A YOUTH football club in Swindon have been awarded with FA Charter Standard Development status.

Robins FC are the latest club in the Wiltshire to receive the second tier award.

In order to attain development status, a club must aim to enhance the quality and scope of their football offering, have at least five teams, a club development plan, a Level Two head coach, who has also completed the specialist youth coaching module, and club officials must attend two in-service development events per year.

The club was founded in 1991 and next season will have 10 teams ranging from U7s to U14s playing in the North Wilts Youth and Minors League, as well as a start-up U5s and U6s group.

The club’s U18s side recently finished this season as League Cup and Wilts FA County Cup winners and runners-up in North Wilts Division One.

Robins chairman Paul Wainwright was delighted to attain the award and saw it as a recognition of his club’s desire to keep improving.

“The FA’s Charter Standard programme is aimed at driving up the standards in youth football by ensuring a baseline of best practice in all junior football clubs,” said Wainwright.

“We are pleased that most clubs in the area have signed up to this and are now recognised as FA Charter Standard clubs.

“At Robins FC, we attained Charter Standard status some years ago but we didn’t want to just rest on our laurels, so we looked at going to the next level by applying for Charter Standard Development status.

“There’s a fair bit of extra work involved, as we have to demonstrate our commitment as a club to developing all of our teams, the coaches who work with those teams and of course, most importantly, the players at the club.”

“It’s taken us over a year since we first started looking at this to get our application up to scratch, involving producing a Football Development Plan for how we will develop the club, the teams, the coaches and the players, as well as ensuring our policies and procedures and even our club constitution were up to scratch and in line with best practice, as recognised by the FA.

“It’s been a lot of work but we’ve learned a lot along the way and we’re delighted that this award now recognises the hard work and commitment that all of our coaches and volunteers put in week in, week out.”