Northumberland Football Association

Northumberland Football Association
Formation	1883
Purpose/focus	Football association
Headquarters	Whitley Park Whitley Road
Location	Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE12 9FA
Chief Executive	Rowland Maughan
Website	northumberlandfa.com

The Northumberland Football Association is the governing body of football in the county of Northumberland, England. The Association was formed in 1883 and is responsible for the governance and development of football at all levels in the county.

History

In 1879 the joint Durham and Northumberland Football Association was founded and they stayed that way until 1883 when increasing numbers and travel problems necessitated a change. On May 11, 1883, 40 clubs met in the Alexandra Hotel in Newcastle and voted to form an independent body known as the Northumberland Football Association with the brief of 'using their influence to encourage new clubs to take up the game in their area'. At a subsequent meeting in September of the same year, Mr Robinson reported that he had managed to get the accounts in order and a loss of some four pounds would be divided between the two Counties. It was also agreed to pay Durham £15 for the existing Challenge Cup.

The first secretary of Northumberland Football Association was Aleck Peters and the Lord Bishop of Newcastle was the County FA’s first President. Prominent clubs in the late 1800s were Tyne Association, Newcastle Rangers, Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End.

The development of Northumberland FA continued to grow apace over the last century. As the new Millennium arrived Northumberland FA became a Limited Company and in 2002-03 there was a long-awaited and momentous move into their own impressive new premises at Whitley Park with a County Ground included.

Under the leadership of the President, Alan Wright, there is now a dedicated and forward-looking team in the county boardroom. There is a very experienced Board of Directors as well as a hard-working Council representing all Divisions of Northumberland. A progressive Football Development team is now in place along with a capable and most helpful team of administrative staff in ther County Office. The County FA is well equipped to face future challenges. It is hoped that everyone connected with the game across the county will continue to play their part in the continued promotion of football in Northumberland.^[1]

Organisation

Northumberland Football Association aims to establish safe and structured football opportunities for the benefit of all concerned irrespective of age, colour, gender and disability.

The Association also provides the appropriate structures and systems to enable the organisation to control, manage, regulate and promote the game within the County. This enables them to assist with the development of the game at all levels, ensuring they are able to increase the quality and quantity of participation across the various sections of participation. ^[2]

The Football Development Team assist in all aspects of football development ranging from support for Charter Standard Clubs to assistance with funding applications to further club/school development.^[3]

Affiliated Leagues

Men's Saturday Leagues Northern Football Alliance Newcastle Corinthians League North Northumberland League Tyneside Amateur League Small Sided Leagues Champion Soccer - Gosforth Power League - North Shields SoccerWorld Newcastle

Men's Sunday Leagues Blyth and Wansbeck Sunday League Cramlington and District Sunday League Hexham and District Sunday League Morpeth Sunday League Newcastle Central Sunday Afternoon League North Tyneside Sunday League Ladies and Girls Leagues Northumberland County Women's Football League Northumberland Girls Football League

Youth Leagues Northumberland Youth League Glendale League (Youth) Newcastle Mini Soccer League Northumberland Mini Soccer League. Tynedale Mini Soccer League

Disbanded or Amalgamated Leagues

Leagues that were affiliated to the Northumberland FA but have disbanded or amalgamated with other leagues include:

• Blyth and District League
• Coast Colts Junior Football League
• East and West Tyne League
• East Northumberland League
• Hexham and District League
• Mid-Tyne Amateur League
• NEL-Tyneside Combination
• Newcastle and District Trader league (later known as the Newcastle Business Houses League)
• Newcastle and District United League
• Northern Combination
• North Eastern Amateur league (founded in 1923 and now amalgamated with Tyneside Amateur League)
• South East Northumberland League (founded in 1921 and eventually incoporated in Tyneside Amateur League)
• Tyneside League
• Tyneside Munition Workers League (also known as the Tyneside Munitioneers' League)
• Tyneside Works League
• United Free Churches League^[4]

Affiliated Member Clubs

Among the notable clubs that are (or at one time were) affiliated to the Northumberland FA are:

Alnwick Town Ashington Bedlington Terriers Blyth Spartans Morpeth Town

Newcastle Benfield Newcastle Blue Star (now defunct) Newcastle East End (became NUFC) Newcastle West End (became NUFC) Newcastle United

