | |
| Harrison Shield | 1963/64 | 1994/95 | Nuneaton & Dist. Sunday Football League | |
| Featherstone Cup | 1948/49 | 1987/88 | Birmingham & Dist. A.F.A | |
| Keegan Cup | 1963/64 | 1992/93 | Brandish Vauxhall Minor FL |
Leagues
League football in the Birmingham county area is thriving. There are currently 52 mainstream Affiliated and Sanctioned Leagues through Birmingham County FA which include competitive football in organised Adult, Youth, Mini Soccer and Disability leagues.
Birmingham County FA understands the importance of Leagues and their role in providing a safe and structured environment that allows everyone connected with the game to enjoy their participation in it. Staff from our Development Team work closely with all league officials and league volunteers to ensure Birmingham County FA can identify areas of support that are required to help the leagues thrive.
The Birmingham County FA encourages and supports all Leagues to gain the FA Charter Standard accreditation.[4]
The Birmingham FA currently has 9 Charter Standard Leagues who are affiliated to the county. The benefits of achieving Charter Standard League status are that leagues will have a clear development plan in place, together with an agreed support package with Birmingham County FA. Charter Standard Leagues will also be demonstrating that they are committed to the Respect programme, a key priority for all those involved in Football. Leagues will also gain recognition that they are committed to providing a quality experience for all and that they are a well run league.[5]
Below is a list of leagues who are currently affiliated with the Birmingham County F.A:
(Note: The Leagues highlighted in BOLD are Chartered Standard Leagues; Years in (brackets) denote the founded year of that particular league.)
Saturday Associations and Leagues
- Birmingham & District Amateur Football Association (1908)
- Burton & District Football Association (1871)
- Coventry Alliance League (1934)
- Stratford Upon Avon Alliance (1896)
- West Midlands Christian League (1979)
- Wolverhampton Football Combination League (1903)
Minor / Youth Leagues
- Burton Junior League, and Burton Mini Soccer League (1988)
- Central Warwickshire Youth League (1969)
- Coventry Minor League & Coventry Minor U8 Mini Soccer League
- Mid Warwickshire Boys & Mid Warwickshire Junior Football League
- Nuneaton & Bedworth Minor League (1969)
- Sandwell Minor (2004)
- Stourbridge & District Youth League
- Tamworth Junior (Saturday & Sunday) League (1972)
Sunday Leagues
- Beacon Sunday League (1977)
- Burton & District Sunday League (1964)
- Central Warwickshire Over 35's League (1979)
- Coronation Alliance Football League (1948)
- Coronation Football League (1952)
- Coventry & Central Warwickshire League (1967)
- Coventry & District Intermediate Sunday League (1966)
- Coventry & District Premier Sunday League (1966)
- Coventry & District Senior Sunday League (1962)
- Dudley & Cradley Heath League (1910)
- Festival Alliance League (1943)
- Festival League (1951)
- Festival Senior Amateur League (1951)
- Festival Premier League (1951)
- Leamington & Dist Sunday League (1966)
- Nuneaton & District Sunday League (1966)
- Redditch & South Warwickshire Combination (1925)
- Rugby & District Sunday League
- Sandwell District Football League (1954)
- Sandwell Premier Football League (1967)
- Solihull & District Oakbourne Sunday League
- South Birmingham Sunday League & Sunday Premier League (1957)
- Sutton & District Sunday Football League (1966)
- Tamworth & District Sunday League
- Warley Sunday League
- Wolverhampton & District Sunday League (1958)
Womens Leagues
- Birmingham County Womens League (2004)
- West Midlands Regional Women's League
Girls Leagues
- Central Warwickshire Girls League (1999)
- Stourbridge & District Girls League
- Midlands Girls Centre of Excellence Fixture Programme
Other Leagues/Competitions
- Birmingham Ability Counts Leagues Adult, Youth, Girls, Wheelchair
- Birmingham Communities League
- Coventry & District Christian League & Cup (1998)
- Midland Police Football League (1926)
- Midlands Universities League (MUL) (2011)
- Shapla Football League (1993)
- West Midlands Travel League (1904)
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
