Many of the local X-Wing events are at clubs and cons yet FFG only allows stores to be part of their "organised play" regime. Why do they exclude the most organised groups capable of running events in favour of distracted store staff?

I suspect it is because stores sell their product and supporting those stores is a big part of their business strategy. On top of that, by only selling the OP kits to stores through normal distribution channels, they can use that store's retail account to make sure that the OP kits are only going to legitimate organized play and not to collectors or eBay sellers. That would be a lot harder if they were selling to clubs.

Remember that you can still get an OP kit for your club or convention if you partner with a store. As long as the store agrees to order the kit for you, there's nothing stopping the event from being at a club or convention.

That is ok if you call FFG and leave a message they dont call back.

I raised this point with FFG sometime ago, because most wargame events in the UK are run by clubs and not retailers.

The response I got was "I'll pass your comment to management" and have heard nothing since.

make sure that the OP kits are only going to legitimate organized play and not ... eBay sellers.

Yeah, about this...hrm.