Category: League News

Rogue Monkey Digital Media signs up as Official Graphics Partner to WoSFL

The PDM Buildbase West of Scotland Football League are delighted to announce that Rogue Monkey Digital Media is the new official graphics partner of the league initially until the end of season 2021/22. Rogue Monkey DM have provided numerous graphics to clubs for their social media all over the country and their bold, eye-catching designs are fresh, modern and stylish. The man behind the Monkey, Gerry Lafferty, has been involved in the semi professional grade for a number of years at St Anthony’s, starting off as club photographer before expanding his skillset to cover a whole host of digital media.

Speaking to the WoSFL Website Gerry said “I am delighted to be partnering with the West of Scotland Football League, It’s an exciting time with the new board in place, they have some great ideas and plans for the season, and I’ve already worked closely with the leagues Head of Digital and Social media at The Ants before which will be a big help as we already have a great working relationship together. I am hoping to connect with as many clubs as possible, to help where it’s needed and to sharing best practice and hints and tips with the great pool of talented digital media teams we have in place at many of our clubs already. I can’t wait to get started and am looking forward to next season”

WoSFL Media Man Martin McKenna was equally as happy to bring Rogue Monkey on board. “For me, Rogue Monkey are one of if not the best local up and coming digital media companies and the quality of Gerry’s work blows me away at times, and I think partnering with him can only benefit us and the standard of graphics and other digital media that we add to our content. I’ve worked with Gerry for years at The Ants and we have an excellent working relationship, and I look forward to continuing that relationship at league wide level, as I feel his work can help elevate our brand”

Welcome on board!

#passionandpride

End of Season Statement

The Board of the West of Scotland Football League have confirmed that following the statement by the First Minister yesterday, the remainder of the 2020/21 League football season has been cancelled and declared null and void.

An update regarding the South Challenge Cup will be announced in due course once we have discussed this with the other three leagues that participate in the competition.

This decision will allow clubs to focus and to look forward and prepare for next season, details of which will be issued in due course.

#PassionandPride

Resumption of Training

The Scottish FA have confirmed that clubs may return to organised NON-CONTACT training from Friday 12th March. The Scottish Government and sportscotland guidance regarding players aged 18 years and above who are permitted to participate in outdoor non-contact group activity with full level 4 guidance can be found here

The following guidance MUST be fully adhered to by all member clubs:

  • All activity must be outdoors at an appropriately risk assessed venue.
  • All activity must be non-contact, ensuring physical distancing is in place at all times before, during and after activity takes place.
  • All activity must be organised within your own Local Authority area and players are NOT permitted to travel to neighbouring authorities to participate, as per Scottish Government travel restrictions.
  • It is recommended that activity is limited to twice a week and for a maximum of 60 minutes per session.
  • All group activity must consist of a maximum of 15 players and officials and all activity must contain a COVID Officer and First Aider per 1/4 of a pitch.
  • All activity should avoid inter-club training, competition or events.
  • Spectating is not permitted at any time and no-one should congregate at the facility or nearby.
  • At no stage should groups mix and appropriate one way systems should be in place at your respective facility.
  • Please ensure that hygiene measures are implemented at all times.
  • All players, participants are advised to undertake a COVID-19 eLearning course if they are to participate in training.

Key Dates/Next Stages

The following are indicative dates that will allow clubs to start to prepare for future activity and over the coming weeks we will continue to engage with the Scottish Government and sportscotland to gain more clarification on specific areas.

5 April

Stay at home: Stay at home requirement removed

26 April

Strategic (Levels) Framework: Return to a levels system, which includes regional variation based on data. Further detail will be published as soon as it is available.

Sport:The levels system will support the phased re-opening of sport. The detail of what activity will be permitted in each level will be confirmed this month

Update on 20/21 Season

The Board of the West of Scotland Football League have confirmed that due to the current suspension of the game due to the coronavirus pandemic, the current football season will be officially ended and declared null and void if Clubs are not allowed to resume full contact training by the 3rd April, therefore allowing for the resumption of competitive fixtures no later than the 17th April.

