Pair’s 50 years of devotion to clubs honoured by FA awards

2:40pm Thursday 15th May 2008

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Two Craven football stalwarts received prestigious Football Association long service awards.

At the Morrison Cup final on last Friday evening, Alan Dinsdale of Settle and Dennis Mayman of Skipton were recipients of The Football Association 50 years' service awards for their commitment to football.

Both Mr Dinsdale and Mr Mayman have remained with the club they started out with more than 50 years ago.

Both began as junior players, moved into the senior teams and quickly took office. Mr Dinsdale joined Settle United as a boy and in 1962 became secretary of the club.

It is a position he still holds, but his work for the club goes far beyond secretarial duties - Alan has virtually done everything that came up at the club helped by an enthusiastic committee and he has no immediate plans to retire.

Likewise Mr Mayman joined the then-named Skipton Methodists, later to become Skipton Town FC, as a junior, moved into the senior side and became treasurer, a position he still holds.

He also runs Skipton Town's third team and like Mr Dinsdale he has taken on many duties at Town, being heavily involved in the re-development of the ground.

As well as being loyal club servants both are dedicated committee members of the Craven District Football Association, Dennis joining in 1987 and Alan in 1991, so their service to the game is not just restricted to club football.

The awards were presented on behalf of The Football Association by Peter Marsden, president of The West Riding County Football Association.

Mr Marsden said that he had known both Alan and Dennis for most of their footballing lives and congratulated them on their loyalty, dedication and enthusiasm to grass roots football.

He said awards such as these have to be earned and these two gentlemen thoroughly deserved the honour bestowed on them - without such people grass roots football would disappear.

Alan and Dennis received a bronze medal, an inscribed lapel badge and a personal letter from the chairman of The Football Association.