On the 1st December we turned two ! That's 2 years and 3 Fifa series.
Apologies for not getting this out sooner, but as with everything time is always at a premium and so our best laid plans sometimes get delayed and mostly out of our control due to things happening outside of the FVPA.
When I look back at what the FVPA set out to achieve in the beginning and the vision Myself & Mark had for moving forward within the Fifa Community and what we wanted to be able to offer, I believe we have met our own expectations and a lot more!
Offering a dedicated environment where Virtual Pro Players and Clubs can communicate and organise themselves and take their Fifa experience to the highest level. Sounds like a simple plan ! It is of course a lot more complicated than that. Not only have we achieved what was set out, we have done a lot more, we are now on our 3rd Generation of website, we have run multiple tournaments, secured some decent prizes, forged exciting partnerships, received recognition from EA by being invited to join the GameChangers which allows us to feedback the important stuff from you! Played a massive part in the iFVPA International Project. Not bad for two guys who love Fifa, who have Families, Jobs and other Commitments but find time to develop and move forward at every opportunity, often funding stuff from our own pockets! However we couldn't do it with out those who support us and put their personal time into this great community! Often ridiculed, moaned at and accused of all sorts, but all who stand united and do the best they can to ensure the FVPA remains the biggest and best Dedicated Virtual Pro Site.
I would like to mention some of the guys that have really helped move us forward over the last 12 months.
BigZombieMonkey (Former FVPA Admin / FVPA Spike) - Instrumental in making changes to the structure and layout of the Forum, sharing and discussing ideas to enhance - The Graphics and colour Scheme of the new Website, plus a lot more - Dedicated an immense amount of time, which we are really appreciative of and send out a Big Thank You Fella !
FVPA Phil (Admin) - A very influential figure within the PS3 Fifa Community before taking a prolonged break, returned earlier this year and returned with a bang, getting involved in anything he could lay his hands on. New* iFVPA Eligibility Module - This project has been a long time in the making, it may seem a simple module, but after various discussions with iFVPA Managers and then sitting back and working out what we could do to ensure the system and rules work better for everyone, Phil worked on the new module for a lot of man hours, a couple of times we even sat on Skype until the earlier hours of the morning testing and optimising the system.. Phil continues to be proactive and a driving force within the staff room - a Big Thank You Fella !
Bluenilsatis (Chief Moderator), Yapamilias, Bateson87, Si_The_Spy, Jamico - In the last few days a restructure of staff has rewarded the massive efforts these guys go to on a daily basis to keep the Forums running as smooth as possible, Approving newly registered members after carrying out the necessary checks, actively responding to reported posts and putting time and effort in to assist with discussions and actions needed in projects all over the site - A Big Thank You Guys
Moderators - We have a number of guys who put time into the FVPA in different ways, affording what they can when they can and again without the support of these guys we would not be able to keep the forum's as friendly as they are, well done and a Big Thank You Guys!
iFVPA Managers - The FVPA are the responsible host community for England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, USA and Wales across Xbox and PS3 - We have 11 Managers in total, Managed by myself and bluenilsatis as iFVPA Directors of Football. Its a very important role representing the FVPA within the International Community, Arranging Matches, Submitting results and probably the hardest of all, recruiting International players - It will always be a tough job to select 11 starting players per fixture when there are clearly a lot of players wanting to represent their country, but in the face of criticism of those not getting picked or the questioning of player selections etc, the Managers do a top class job. A Big Thank You to all of You !
SweetpatchTV, UltimateFifa & FifaSoccerBlog - Our Community partners, these guys are instrumental in helping us reach a wider audience, with coverage of the events and features of the FVPA - A Big Thank You Guys !
EASPORTS - Alistair & Romily, Firstly in believing in the FVPA but also for giving us a platform to bring ideas and suggestions from the Virtual Pro Clubs community in a structured way. Coverage on the Fifa Podcast, retweeting news and events. A Big Thank You Guys !
What have we achieved in the past 12 Months ?
Where we are now is largely noticeable by simply logging in !
Brand New Website - Project started in June, we went live in September.
Featuring: MY FVPA - For localised Leagues, Stats by Club and Virtual Pro's - Support Centre: Pooling resource so all requests can be managed in a central location (If you do not get a response on a PM, send in a support request), Games Arcade: Just a little bit fun to pass the time - 100 games and nearly 20,000 plays in a short period of time! - Integrated User Accounts: between front end and forum all accounts synchronised
This has been a Massive Project and although there have been a few teething problems with the main site, the majority of issues have been resolved as quick as we could. MY FVPA is still bedding in, there is a lot of work to go with this as the original budget has already doubled and looks like there is still a lot more needed to completely iron out issues and make it easy to use - We appreciate all the efforts of those assisting us with reports and suggestions to shape it exactly how we want it.
GameChangers ?
Myself, Mark and BigZombieMonkey spent a lot of time collating information from you within the Feedback Area regarding Fifa 11 and now Fifa 12 Pro Clubs. Passing on as much information as we could direct to EA and had subsequent timely discussions. This is a fundamental part of our community, providing information and feedback to the developers of the game we all dedicate so much time to!
The Future - What's in store ?
Champions League - The FVPA have been awarded places in the Champions League based on the successful Clubs in our own Local Clubs Leagues. More details on this will follow shortly
European Cup and World Cup: The iFVPA is still less than a year old !! but the vision to host the first World Cup after a successful year in Fifa 11 has been met with a lot of positive comment! Qualification starts in February 2012 with the actual World Cup kicking off in June ! Good Luck to all iFVPA Nations - Lets bring the World Cup back to the FVPA !
As we have shown over the past 2 years, we do not stand still, we continue to develop and grow as a community and that is exactly what we will continue to do, whether that be by adding additional features or optimising what we already have. We are always working hard, discussing many potential avenues of development, some of which will make it past the discussions and many that will not this time around, but rest assured we continue as we started.
Again a Big final Thank You to everyone at the FVPA, Staff, Members, Supporters, Partners and even our Critics !
Here's to another successful 12 months!
Kelley & Mark
