peter sharples’ Post

The FA Board report from the 18th July states that the 2024/2025 budget for football is £164m. Now, just 1% of this for futsal would inject £1.6m into the game. CEO Mark Bullingham cut all funding for futsal stating covid as the reason. At the time it was £900k. Responsibility for futsal has been delegated to England Futsal Ltd,and in which the FA have publicly stated they will give EF no money, no support and no resources. EF have still to secure funding in order to send the men's team to the next major tournament and are still praying that crowdfunding will secure this for them. I fear this will end in heartbreak for the men's national team. EF has now lost the services of Chris Parkin. This is an utter disgrace from the FA but EF also has to share the blame because they've obviously promised something to the FA that they clearly cannot deliver on. Many people are now asking the question 'what was in the agreement for the FA to pass control over to EF.' EF clearly doesn't have the ability, know how and skill sets. #shambles Domestically the pressure is on now in a few areas - Will Graeme Dell get to stay on Council? Will he continue to bully his way into a dominant position? Made all the worse as Mark Bullingham has no interest in futsal. What will the Football Development Committee do next? Who will they appoint as reps for futsal? Do they even have the knowledge to understand what is needed? What will happen with the men’s team funding? Will there be any NFS surprises at the AGM as they have no money, no sponsors and no TNT Sports!!!! Will Chris Parkin stay on and continue to steer a sinking ship? Its MD left months ago. What I do know from speaking to many people in the last few weeks, they are turning their backs on the FA and will now start running their own junior leagues. What a sad state of affairs from the richest and oldest FA in the world. Should be an interesting few weeks. #futsal #reforms #truth #football

I've had 24 hrs to reflect on the announcements yesterday from England Futsal. The first post was the England Men's training squad announcement which I was very pleased to see, and congratulated those that made the squad. Then not 2 hrs later, England Futsal posted (please see below) news that they are still £95k short of their fundraising target. This figure was the same 2 months ago. So in this time they have not managed to raise a single penny. This situation in English futsal is no longer acceptable. I find the announcements very unprofessional, unacceptable and very disturbing. I'll post more on this tomorrow but for now there needs to be solutions and I suggest the following: 1. The contract that the FA have with England Futsal Ltd needs to be terminated immediately. 2. Those responsible for this fiasco, Graeme Dell, Steve Mitchell and Michael Skubala need to sacked immediately from the FA. 3. The FA need to intervene and embrace all the players and coaching staff because they have all put so much effort in, believing they were going to play in the qualifiers. 4. The FA need to take the National teams back in house and provide the funding necessary for the Men, Women and u19s teams and also confirm this will be forever just like they do for the National football teams. The FA are the NGB and it should never have been handed to an outside private company in which Michael Skubala is the 100% shareholder. 5. Ex NGB Chairman Bob Cotter needs to brought back, in an interim position, to oversee the national teams until new personnel can be found to lead futsal forward. I'm sure the FA would welcome some steady hands on board who can be trusted to lead futsal forward. If EF couldn't raise the money this time, the chances are it will never happen. Would you trust £95k in the hands of EF? Finally, and I may sound like a broken record but, no company or organisation will sponsor or subsidise the world's richest FA. I would urge everyone to email FA CEO Mark Bullingham Mark.Bullingham@thefa.com and lobby him to take futsal back in house. You all have a voice and no doubt are very angry with the situation. #futsal #truth #accountability #leadership #TheFa #UEFA #FIFA

