Cambridgeshire Football Association, whose headquarters are at Histon Football Club, are looking for this role.
Part-time Football Operations Officer to support the operations aspects of the business. Main duties are administration of football discipline and other office administration. 25 hours p/w. Closing date: 2nd October 2022
Cambridgeshire Football Association, whose headquarters are at Histon Football Club, are looking for this role.
Football Development Administrator to work within the football development team on all coach education aspects of football development and support delivery of the Cambridgeshire Football Association 2021-24 Strategy and The FA Grassroots Football Strategy. They will retain and develop the coaching workforce and support football clubs with coach education opportunities. The ideal candidate will have experience of coaching or coach development and be able to plan, implement and evaluate initiatives to have a positive impact on the football environment. Closing date: Sunday 4th September 2022
Cambridgeshire Football Association, whose headquarters are at Histon Football Club, are looking for these roles.
Business Operations Manager to provide strategic direction and management of the operations aspects of the business. This includes football governance and discipline, building and office management, and commercial operations. The Business Operations Manager will be part of the management committee and support the CEO with day-to-day finance and corporate governance tasks. Closing Date 14th August 2022
Referee Development Officer to work within our football development team on all aspects of referee development. The referee development officer will support delivery of the Cambridgeshire Football Association 2021-24 Strategy, The FA Grassroots Football Strategy, and the FA Referee Strategy. They will recruit, convert, retain, develop and progress referees to service the game and maximise coverage of affiliated league and cups fixtures. The ideal candidate will have experience of refereeing or referee development and be able to plan, implement and evaluate initiatives to have a positive impact on the football environment. Closing Date 14th August 2022
Saturday 8th January. Kick-off at 3pm
This is the first First Team fixture in the Pitching In Northern Premier League.
Details about the Covid-19 arrangements can be found here
Saturday 1st January. Kick-off at 3pm
This is the first First Team fixture in the Pitching In Northern Premier League.
Details about the Covid-19 arrangements can be found here
Saturday 23rd October. Kick-off at 3pm
This is the first First Team fixture in the Pitching In Northern Premier League.
Details about the Covid-19 arrangements can be found here
Saturday 28th August. Kick-off at 3pm
This is the first First Team fixture in the Pitching In Northern Premier League.
Details about the Covid-19 arrangements can be found here
Following a turbulent period of uncertainty for Histon FC, the team is all ready to go as the new season begins – and the supporters will be with them all the way! John Payne reports.
The fixtures schedule for Histon FC’s first season in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division was released yesterday and the reaction from Bridge Road is one of relief and positivity. There was some trepidation within the camp over the possibility of players and fans having to make round trips of 200 miles or more to fulfil evening fixtures away from home but that fear has largely been alleviated.
These concerns followed the FA’s rejection of Histon’s appeal against being moved into the Northern Premier League on the basis of the disproportionate travelling times the club and its fans will face.
First team fixtures
The club welcomes the League’s announcement despite the season kicking off with a 235-mile round trip to Belper Town on 15th August, which is the furthest the Stutes have been asked to travel for a league fixture for many years.
“The schedule has been quite kind to us on the whole” said a club spokesman. “The trip to Derbyshire to play Belper Town had to be made at some point over the season and to get it out of the way so early on is a positive. There are worse times of year to be making a visit the edge of the Peak District and, with it also being the club’s first ever match in the Northern Premier League, many of our fans will want to be able to say “I was there”. I wouldn’t be surprised if some take the family and turn the trip into a mini-vacation.
“It is good to see that the fixtures list has thrown up only one evening match away from home which is not within a one-hour journey time, and even this trip to Bedworth United near Coventry is in September rather than later in the season when the risk of last minute postponements becomes greater.”
The Stutes host Daventry Town in their opening home fixture on Tuesday 17th August, which will be the first time fans have been permitted to attend a league match at Bridge Road for almost nine months. The following Tuesday the club makes the trip to Wisbech Town to meet another of the four Cambridgeshire-based clubs allocated to the NPL Midlands Division, followed by a home fixture on 28th August against Sutton Coldfield Town.
