Dear ESA Members
As with many organisations the global pandemic has presented us all with significant challenges for hosting events over the past year and we are all looking forward to a phase of normality over the coming months ahead.
Despite the lockdown restrictions I have been pleasantly surprised at the level of interest shown within the game through social media and I can only imagine that we will see a resurgence in attendees within tournaments when life slowly gets back to normal.
The past few months has presented us all with an opportunity to rethink our future thoughts about the game and I was absolutely delighted to receive unanimous support of my appointment as Chairman at the recent AGM. This level of support has been the catalyst for me to create the foundation for our future success as an inclusive and diverse organisation.
As most of you know, I have a huge amount of passion for our game and my focus is to help grow the game within England and across the UK. This also means greater collaboration with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so we can experience wonderful moments and memories when travelling to different tournaments throughout the UK.
One of the biggest areas for development is the collaboration of all formats of the game and this is something we are planning to implement over the coming months. Sharing more content from collectors, enthusiasts, solo players, Subbuteo stories, local clubs, WASPA and FISTF tournaments is something we need to embrace with the intention of using our new website to showcase our love of the game as an association for all.
In terms of the new website, this is now taking shape and we are excited about this being part of our strategy because this will be the platform which we will use to promote the game, news, clubs, tournaments and equipment. We are also pleased to reveal the new website www.estfa.co.uk / www.englishsubbuteoassociation.com is close to an official launch and will replace the current www.subbuteoassociation.co.uk website.
Key website features include:
• Latest ESA News / Announcements
• Subbuteo News from around the world
• Tournaments
• Videos / Player Interviews
• ESA Membership
• Subbuteo Shop
• Tournament Builder / Publisher
• Club pages
Just on a separate note, England qualification has been a contentious issue in the past, but going forward every player will be given the chance to play for England. There will be a transparent qualification process which will be announced in due course. There will be no “old boys network” and/or non eligible foreign players representing our country. Our only aim will be to select the best players who have qualified and are citizens of our great country.
2021 represents a fantastic opportunity for us all to enjoy the social experience of playing our great game and I really can’t wait to see you all flicking (not nudging) at an event soon.
Finally, please click here to view a copy of our latest accounts.
Best Wishes
Justin Finch
ESA Chairman
