Last year saw the formation of a new League, the Amateur Football Combination, brought about by the merger of The Old Boys’ Football League and The Southern Olympian League. A huge amount of work went into the creation of this new League, the largest within the Amateur Football Alliance, and I am delighted to be able to report that the first year of the new League has been a very significant success and just reward for all that work to bring about its creation.

However, the League Executive is by no means unawares that the success of the first year has not been unqualified. There have been “teething problems”, as everyone realised that there would be, for example with some aspects of fixture arrangements and referee appointments, but the League is already taking steps to address and remedy those problems for next Season. In addition, the Executive Committee has been engaged in a lengthy process of revision of the League’s Rules, partly to obtain full sanction of the League from the Amateur Football Alliance but also to take into account issues that have arisen from the administration and conduct of the League throughout the Season just completed. This process has brought about a considerable number of amendments to the Rules agreed at the inauguration of the League, although may of these amendments are minor and serve only to clarify or correct points of ambiguity that arose in the process of creating the initial League Rules. Nonetheless, you will be asked at tonight’s meeting to approve all of these many changes and, in so doing, the Executive Committee believes that you will help to create a set of League Rules that will serve this competition well in the years to come! Certainly it is worth noting that the Amateur Football Alliance intends to use our Rules as a template for the Rule changes that many other AFA Leagues are now having to introduce in order to comply with the FA’s Mandatory Code of Rules.

In order to conduct the business of a league the size of the Amateur Football Combination it is necessary for both League Officers and Club Officers to meet deadlines, abide by League Rules and communicate effectively. It is, therefore, disappointing that several Clubs have failed to meet these requirements and have accumulated substantial amounts of fines as a consequence. This League does not exist to gather large amounts of revenue from its member Clubs in fines but will not hesitate to impose appropriate fines, or other sanctions, upon Clubs that fail to meet their commitments and that unnecessarily cause problems to the League and to other Clubs. In that regard, Clubs should be aware that two member Clubs have, effectively, been placed on probation for next Season, one for failing to abide by the League’s Rules on team selection and one for failing to meet its financial commitments in a timely manner. It would not be right to name these Clubs publicly at this stage but, should either Club fail to satisfy the Executive Committee of the League that it has “mended its ways” in the coming Season, the League will recommend the expulsion of that Club to next Season’s AGM!

The Amateur Football Combination is a new League and is determined to be forward-looking and progressive in all that it does. That is not to deny the history of the Leagues that formed it but to realise that if it is to develop and flourish into the 21^st Century it needs to reverse the current trend of decline in players’ numbers and teams by taking bold, decisive and innovative action Consequently, the League has embarked upon a carefully prepared path of seeking to establish a distinctive “brand” for itself within the AFA and even, possibly, beyond. We are not going to rush along the path we have chosen but are determined to find a position for ourselves that will not only maintain the present standards of sportsmanship and competition of which we remain justly proud but will also allow us to attract new Clubs and young players into our fold. In due course, more details of what we propose will be publicised but, for the moment, we are very much still in a preparatory and investigatory phase.

What is already clear, however, is that the work of administering a large league such as this requires many dedicated League Officers, prepared to give time and effort willingly to carry out all the background administration that is required. Unfortunately, we do not currently have sufficient ”new blood” taking up positions within the League and this can only be rectified by Clubs actively encouraging their members and Officers to take up such roles within the League. Our Clubs are the only source of new League Officers and, if Clubs do not provide the League with a constant supply of new Officers, the task of administration will become ever greater for an ever smaller number of dedicated people until (in the not very distant future) that task becomes too great and this League disappears!

It is not surprising, therefore, that I wish to conclude this report by paying tribute to all those League Officers who, through their hard work, enthusiasm and dedication have helped to make this first year of the Amateur Football Combination the gratifying success that I believe it has truly been. It is often considered invidious to single out specific individuals for praise in these situations but, without in any way detracting from the efforts of everyone else, I believe that the Chairman of this league, Jim Buttress deserves special mention for his drive and leadership both in setting up the Amateur Football Combination and in guiding it with verve and vision through its first year of existence! I am, for personal reasons, standing down as Secretary of the Amateur Football Combination at tonight’s Meeting but I do so confident that, with our current Chairman at the helm, this league will progress and develop as it needs to do and I wish all League Officers and Clubs the very best for the future.