Sport / Football association looking to fill five positions at AGM
Two teams have also shown serious interest in joining reserve league
FIVE positions – including the president’s role – will need to be filled at Shetland Football Association’s (SFA) annual general meeting (AGM) next month.
Current president George Smith has already given notice of his intention to relinquish the role after almost three years at the top.
He told Shetland News the minutes secretary, discipline secretary, treasurer and A league fixture secretary will also step aside due to other commitments.
“I think the committee is still strong,” he said. “We just need to get those positions filled.”
Smith may remain on the committee as an independent member after the November AGM, but reiterated his desire to step away from the summit of the SFA.
“It’s been really good,” he said.
“I’ve really enjoyed the media side of things, and going to cup finals and presenting cups to teams.
“But I think, after three years, I can leave and get some fresh impetus at the top.”
There will be more to discuss at the meeting too, with proposals about how to change the sometimes controversial A player list set to come before clubs.
Smith said one proposal would be for goalkeepers to no longer be included on the A list – unless they were the Shetland keeper.
Another hot topic will be referees, an ongoing concern for the SFA.
A recruitment drive last year saw the football association increase the fees available to refs in a bid to get more people in the centre circle.
However that yielded just one new whistler – and the SFA is eager to ensure that more are signed up to avoid a serious strain on their current bank of refs.
That comes as two more teams have shown serious interest in joining the reserve league – which already contains 12 teams – from next season.
They will have until the February SFA meeting to decide whether they can afford the season fees, and have enough interest to field teams throughout the season.
Smith said it was “encouraging” that another two clubs could join the leagues, but that would increase the need for more referees.
“We’re hoping that anyone coming up to Shetland who might have done it before might want to continue, or people new to football might want to give it a go,” he said.
“I don’t know what more we can do – we tried the carrot approach last year, and before that they tried the stick approach where they said clubs would be fined if they did not put up one person to train as a referee.
“I think now we’re just appealing to folk’s community spirit.”
A potential legacy from Smith’s spell as president will be the proposed 3G pitch in Lerwick, which could be vital for the future of both the SFA and Shetland Rugby.
Shetland Islands Council put the project out to tender last month, with applications closing at the end of September.
Smith said he had been told only that the council was in the tender process so could not comment further.
He added he would have liked to have been able to see the pitch happen in his time at the top of the SFA.
Another major upcoming event which will take place after Smith departs is the 2025 Island Games in Orkney, with the SFA’s planning on hold for now.
Shetland were drawn in a ‘group of death’ at next summer’s games, facing the daunting prospect of having to try to finish above 2023 gold medallists Jersey as well as Guernsey and Gozo.
The latter two finished fifth and sixth at the last Island Games, with Shetland coming seventh.
Smith admitted the draw “couldn’t have been much tougher”.
“It will be a challenge, but in some ways it’s good to put yourself against the best teams,” he said.
“If you want to go far you’re going to have to face them at some point anyway.”
The biggest problem, he said, is around accommodation – with Orkney set to become the smallest ever hosts of the games.
“We still don’t know what accommodation we could have,” he said.
“We’re just waiting to see what accommodation we get, because teams have to pay by December so some could pull out.
“We can probably assume we’re not going to get hotels. Then you’re looking at schools, or self-catering of some kind.
“We’re committed to going anyway, as things stand.”
The SFA’s AGM will take place at Islesburgh on Thursday 7 November, starting at 6.30pm, with anyone interested in any of the vacant posts invited to come along.
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