Tony Major named new chairman of Northants Football Association

Tony Major has been named the new chairman of the Northants Football Association.
Tony MajorTony Major
Tony Major

County grassroots football stalwart Major takes over the role from Bob Cotter, who is leaving the post after 15 years.

A statement from the NFA read: "Northamptonshire Football Association is pleased to announce that Tony Major has been appointed as chairman of the association, following a summer council meeting on Wednesday 15 July 2020.

"Tony, who has been associated with Northamptonshire FA since 1999 and involved in grassroots football in the county for 58 years, will replace Bob Cotter in the position of chairman of the NFA.

"Bob has confirmed that he will continue with his roles for The FA and will remain as Vice President of the NFA.

"He will also continue as FA Representative for Northamptonshire FA; a position he was re-elected into in April this year."

Major is a well-known figure on the Northants football scene, and said: “I am pleased to have been voted in as chairman of Northamptonshire Football Association; particularly at such a critical time for grassroots football.

"Now more than ever we need to be working with our clubs, leagues and volunteers to make sure we can return to football safely.”

Departing chairman Cotter said: “It has been a privilege to be NFA Chairman for the past 15 years and I would like to thank all the many people I have been honoured to meet as they develop the game in Northamptonshire.

"My particular thanks go to the NFA Council and staff (past and present) together with all our clubs and leagues, for their support during my time as chairman. I wish them every success in the coming seasons.”

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, football has been hit hard and faces a difficult route back to any sort of normality, as there is still no indication as to when grassroots and youth football leagues will begin the new season

NFA chief executive Sarah Bentley said: “As an organisation we now need to transition to delivering our services in an impactful way; ensuring our resources are focused to those parts of the football community that need us most.

"Over the next 12 months we will be undertaking a governance review with a view to us achieving compliance to the new FA Code of Governance by the end of the season.

"With that will come a commitment for us to be transparent in all that we do, opening up invitations for the involvement of the very best people to help shape our services.

"Our first step towards a gold standard in governance is that we will soon be recruiting for two new board directors; from a finance and legal background respectively. More information on these two posts will be issued shortly.

“Now is also the time for us to ensure that we are truly relevant as an association.

"As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, our finances, like those of many businesses, have been hit hard; our grants from the FA have been cut and we have received very little revenue from football over the last four months, so we can’t carry on operating the way we have done in the past.

“We need to change the way we deliver our support, and focus on those that will benefit most from our interventions.

"Our clubs and leagues have also suffered terribly from this and as we get back to football it is vital that we work together to make training and match play a reality again, with the very best safeguards in place for our children and vulnerable adults.

"We must be more strategic in the way that we work and I am a firm believer that we cannot do this on our own; our success and impact will be dependent upon the partnerships we create, the trust we engender among our sporting community and the impact we make to those involved in the game.”