Following on from my post concerning England Futsal and its public statement last Friday, I've been very surprised that only a few people have taken to media to express their anger and disappointment. Sitting in silence is not the answer. Too many are afraid to speak out and I simply cannot understand why, when our FA are actually engaged in suppressing futsal. Mark Bullingham will be rubbing his hands with glee as this is exactly what he wants. His view will be that no one cares about futsal and the community haven't bought in with cash to fund the England Futsal National teams, so why should the FA.!!!! I will remind you all again that England Futsal Ltd was doomed from the outset. It was a vanity project from Dell, Mitchell and Skubala. As EF needs everything signed off by the FA, it's still the FA calling the shots, and NO organisation/company will sponsor or subsidise the world's richest FA. What exactly was in the contract between the FA and England Futsal Ltd? Bullingham set out to destroy futsal and he's achieving his aim. He can look on with pride in himself and congratulate himself on a job well done. I offered immediate solutions in my post on Friday. To take this one step further, I would advise every futsal player, coach, manager and fan, to email the Football Supporters Association (FSA) and complain about the situation we find ourselves in. If everyone does this, then the FSA can raise these matters at senior FA Council level and it CAN effect change. Sitting in silence thinking "it's futile, what's the point" is not the answer. I said many times that the futsal community needs to come together, get rid of the ego's and start to build a better community. By remaining silent, you are doing Bullingham's work for him. He's the one laughing at us. Email the FSA (Google the website) and also email Bullingham Mark.Bullingham@thefa.com to express your anger and demand change. There's nothing stronger than people power. #futsal #truth #Accountability #change

Now that the news about the commitment from EF towards the England Men's National Futsal team has settled down, plenty of uncertainty still remains with many questions still unanswered. 1. £25k still short and still begging for the community to bail them out. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. Worst case scenario being they are unable to obtain the shortfall, who will EF blame? Sport England? The FA? Themselves? The players and the community? My own opinion is they will blame the players and the community for failing to stick their hands in their pockets and pay to play for ENGLAND. 2. Since their last public statement and the one previous to that, both statements said EF needed £183k and that they were £95k short. Now, miraculously they have found £70k but offer no explanation as to how this money was secured. Due to EF constantly misleading the community, was this actually CASH, or have they simply reduced their costs? I favour the latter. 3. Given the initial amount was £183k, then why would you issue a statement still begging for £25k? Surely messers Dell, Skubala, Mitchell, Melville and Walker could club between themselves and provide this shortfall!!!! 4. Skubala heads the International Futsal Academy at Loughborough (the dreaded Loughborough Alumni) and charges for this. As he's the sole shareholder of England Futsal Ltd, it is common in business to invest/transfer funds into parent companies. Given the amount he receives through his IFA, surely this would be a credible option IF he cares about futsal so much.....OR is he purely driven by money? 5. I also know of colleagues who were willing to donate to the cause but were flatly refused. Why would EF do this? Yet more and more questions which to date, none have been answered. It's also very clear that hardly any in the community have celebrated this news because it would mean praising England Futsal Ltd and The FA. My posts over the last two months have revealed detailed information which are factual. 90% of this information was actually out in the public domain. It just needed pulling together. I'm grateful to Sam Wallace at The Telegraph for his article last week. It certainly raised many eyebrows worldwide. Interesting that EF Chairman Stephen Mitchell tried to ridicule Sam Wallace on X (twitter) but this just reconfirms Mitchell's appalling juvenile behaviour towards anyone who challenges EF. Sam has taken a very keen interest in futsal and its troubles. Tomorrow, I will highlight further questions aimed at EF and the FA in relation to their agreement, because at the end of the day, EF is a limited company. #futsal #truth #accountability #misleading #abuseofpower #TheFa #englandfutsal

Back in 2021, the then FA Futsal Committee Chairman Graeme Dell told the futsal community that nothing would change under the current regime at the FA. That regime is FA CEO Mark Bullingham. Nothing at all exempts Mr Dell from his behaviour whilst the head of English Futsal (far from), but its interesting to look back at this statement from him. As you will recall, Mr Bullingham immediately withdrew the futsal funding package totalling £900k a year when covid hit. Bullingham used covid as an excuse to annihilate futsal as he hates it. He said cutbacks had to be made. Given the FAs accounts that were published 12 months after covid, this didn't stack up. Lest I remind you all that the English FA is the richest FA in the world. So now we must question why Bullingham has outsourced futsal to an underfunded third party and publicly stated that the FA will offer: NO FUNDING NO SUPPORT NO RESOURCES I will get onto @Englandfutsal in my next post. In summary, we have Mr Bullingham as Head of one of England's most powerful organisations clearly being prejudiced towards futsal. THIS IS NOT HIS ROLE NOR IS IT HIS RITE. A CEO at the FA must be transparent, democratic and fully accountable in his role. I'm afraid Mr Bullingham has failed in this. I now publicly call on FA Chair Debbie Hewitt to remove Mark Bullingham from his post as FA CEO due to the aforementioned reasons. Mr Bullingham is not fit to be FA CEO. I've mentioned many times that the futsal community MUST come together as ONE. EGO'S must be set aside if you really care about your sport. Start lobbying the FA for change at the top, because as Mr Dell said, 'nothing will change under this regime'. #truth #facts #futsal @FA #TheFa #democracy #accountability #transparency #timeforchange