At the start of the season, the then Interim Management Group confirmed that 50% of matches across all divisions would be required to be played to allow the League to be determined on a points per game basis, should the League competition have to end prior to the completion of all fixtures.

An average of 10 rounds of fixtures are required to be played to achieve that milestone and allow all clubs to have played each other at least once. With the Premier Division Champions requiring to be determined no later than 22nd May to allow possible participation in the Lowland League Play-offs, this would require Clubs to play both weekend and midweek fixtures from the 17th April.

Therefore should it become clear that this will not be possible, the League will be declared null and void and the focus will thereafter be on planning for the start of the 21/22 season.

Meanwhile the League welcome the announcement from the Scottish Government regarding the easing of lockdown restrictions but would remind Clubs that the current suspension of training remains in force until we receive a further update from the Scottish FA.

Joint Statement – West of Scotland and East of Scotland Football Leagues

The EoSFL and WoSFL have agreed a boundary for new member applications which is based upon local authority areas. Clubs in Falkirk, Stirling and West Lothian who wish to join the pyramid will be directed to apply to the EOSFL while clubs in North and South Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire will be directed to apply to the WOSFL.

These local authority boundaries will not affect any club already in membership of either League. Also, once a club is admitted to one League any application to switch Leagues will not be entertained except with the prior approval of both Leagues.

#Passion&Pride

WoSFL Delighted to back Beatson Footgolf Fundraiser

The WoSFL are delighted to confirm that we will be sponsoring the flag at the 14th hole at the annual Beatson Footgolf Tournament, which will take place, pandemic permitting, at Footgolf Cumbernauld located in the Palacerigg Family Golf Range on Sunday the 9th of May. The aim of the tournament is to raise much needed funds for the Beatson Cancer Charity and as of the 28th February a fantastic 20 teams had already signed up to take part. We hope it’s a great day for all those involved, raises a ton of money for a very worthwhile cause and may the best team win.

For more information on the Beatson Footgolf Tournament check the Beatson Footgolf Twitter account

Report from SGM

At the Special General Meeting of the WoSFL that was held on March 1st, the member clubs agreed to accept the amendments to the Constitution to allow the handover of administration from the Scottish Lowland Football League to a new Board formed by the clubs.

Retiring Chairman, Dave McKenna outlined the work the Interim Management Group (IMG) had undertaken over the course of the past year and highlighted that the WoSFL was now in a position to take on the responsibility of managing its’ own affairs.

He thanked George Fraser, Chairman of the Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL) and David Baxter, Secretary of the SLFL for their support and also members of the Interim Management Group for their work over the past year and expressed his thanks to Andrew Sinclair (Girvan) and Alex Smith (Kello Rovers) who have not put themselves forward for election to the new Board.

The new WoSFL Board were then accepted and the following took up their new roles.

Chair – Matt Bamford (Clydebank), Vice-Chair – Colin Boyd (Kilwinning Rangers), Treasurer – Chris McKillop (Port Glasgow Juniors), General Secretary – John Dalton (Whitletts Victoria), Discipline Secretary – Jeff Hunt (Pollok), Fixture Secretary – Kennie Young (Neutral), Divisional Representatives – Peter Ferguson (Rutherglen Glencairn), Kevin Robertson (Neilston), Bobby Macnamara (Ardrossan Winton Rovers), Martin McKenna (St Anthony’s) and Ian Young (Glenafton Athletic).

New Chairman, Matt Bamford, thanked Dave McKenna and Andrew Waddell for all their hard work and endeavours to get us to where we are today and wished them well as they returned to their normal positions with the SLFL.

Special General Meeting

West of Scotland Football League hereafter referred to as WoSFL.

Scottish Lowland Football League hereafter referred to as SLFL.

Special General Meeting hereafter referred to as SGM.

Interim Management Group hereafter referred to as IMG.

I have received an application signed by 10 clubs requesting a SGM in accordance with the current Constitution and Rules.

