North Riding FA is delighted to announce the recent appointment of two additional Independent Directors to its Board.

Helena Bowman and Alan Darfi were appointed to the Board of Directors prior to Christmas and the County FA look forward to the two of them helping to shape the future of the Association and football in North Riding.

Steven Wade, Chief Executive of North Riding FA, welcomed the appointment of the two new Directors saying, "I am delighted with the quality of the two people that we have been able to appoint to our Board of Directors. Helena and Alan are both currently working in the sports industry and have great experience in particular of grassroots football.  We are very keen to widen the skill-set of our Directors whilst becoming more representative of the game we serve. These two appointments are a huge step in the right direction."

Helena, aged 34, grew up and attended school in Durham City, moving to Teesside in 2007.

After graduating from Sheffield University in 2005 with a Bsc in Psychology, Helena joined Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation as a Project Worker. In 2012 Helena became Head of the Foundation, which now has a team of 60 employees working to raise aspirations of young people and adults in the community.

Since joining MFC Foundation, Helena has completed a PGCE qualifying as a teacher and in more recent years, an MA in Education at Teesside University.  

A Middlesbrough FC Supporter, Helena is passionate about football at all level levels; from grassroots to the professional game. She also has a keen interest in Equality, Inclusion and Governance.

Alan Darfi is a qualified Solicitor. He previously spent six years working for The FA during which time he advised County FA's on a range of legal and regulatory matters. On qualifying as a Solicitor he joined a boutique Sports Practice in Leeds, FrontRow Legal, with his time there spent advising a range of commercial and sports clients on legal matters, ranging from corporate governance to sports regulations, via commercial agreements and finance.

Darfi, aged 34, joined the Rugby Football League in November 2017 as Head of Legal having spent the previous 20 months as Head of Operations and Legal at neighbours West Riding FA. His role with the RFL means he has responsibility for advising the Company on all legal matters including corporate governance, overseeing all commercial deals and managing compliance function.

Alan, a Millwall FC fan, is passionate about grassroots sport and sits on discipline panels for a number of National Governing Bodies including The FA, England Boxing and Table Tennis.

Helena and Alan's appointments mean that the North Riding FA now has a Board of 12 Directors, made up of 7 Elected Directors, 4 Independent Directors and the Chief Executive. Elected Directors serve a three year term before re-election and the Independent Directors serve one year terms before potential re-appointment.