English Touch Association
Established1995
Location,
WebsiteEngland Touch Association

The England Touch Association (ETA) is the national governing body for touch football within England. It was granted membership to the Federation of International Touch (FIT) on 18 March 1995.[1] The current Chief Operating Officer is Gregg Cropper.[2]

History edit

In 2013 the ETA formed a strategic partnership with the RFU's O2 Touch Rugby initiative to develop the sport of Touch Rugby within the UK in the build up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[1] The England Touch Association submitted a Sport England pre-application document as of June 2018.[2]

European Championships edit

The England Touch Association hosted the 2018 European Touch Championships in Nottingham, England.[3] The tournament was covered by the BBC,[4][5] a milestone for the sport, with England crowned as overall champions. The ETA open mens and womens teams defeated Wales to be crowned champions in their respective divisions, whilst the ETA mixed open team narrowly lost their semifinal to Scotland, but defeated France in the playoff to achieve a bronze medal.[6][7]

Touch Football World Cup edit

The England Touch Association submitted multiple teams to the 2015 Touch Football World Cup, where they placed fourth in the Mixed Open final. [8]

 
Glaxay Touch London, and London Scorpions Touch, competing in the Womens National Touch Series final, 4 August 2018. Canterbury RFC, England.

Nationals edit

The final major, opens tournament for the 2018 season, the ETA Nationals, was held at St Ives, Cambridgeshire, in August, with the South East Taipans winning the mens and womens finals respectively.[7][9]

Current edit

At the close of the 2017 season October rankings, and according to FITs ranking policy,[10] the ETA open mens team ranked fifth in the world, with the womens open team placing fourth. As of the close of the 2018 season, and the September rankings, the ETA open mens team have climbed to second on the world rankings, ahead of New Zeland and South Africa, with the womens open team placing third, ahead of Wales.[11]

References edit

External links edit

* Category:Sports organizations established in 1995