David Drummond: Excitement aplenty over new Development Centre

As we look to build on the current euphoria and excitement for sport created by the Olympics, the team of Development Officers in the South East of Scotland are busy organising a fantastic new initiative that will stretch into each of the five local authorities that make up the region.

In Edinburgh, Broughton High School will be the site for our exciting new 2020 Development Centre, where the best players in the city come together on a weekly basis to be coached by some of the highest qualified coaches in the country.

The programme has been designed to support and compliment club training for the most talented players aged 9-12, while giving the players the best possible chance of success to make it into our Performance School at Broughton High – a great opportunity for any budding young player at the start of their footballing journey.

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Work continues on a fantastic new facility in Edinburgh with the installation of a new 3G pitch at the University of Edinburgh’s Peffermill Playing Fields, part funded by the Scottish Government’s proceeds of crime initiative, Cashback, and should open later next month. This will be a great addition to the synthetic pitches in the south of the city.

Away from the pitch, we are looking forward to our inaugural Club Together Conference, which takes place at Hampden on Sunday, 16 September. Guest speakers will include former national team coach and UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh, along with our own chief executive Stewart Regan. There will be an opportunity for clubs to listen to experts in the field of funding, volunteer recruitment and facility development, while coming together with like-minded people, all trying to develop their club for the good of the game. For more information and to come along, check out our website for more details.

Finally, we have just announced and presented our five Regional Awards for contributions to grassroots football. Derek Paterson (Youth), Doug Johnston (Girls), David Ramage (Adult), John Frame (Schools) and Elaine McKenna (Disability) were all presented with an award at Easter Road prior to the recent Scotland v Australia friendly in recognition of their dedication, commitment and valued service to the game. On behalf of everyone at the Scottish FA, I would like to thank and congratulate them all on a well-deserved award. We would have far fewer players involved in the game without their unwavering support and dedication to the game.

To keep up to date with football in Edinburgh and to find your nearest opportunity to get involved, visit our website www.scottishfa.co.uk/southeast or follow us on twitter @sfa_southeast

• David Drummond is the Regional Manager for the Scottish Football Association’s South East Region, covering Edinburgh, the Scottish 
Borders, West, Mid and East Lothian.