The withdrawal of Pakistan’s women’s futsal team from AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup qualifiers has disappointed many. This recent development is yet another stark reminder that financial instability is the key which has been eroding the sports sector of the country. This is a great blow to the morale of athletes and yet one of the glaring symptoms of a far more serious economic malady which is gripping Pakistan today. Sports has been the pride of the nation, a symbol of unity and an identity of Pakistan. In a country where cricketing legends like Imran Khan and hockey champions dominated the Olympics of yesteryears, this decline of sports is nothing short of a tragedy. The withdrawal of the futsal team due to an inability to raise funds itself speaks volumes of a systemic problem – the neglect of sports in the face of economic shambles and internal power tussles within sports federations. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e66xGcvB . . #Brandsynario #Futsal #PFF

Last week showed the broken side of cricket, but you had to look beneath the surface to see it. In the space of a few days, across a few miles in the capital, two events happened which showcased the tricky situation sport (and in particular cricket) has got itself into. On a gloomy morning at the Oval, Surrey Cricket Club found out they were champions. We should congratulate Surrey for the third county championship win in a row. Three seasons, three wins. They are by far the most well funded, well supported club with an ever growing membership base. On a similar gloomy afternoon a few days earlier, Foxton Granta won the Voneus Village Cup. They chased down 240. A great victory, but it could be their last. They have no funding, and have a declining playing base. Cast your eye around the county structure and in most counties the story is the same. Small clubs are struggling to generate enough players, at a junior and senior level. Less players means less funding. Less funding means less opportunity. Less opportunity means less competition. Less competition means less sponsors. Less sponsors means… Surrey distribute some of their income through Surrey Cricket Foundation, which does create more opportunities, but that’s in some of the wealthier parts of the capital and beyond. The grant fund that we’ve started at Next Bigger Better aims to bridge some of the gap and provide a kick start to small projects at ambitious clubs. As the skipper of Foxton Granta said “There are always teams dropping out of the junior leagues in Cambridgeshire cricket. There do seem to be less and less teams every year." Hopefully we can do our bit to stop the rot. If you’re a club that’s interested in accessing funding, than get in contact. #cricket #funding Surrey Cricket Foundation Kent Cricket Community Trust KCCT Lancashire Cricket Foundation

Big news, shocking news. "I have just received further clarity re: futsal representation within the FA. Graeme Dell is one of eventually two Futsal representatives on the FA Council. Graeme will sit on the Football Development Committee as the Futsal rep. In September the FA will go out to open process - as in anyone can apply if they have the requisite skills - for a second Futsal rep on FA Council only. Graeme will be expected to give a collective view, i.e. having consulted with the second rep and the futsal community at the Football Development Committee in connection with Futsal issues". Given all the evidence of abuse of power, bullying, misogynistic behaviour submitted to the FA Company Secretary Richard McDermott, the FA then yet again REWARD Graeme Dell and give him a place on Council. Be in no doubt this is shocking, abhorrent and two fingers stuck up to the English Futsal Community. The FA offer no investment, no support, no resources yet promote a man who has serially failed English Futsal over the last 6 years. This is a result of the FA not giving a hoot about futsal and a spineless community who are too afraid to speak out for fear of being told off by the FA. If you say anything then Dell comes after you and destroys you. So what is the man's issues? He clearly cannot build a community. He never liaises with the community apart from the odd Sermon were He 'orates' and praises wonderful 'human beings'. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW. Futsal in England is officially doomed. No growth, no sponsors, no money, no community to stand together and all lead by a narcissistic bully who has the backing of the FA who have no interest in futsal. #ShockingDiscovery #Abhorrent #truth #futsal #TheFA

