John Briskham coordinated the Licensing application
programme for the Wick Academy FC submission and explained;
"Wick Academy started the Licensing process almost
3 years ago. Initially there were very few criteria that we could meet, but 3
years of really hard work by everyone at the Club has paid off. Grant funding was
available from the SFA for the bigger projects of work that had to be carried
out, such as our floodlight upgrade but ultimately Wick Academy FC has had to
fund a fair proportion of the costs, so it's been a tricky balance over the
last 3 years in prioritising our finances.
"The award of this National Club Licensing is
important" explained Mr Briskham. "From 2016 in order to remain a Member of the
Scottish FA Clubs have to be licensed to at least Entry level standards, and from
season 2015/16 Clubs that have not been successful in attaining a NCL award
won't be eligible to participate in the Scottish Cup.'"
The effort has also been applauded by ‘Academy' Chairman
Colin Stewart who commented;
"100's of man hours of work has gone towards the
achievement of this award. I can't give enough praise to the efforts of the Committee,
Management team, and many other people out-with the Club who have helped us to
achieve this award. Everyone has contributed in one way or another and it's
been a real team effort right across the whole spectrum, typical of every
activity that we undertake at the Club. The requirement to address all areas of
the Club, from the infrastructure at the Harmsworth Park, the way in which we
manage and coach our Youth and Senior Teams, the training badges our Youth and
Senior Team coaches have worked hard in obtaining, the documentation and
procedures which the Club now has in place, as well as the hard work done by
our ground-staff in maintaining the park, has meant we have had to focus on
continual improvement and development throughout, which will hopefully provide
the success on the park that this Club and its supporters deserve.
"This is a major landmark achievement for our Club,
and being one of the very first Scottish Highland Football League Clubs to have
received a National Club License award is a real feather in our cap, and one
that we are all rightly very proud of."
