Chairman’s Update
I hope you’re all having a wonderful Christmas period, and I would like to extend my warmest wishes for a Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, on behalf of everyone at Southwell City FC.
2024 has been a year of significant growth and development for our junior section. Our new Nike partnership for the 2024/25 season marks an exciting chapter for our youth teams, bringing improved kit availability and additional resources for coach development. The successful launch of our pan-disability football project, with its well-received taster day in April, demonstrates our ongoing commitment to making football accessible to everyone in our community. Our new City Kickers programme for young girls has also been a wonderful addition to our Sunday morning offerings.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to announce plans to introduce walking football next season, further expanding our inclusive approach. We are also in promising discussions with Newark and Sherwood Council regarding a potential 3G pitch in the town – an initiative that would benefit not just our club but other sporting organisations in Southwell as well.
The major drainage works at Brinkley were vital for improved pitch playability, and we expect to see further improvements in the playing surface over the coming seasons. Our clubhouse renovations at the War Memorial Ground are progressing well, and I’m grateful to everyone involved in these developments.
None of these achievements would be possible without our dedicated committee members, coaches, and volunteers who consistently go above and beyond. Their commitment to the club, while balancing work, family, and other responsibilities, is truly remarkable. We’re always looking for additional support across all areas of the club, so if you feel you can contribute, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you at our games over the festive period and into the new year.
Men’s First Team Manager’s Update
When I wrote this last year, it was very much about keeping perspective and being proud of what we’ve done so far. To be honest, the tone is pretty much the same now! The way we finished last season wasn’t good enough and it’s the only time in the 7 years I’ve managed this side that I don’t think we’ve shown progression.
We worked really hard over the summer and I’m so proud of what we do and where we’re at. We sit 10th in a competitive UCL league, which given our fixtures to start with, I’m content with. I regret some of the points we’ve lost but we’re glass half-full, and we’re in a good place. The squad is the strongest we’ve had, and I’ve been able to build it patiently whilst waiting for the right players and characters to become available. We don’t have an active weekly playing budget so it is a waiting game at times. Usually when we get the players in, they stay. The culture and environment we try to create is clear, and ultimately we’re here to enjoy it!
This year we’ve also introduced a 4th senior team which is pretty much unprecedented, and whilst we’ve had more challenges than we expected in the summer, it’s definitely been a success. The rationale for bringing the team across was to progress more youngsters through to our first team, taking into consideration the challenges I mention above. Whilst the jump is big, the kids have so much talent and I’m keen to give as many of them minutes as possible. Over the last two 1st team games, our average age has been 21 and within that, 6 x U18s have all been major parts of the squad. There will be frustrating times to come, but there will also be plenty to be happy with!
It’d be great to get more people down to watch and support the boys each week, and I think we’re still the cheapest entry package in the entire United Counties.
Lastly, the club invested a significant amount into pitch drainage during the summer. Shaun worked tirelessly to create a better surface, and the bulk of the problem-areas from last year are miles better. We’d have lost more games last year without it. We also know there’s another area that will need work over this summer, it’s just part of converting a sheep’s field from a few years back without spending 6-figures at once.
Merry Christmas to all our players, coaches and supporters. Thanks for all your support this year and I wish you all the best for 2025.
Jonny
Ladies Team Manager’s Update
2024 has been a rollercoaster ride so far with far more ups and downs, but 2025 promise to usurp the brilliant year the female section has had at Southwell City.
The close of the 2023/2024 season saw our very young ladies team win their division 3 title with a 100% success rate, winning all their league games on our way to lifting the league winner’s trophy.
With promotion to division 2, we knew that the step up would be a big one and the ladies would have an even bigger learning curve to overcome than the one from the previous year when they entered open age football.
Summer plans were not as we wanted, with players away and losing some players due to commitments away from the football field, the team were not able to prepare in the manner we are accustomed to. This showed in the results for the initial opening of the season with some heavy defeats. However, you learn more in defeat and the ladies got the push they needed; learning, adapting and improving. In turn meaning that results got better, and we finish the calendar year in a mid-table position and moving into the quarter finals of the league cup, there is still a lot to look forward to and to be played for.
Away from the ladies, our ever-growing girls section continue to achieve great successes across the age groups as they improve season upon season. 2024 has also seen the kick off for our City Kickers programme to offer girls only sessions.
As great as 2024 has been, 2025 is promising to be even more exciting.
As the ladies’ team have already done so in 2024, the ladies team offers a pathway for our U18 and U16 female players opportunities to play for the open age team. With a view of initially gaining vital experience as part of their development, but with a long-term view of incorporating the players into our open age team.
This is vitally important this year as we will be saying our goodbyes (hopefully only temporarily) to players that go off to university or even to the USA to continue their footballing and educational journey. With the promotion of our younger players and the talent that they hold, we have no doubt that the transition for the ladies’ team will be a seamless one.
Additionally at our junior levels, work has already started to grow our junior female section even more; as work as started to hopefully have in place an U7, U8, U9 as well as an U12 for the 2025/2026 season. Meaning that Southwell City Football Club will be able to offer match day football for girls aged from 6 all the way through to open age. Bolt on our City Kickers programme, it means we can offer football to girls from the age 4 onwards!
The girls and ladies section has grown dramatically over these past years, on and off the pitch, 2025 promises to shows that there is still plenty to be excited about. Come join us and be part of our journey.
Wishing all our players, coaches, volunteers and supporters a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.
Sven
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