Other notable early fixtures at Bridge Road are Soham Town Rangers on Sat. 25th September, Yaxley on Sat. 23rd October and the Cambridge City “away” match on 27th December.
The full fixture list is available on the Histon FC website at First Team – Histon FC
The build-up begins!
The Stutes pre-season campaign is currently under way with the club fielding a mixture of First Team players, Youth team members and trialists in their two matches to date. The first was a 0-2 defeat against Walsham-Le-Willows in the Stephen Parker Memorial Trophy match followed by a 1-0 reverse at Enfield last night. The build-up to the new season continues with a friendly match against Biggleswade Town on Tuesday 27th July, kicking off at 7.45.
Enjoyed supporting the UK teams in the Euros? Supporting your very own local team can be just as much fun – with matches on your own doorstep. Admission to Histon FC v Biggleswade Town is just £5.00 with accompanied Under-14’s admitted free. See you there!
An unsuccessful appeal against the Football Association’s decision to move Histon FC out of the Isthmian league and into the Northern Premier League has left the club considering how it will tackle the problems arising from its new opponents being located much further away from home.
The club will from now on be competing in the Northern Premier League (NPL) Midlands Division, and the club had explained its fears about the implications of this to the Appeal Board. These include the additional costs, loss of players, recruitment difficulties, weakened squads, reduction in away support, and impact on sponsors, volunteers, and youth structure.
The area where first team football will be played has moved from the south and east of Cambridge to the north and west, and the club is concerned about the implications of fewer local fixtures and therefore fewer opportunities for generating income. The Histon FC Board explained: “…the practical implications relate not just to the additional travel, but to where our new opponents are situated – away from our connections in East Anglia, and away from the home and work locations of our players”.
“Disregard” of club needs
The club argued for financial compensation if it could not remain in the Isthmian League, but the Appeal Board has not only firmly rejected the claim, but also made clear that, because of the club’s geographical position, it could potentially face the disruption of being moved between leagues every season from now on.
The Board is highly critical of the Football Association’s handling of the whole process. In a statement, they said: “This appeal was not about the club not wanting to be in the NPL, it was about the disregard the FA has shown to clubs like ours who have been ignored whilst the FA announce the wide-ranging benefits for other clubs at the expense of those in a similar position to us. We wanted to make our point and have now done so.”
Addressing the losses
The club now faces bridging both an income gap and the loss of experienced, talented players. The Board explained: “The move into the Northern Premier League Midlands Division really will have a significant negative impact on our costs, and has already resulted in the loss of a number of senior players from our playing squad. We will of course face these problems head on, and the Board remains 100% committed to ensuring that the club continues on a solid financial footing.
“We are working hard to bring new sponsors to the club and are involved in a number of negotiations over deals with various potential suppliers to try to mitigate the financial impact as much as possible. There will inevitably have to be some savings made somewhere however and to that end we are currently reviewing all areas of club operations and will take any actions necessary where and when appropriate.”
Although some players in the First Team squad are now leaving, the club is sympathetic with their reasons for doing so: “… the huge increase in travel times for those affected is just too much for them to be able to deal with, and… our thanks go to them all.”
Looking ahead
Recruitment plans for new players are now being pursued “with renewed vigour” and the club will be holding First Team trials shortly.
The Board is keen now to draw a line under the problems related to the league and move ahead with confidence: “We look forward to getting back to playing the game we all love, making new friends and visiting clubs we’ve never visited before whilst welcoming new clubs to The Bridge.
“We remain optimistic and excited for the future and look forward to seeing you all back at The Bridge soon.
“We thank all of you who have shown us so much support during this process, it is good to know that you are behind us.”
Recruiting now for new players! Come along to an open training session with FA qualified coaches on Tuesdays at 6-7pm on Histon Recreation Ground until the end of this term on Tuesday 20th July.
For more information contact mark@breadcrumbmedia.co.uk or 07885 649247.