Chiarabini and Lepri in Poland for a UEFA seminar on club development

The San Marino delegation returned home a few days ago after taking part in the UEFA Share Club Development seminar held in Sopot, Poland, from 12 to 16 November. Carlo Chiarabini (Grassroots Manager) and Fabio Lepri (Head of the Football is Inclusion project) took an active part in the three days of work alongside colleagues from nine other European football associations. In addition to the Polish hosts, representatives from Croatia, Armenia, Faroe Islands, Malta, Andorra, Belarus, Estonia and Iceland were present. A range of topics was addressed, all aimed at exploring issues affecting clubs with a view to their future development. Items on the agenda included the importance of having a structure dedicated to implementing national programmes, the need to work towards greater inclusivity within clubs, the support provided by federations through dedicated services, and many others. Particularly interesting was the presentation by the Polish FA, which outlined how the new club accreditation system works. Introduced a few years ago, it was designed to support clubs by differentiating financial contributions according to the level of quality achieved. This provides an incentive for continuous improvement, while respecting the size and specific characteristics that distinguish the many different realities across the country. The objective for all the participating federations will now be to draw up a new four-year plan with a 2028 timeframe, to be submitted for UEFA approval as part of each association’s broader Grassroots strategy. Targets will need to be set, pathways identified and the best routes evaluated, following a careful and in-depth analysis of the context and its recent developments. The contribution of clubs will be crucial, in terms of sharing ideas, needs and difficulties, in order to design the best possible project that takes every aspect into account and moves towards a common, shared commitment. This will be a long and demanding process that the San Marino Football Federation will have to undertake in the coming months, not least to be able to support and promote all the clubs in our national football system even more effectively in the future.

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