(England)

The FIPFA executive agreed that staying with the timeline for recruitment of executive members we should respect the time line for the Sports Director role which we due to end in 2020. So FIPFA executive agreed to receive nominations for the executive board to appoint, as at the 2020 congress the Sports Director role will be elected by congress.

We received a good number of applications for this role, each person brought a wide range of skills and experience to the role. FIPFA Executive reviewed the applications and following interview were pleased to appoint Sophie Bevan into the role as Sports Director. Sophie has a wealth of experience in powerchair football and events. We announced the appointment during Congress in November 2019 and Sophie took up the position straight way.

FIPFA President Ricky Stevenson said “Sophie brings a good knowledge of our sport from being a former player coupled where her experience of running the competitions in England for a number of years, Sophie has a tough task ahead but one we know she can deliver on. The 2021 FIPFA World Cup is just under 2 years away and there is plenty of work to do”

Sophie commented on her appointment “I am very proud to accept the role of Director of Sport for FIPFA. I have been involved with our sport since the early days in the UK, first as a player, then secretary of the National League for the WFA in England and then as Communications Officer for FIPFA. I look forward to working with all the leads in the Sports Department (referees, classification and anti-doping), including recruiting the vital roles in the Technical and Competition areas. We have less than two years before our next World Cup in Sydney, Australia, there is so much to do but I am pro-active and looking forward to working with everyone involved in the preparations to make it our best yet. This is just the start but I am ready, willing and able.”