North Shields Ponteland United Prudhoe Town Ryton & Crawcrook Albion

Team Northumbria Walker Celtic (now defunct) West Allotment Celtic Whitley Bay

County Cup Competitions

The Northumberland FA run the following Cup Competitions:

Northumberland Senior Cup Northumberland Senior Benevolent Bowl Northumberland Minor Cup Northumberland Junior Cup Northumberland Women's Cup

Northumberland Sunday Cup Northumberland Sunday Minor Cup Northumberland Sunday Junior Cup Northumberland Tesco Girls U14 Cup Northumberland Tesco Girls U16 Cup

Northumberland Rangers Cup Northumberland Colts Cup Northumberland Tesco Cup Northumberland Cubs Cup Northumberland Divisional Cup

Source^[5]

Senior Cup

Main article: Northumberland Senior Cup

The Northumberland Senior Cup is a county cup competition involving teams within the Northumberland Football Association.

List of recent Northumberland Cup Winners

Season	Northumberland Senior Cup	Northumberland Senior Benevolent Bowl	Northumberland Minor Cup	Northumberland Junior Cup	Northumberland Women's Cup
2006-07	Morpeth Town	Wallsend	Amble United		Newcastle United Women Reserves
2007-08	Newcastle United Reserves	Blyth Town	Shilbottle Colliery Welfare	New Hartley Juniors U18	Newcastle United Women
2008-09	Newcastle United Reserves	Blyth Town	Blakelaw	New Hartley Juniors U18	Blyth Spartans Ladies
2009-10	Whitley Bay	Alnwick Town	Morpeth Sporting Club	New Hartley Juniors U18	Whitley Bay Women
2010-11	Newcastle United Reserves	Percy Main Amateurs	Whitley Bay 'A'	New Hartley Juniors U18	Whitley Bay Women

Source^[6]

Members of Council and Officials

President Alan Wright Honorary Life Members George Watson David Tiffin Vice Presidents Syd Johnson Les Todd Ted Ilderton John Cummings

Members of Council Central: Danny Gates, Alan Birkinshaw and Max Taylor East: Ted Ilderton and Derek Booth North: Norman Laidler North East: Jim Drysdale, Frank Scantlebury and Steve Ord West: Paul Nesbitt and Andrew Wylie[7] Key Officials Rowland Maughan (Chief Executive) Steve Drew (Finance Director) Stuart Leason (County Development Manager) D Maughan (Office Manager)[8]

External links

• Northumberland FA Official Website

References

1. ^ "Northumberland FA – Far Corner Magazine - Issue 2 - August 2008 (125th Celebration Edition)" (PDF). Northumberland FA. http://www.northumberlandfa.com/NR/rdonlyres/2830A74C-BEF0-4F2D-A48E-020AA359A1EF/0/northumberland_july08.pdf. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
2. ^ "Northumberland FA – About Us". Northumberland FA. http://www.northumberlandfa.com/AboutUs/. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
3. ^ "Northumberland FA – Development". Northumberland FA. http://www.northumberlandfa.com/Development/. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
4. ^ "Donmouth - Local History – Football on Tyneside 1914-1919". Patrick Brennan. http://www.donmouth.co.uk/local_history/great_war_football/great_war_football.html. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
5. ^ "Northumberland FA – Fixtures & Results - County Cups". Northumberland FA. http://www.northumberlandfa.com/FixturesAndResults/CountyCups/. Retrieved 2011-06-16. 
6. ^ "Northumberland FA – Fixtures & Results - County Cups". Northumberland FA. http://www.northumberlandfa.com/FixturesAndResults/CountyCups/. Retrieved 2011-06-17. 
7. ^ "On the Ball - Magazine of the Northumberland County FA – Issue 6 - July 2010". Northumberland FA. http://www.e-sportspublications.co.uk/countymagazine/mags/northumberland_july2010.pdf. Retrieved 2011-06-17. 
8. ^ "Northumberland FA – About Us - Contacts". Northumberland FA. http://www.northumberlandfa.com/AboutUs/Contacts/. Retrieved 2011-06-17.