Northerners AC are the first football club in Guernsey to be awarded the Sports Commission’s SportsMark accreditation.
The Guernsey Football Association, who already hold the quality assurance award, confirmed that North had satisfied the SportsMark criteria after being awarded FA Charter Standard, now known as England Football Accredited.
Steve Sharman, the Commission’s Relationship Director, praised North’s commitment to ensuring it was a well-run, safe club for all.
‘The majority of our local football clubs have achieved the FA Charter Standard or new equivalent but also achieving our local SportsMark means that our community can be assured that different sports are maintaining the same high standards we expect.
‘The Sports Commission is particularly impressed with North’s work with younger players and their commitment to stamping out bullying in the game,’ said Steve.
Kerry Tardif is the club’s welfare officer and has been instrumental in promoting the club’s anti-bullying policy.
‘It’s important that all the messages our children get through school should be reinforced in sport. It’s fine to have that competitive edge but we also need to make sure we are kind to each other,’ said Kerry.
The club is an associate member of the Anti-Bullying Alliance and uses their resources to promote key messages and themes each year. These include ‘odd socks day’, the ‘one kind word’ initiative and annual design a poster competition.
‘The community vibe in our club is very important and we are trying to embed our anti-bullying messages into our club culture,’ said Kerry.
It certainly seems to be working with participation high at all levels of the game, especially the minis and juniors.
GFA Football Development Officer Angus Mackay praised Northerners for being the first local club to achieve SportsMark.
‘The Guernsey FA work very hard to ensure that all local football clubs are welcoming, safe & inclusive for all those who want to play or support the local game,’ said Angus.
‘There are currently seven clubs in Guernsey who have achieved the England Football Accreditation at either One Star or Two Star level, but we would also encourage clubs to complete the necessary steps to achieve the Guernsey Sports Commission SportsMark.
‘Clubs who have England Football Accreditation and SportsMark have gone to great effort to ensure that football is as safe as possible, inclusive and, arguably most importantly, an enjoyable and rewarding experience for all involved.’
You can find out more about SportsMark here