Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this week’s update on behalf of the AFC R&D Board. This is a busy period, so I want to firstly give you some reminders about upcoming deadlines in the next few days.
The brilliant opportunity for you to get a “name in the shirt” only has a few days left. If you would like your name, or indeed someone else’s name, a phrase or any slogan up to 22 characters to be part of the unique Home and Away shirts for the 2020- 2022 seasons, you need to make your purchase by Tuesday 30th June. You can select from the following options here:
- Adult Shirt plus Name: £100.
- Adult Shirt Gift Package: £120.
- Framed Shirt: £300.
- Name in the Shirt only: £50.
The Team Building Lottery is proving very popular and is an excellent win/win opportunity for everyone who participates. Not only does the Team Building Lottery generate additional funds for the playing budget, it also gives you the chance to win a cash prize each month. The June monthly prize draw is expected to be around £600. So, if you want to enter the next draw the please make sure you do before the deadline of Monday June 29th.
Discounted Season Tickets are still available making them exceptional value for money with prices starting at just £125. The promotional prices are:
- Adults for only £173 compared with £199.
- Concession for only £125 compared with £145.
The Club’s Annual General Meeting will be on Wednesday 15th July. This will be held via Zoom, so if you have not used Zoom before it may be worth taking the opportunity to download it and get used to how the system works. More details will be sent to Members shortly, but essentially you will need to register to receive joining instructions and a password to enable you to participate.
Our thanks at this difficult time to two local companies, Drainage 2U for sponsoring Home Warm Up Tops and Dunore Energy for sponsoring the Under21/Elite Track Suits for the 2020/21 season. Check Out their websites www.drainage2u.co.uk and www.dunore-energy.com.
On the football front, whilst there is certainly more activity from non-league clubs in general than there was a few weeks ago, at this stage there is not any confirmed start date for the season. In fact, there are several scenarios being considered by the FA for a re-start of non-league football at AFC R&D’s level, of which the September start date which is been mentioned in the media recently is just one. There will, of course, be an update as soon as the Club hears anything officially. As you may have seen, this week we have released our retained list for the new season, with Andy Peaks confirming that 18 of last season’s squad will be playing at Hayden Road one again this year. Open Trails for Under 21s are also being planned, however spaces are limited, so if you want to have a chance of participating in our Player Pathway into semi-professional and professional football please make sure you register early.
Preparations for the new season at Hayden Road continues jointly with our Rushden and Higham United colleagues. The pitch is looking superb following the joint summer maintenance and enhancement work. Following the successful trial last Saturday, we are progressing with the necessary arrangements to make the ground Covid-19 Secure, finalising our Risk Assessments and Operational Plan. When you visit the ground, for example, for the shop, do some maintenance or simply look at the pitch, please make sure you follow the guidance. These have been developed to protect everyone’s safety. As always make sure you keep up to date with all the necessary current advice. The best place to follow the guidelines issued by the Government and Public Health England are updated daily and can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