6.6 Special General Meetings

6.6.1 Member Clubs shall have power to call a Special General Meeting. A Special General Meeting will be called on receipt of a requisition signed by ten Full Member Clubs within fourteen days after such requisition has been received. The requisition must state the business for which the meeting is called and this is the only business that can be concluded at the Special General Meeting concerned. Each Full Member Club whose subscription for the current season has been paid shall be entitled to send two representatives to all Special General Meetings.

That SGM will take place on Monday 1st March 2021 at 7PM and will be by Zoom due to the Covid restrictions.

Business of the meeting.

1) Proposals to alter the Constitution and Rules of the WoSFL.

2) Election of Management Board to facilitate handover from SLFL.

3) Election of representatives to the Scottish FA Non Professional Game Board and the Scottish FA Congress.

History and purpose behind the 3 items on the agenda.

The WoSFL was set up by the SLFL in 2020 and the Constitution and Rules was set up to allow administration of the League. People from within the membership were co-opted onto a sub-committee of the SLFL to look after that administration. In line with the constitution, I was also co-opted as a neutral to take up the position of Secretary.

Dave McKenna was appointed as Chair and Andrew Waddell was appointed as Treasurer.

That sub-committee took up the name of Interim Management Group of the WoSFL.

4 Governance

4.1 The governance and business of the League will rest with the Board of the Scottish Lowland Football League until such time as the Board and Office Bearers are elected, no later than March 2021.

In accordance with the above Rule the SLFL are handing over Governance to the WoSFL membership and the SGM has been called to facilitate the handover. During their time of administration of the WoSFL the IMG have identified that certain rules within the Constitution and Rules would not suit the needs of the WoSFL and would hamper the progress of the League. We have 67 clubs in membership and that looks likely to increase. We believe that the WoSFL would be better served by 3 secretaries rather than just 1 and therefore propose that we should have a General Secretary, a Discipline Secretary and a Fixture Secretary. We also appreciate that finding the right people to fulfil the Office Bearer roles of the 3 Secretaries and a Treasurer that are not already connected to a member club and are unwilling to give up their role with their club would be nigh on impossible, so we are also proposing that these roles are open to anyone as long as they are proposed and seconded by member clubs. In all likelihood the people with the knowledge and experience required will be with a club so we need the Constitution and Rules altered to allow us to elect the right people for the roles.

The proposed changes have been attached to the message sent to the Club Secretaries and can also be found on the Club Admin Site.

The second item on the agenda will be to form the Management Board of the WoSFL.

Anyone interested in any of the positions on the Board (Chair, Vice-Chair, General Secretary, Discipline Secretary, Fixture Secretary, Treasurer or Club Representative) should fill in the form to be found on the website. It can be found here – West of Scotland Football League (wosfl.co.uk) under Join the WOSFL.

Apply for the WOSFL Board (google.com)

The closing date and time for applications is Monday 22nd February 2021 at 8PM.

The applications will then be processed and put forward for the SGM.

A full agenda with the proposals, candidates and procedure will be sent out with the invite to the meeting to all club secretaries prior to the meeting.

The third item will be to elect representatives from the new Board to the Scottish FA Non Professional Game Board and the Scottish FA Congress.

The SGM will be closed following the election of the Board and a General Meeting will then take place to allow discussion on a few topics that need addressed.

Kennie Young

Secretary

IMG of PDM Buildbase WoSFL

Information on completion of the leagues.

There appears to be a bit of confusion around our targets for the completion of the Leagues.

I have received some messages regarding this and also seen some online comments and newspaper reports, so for a bit of clarity here’s a bit of information for everyone.

We are not intending to get to 50% and then stop playing. The main aim is to play as many games as the time will allow.
If we can get 100% of the games played then that will be the target, but only if we have the time to fit in all the fixtures.

All games that have already been played will be counted.
This includes cases where teams have met twice (H & A).
The second target is to get as quickly as possible to a point where all teams in each league will have played each other at LEAST once, either at home or away. There will be cases where some teams will be meeting for the second time yet they have still got others to play for the first time. This happens because their first time opponents are already playing someone that they’ve not played, and it is preferable to keep all teams playing where possible rather than have 2 teams sitting idle that could be playing each other.
Kennie Young
Secretary – IMG of WoSFL