Outside of my career in solution engineering, I dedicate a lot of my time to helping young kids learn how to play #cricket 🏏 and #Rugby 🏉. I believe playing in team sports at an early age helps you develop a whole bunch of different skills that you will use in later life no matter which path you take. The biggest successes I’ve had in my career have all been as a result of good teaming and building on the skills I learned when I was younger in #Cricket 🏏 and #Rugby 🏉 teams. Communication, collaboration, leadership, motivation, empathy, problem solving as a group; just a few of the skills you can pick up when starting in teams at an early age. During the summer months I run the All-Stars programme at Beckwithshaw Cricket Club and coach both an under-7 and an under-9 team that compete in leagues and cup competitions within the Nidderdale leagues in Yorkshire. I'm helping around 50 kids, aged 4 to 9, fall in love with cricket and enjoy one of the most sociable and fun sports that anyone can play. As well as the skills required to play cricket, I’m also trying to develop the team work skills I believe will serve them well in later life. Now for my ask 🙏 : This 🌧 summer 🌧 has been one of the worst, if not the worst, due to the relentless rainfall in the Harrogate area. I've had to cancel and reschedule numerous games and training sessions because, even when the rain stops, the Beckwithshaw cricket ground, The Stag Den, remains so waterlogged that it's unplayable. Many children have been disappointed as they haven't been able to use the facilities. Consequently, we've missed a lot of valuable time together, which has hindered their ability to develop teamwork and cricket skills. To prevent this from happening in the future, and to give these keen youngsters some more time playing cricket and working in a team, my club, Beckwithshaw, has launched a crowd funding page to raise money for the drainage that is so badly needed for our ground. We need to raise 💰 £7,500 in 6 weeks💰 and if we do this Sport England will match our donation which will help us get to the £15,000 we need to improve the drainage. If you are able to pledge any money to the outfield drainage project it would help support hundreds of youth cricketers at Beckwithshaw for years to come 🙏 https://lnkd.in/gdvX_nPf Thanks for your support! #ECB #Cricket #Fundraising England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB)

I've been thinking about the line of questions that should encourage people to think and care about the way things are going with regards to futsal in England. Football is riddled with corruption and funny money and it just lives with that. So may be difficult for the anti corruption line alone to score big hits. We know The FA needs a revamp! Players want to play. Teams want to feel successful and to play in an environment with integrity. Administrators want a clear framework to work in. Coaches want good professional development and committed players etc. All this needs stable, honest funding, open & functional Governance and passion for the sport at all levels. With all that kind of good stuff in mind, look at England Futsal. Where is the evidence of financial systems and stability to handle £1M+ ? Where is the openness to give the community confidence in its future? The evidence shows that England Futsal is at best trying to accommodate The FA's ridiculous parameters that The FA sees as suiting it's own objectives. Stability is not just about money, it's about passion, integrity and purpose behind it. We continue to see The FA treat futsal with contempt. We see double and contradictory standards at play all the time. (rejecting certain offers of financial support while allowing others..... even openly allowing / encouraging players to turn to platforms like gofundme. How can a Limited Liability Company with only modest public filing obligations and very few assets serve the needs of futsal in England? Who oversees public money flowing through a regular privately owned business? Or may be it is impossible for public money to flow through such a business into futsal in which case public funding of futsal could be severely limited. To get income, England Futsal needs something to generate it. Delivering services, selling rights, sponsorship etc. Most if not all of the 'saleable' assets with any value are largely controlled by entities outside of England Futsal ie The FA. With no evidence of value-earning assets in England Futsal, it's hard to see how it can maintain control and therefore stability of funding. Happy Halloween. #truth #futsal #accountability #integrity #misleading #TheFa #englandfutsal #AbuseOfPower #betrayed #UEFA #FIFA