Back in 1971, the FA had a surplus of money that they needed to dispose of, otherwise they would have been liable to pay surtax. They decided to give it away in the shape of free footballs. As acceptable as that may have been to many hard-up clubs, I wrote an article at the time suggesting a better way to spend the money.
This was at a time when clubs, both junior and senior, were improving facilities. It seemed that the era of changing rooms with no electricity, no water and no separate dressing rooms for referees was coming to an end. Having said that, I recall Reading Referees' Association writing to Reading Borough Council 10 years later, to complain that the referees' dressing room at the Mansion House in Prospect Park, had no lock since someone had forced the door, no bulb in the lightholder, no water in the hand basin and the nearest toilet hadn't had a lock for 30 years.
My suggestion to the FA in 1971 was that they could have better spent their spare cash by employing a team of architects to design a series of club houses/dressing rooms to meet the requirements of clubs. It might be asked why I as a referee was concerned that clubs received professional help in designing new accommodation. The reason was simple. A lot of clubs who had built new dressing rooms almost always forgot one person - the referee. At the last minute someone would say, "Where are we going to put the referee?" and we would finish up under the stairs, or in a cupboard that had been intended to be used for other purposes - and still was.
On local parks we would often be housed in the park keeper's hut. As an example, about this time I refereed at Thatcham Town Football Club, who had just moved grounds, which they have done again since. In the new dressing rooms, if the referee wanted a shower after the game he had to go outside, round to the front of the building, in the front door and along the passage to the communal showers. To be fair to Thatcham, after they heard my complaint they knocked a door through from the referee's changing room to the passage. This, however, emphasised my point. If plans were available, which the club could have obtained free of charge, the problem would never have arisen.
A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend the opening by John Madejski, Chairman of Reading Football Club, of the new pavilion at Burghfield Common. I was pleased to discover that my suggestion made 30-odd years ago had become a reality. The plans for the new pavilion had come from the Football Foundation as well as some of the funding to build it. The Football Foundation is itself is funded by the FA Premier League, the FA itself and the government. It has as its objectives, improving facilities, creating opportunities and building communities - exactly what they have helped to do in Burghfield Common. They are prepared to fund not only changing rooms but floodlights, pitch drainage, or even a football kit for a junior team.
After the traditional ribbon-cutting, I inspected the referees' changing room along with John Madejski and was pleased to see that it was spacious, with its own shower and toilet. The last time I refereed at Burghfield Common, I had to change in the village hall up the street and walk down to the ground with no hope of a shower afterwards. New referees quite rightly demand better facilities but I think when you have changed with the players in one big shed, as we used to do at places like Beenham, where there was no water, no electricity and holes in the floor, you appreciate modern facilities such as they now have at Burghfield Common thanks to free plans, all the more.
Dick
Sawdon Smith