Another relatively quiet week across the Club but the hard work continues behind the scenes.
On the playing front, another Saturday without football beckons as today’s match at Bromsgrove Sporting has been postponed due to a frozen pitch. We’re sure the news didn’t come as any great surprise but nevertheless we’re very grateful to all at Bromsgrove for their clear communication during the week and the efforts of their volunteers to give the game the best possible chance of going ahead. A new date for the match will be advised in due course so please keep an eye on the website.
In other fixture news, the postponed match against Rushall Olympic from last weekend has been re-arranged for Tuesday, March 14th with a 7:45pm kick off.
Whilst the first team match was also postponed last Saturday, a few Academy games did manage to beat the weather – the U14s won 5-0, the U16s lost 5-1 and the U21s lost 4-3. During the week, the U23 scholars at Moulton College beat West Ham Utd Dev Squad U23s 9-0 in the National Youth Football League and the U18s beat Moulton FC 4-1 in the Northants Senior Youth League. Well done to all the lads at Moulton College especially those who made the step up from the U18s.
In player news, we welcomed Miguel Lopes De Matos to the Club this week from Hadely FC. Sadly though, we say farewell to Momodou ‘Tali’ Jallow who, following one promising appearance at Ilkeston Town FC, has left the Club having been offered a professional contract by a club in Sweden. Tali leaves us with our very best wishes and first team manager, Chris Nunn, had this to say: “It goes without saying that we wish Tali well; it’s a fantastic opportunity for him to resume playing football in a professional environment. We were never going to stand in his way, and it just shows that there is a route back to the professional game at this Club. It’s also great that we’re identifying players capable of making that step up. We’ll keep in touch with him, and we wish him all the best.”
The Board held its regular monthly on Tuesday evening where there were updates on the New Home, the Academy and the lease at Hayden Road which is due for renewal. Members of the Board will be meeting with representatives from the Academy and Moulton College in the coming weeks as we continue to plan for the rest of this season and beyond.
The first meeting of the Volunteers Working Group will be held next week. If anyone is interested in joining this group, please contact Dave Bland, who is leading the group, on david.bland@afc-diamonds.com We’re pleased to advise you all that the online Club Shop is up and running again following a period of downtime. The shop is probably as well-stocked as it’s ever been with almost 100 items in adult and junior sizes and following feedback at the Volunteer evening back in November, we’ve also got plenty of ladies clothing under the ‘Leisurewear’ section.
To view the online shop homepage, see here: https://www.afcdiamondsshop.com/index.asp
Replica kit is here: https://www.afcdiamondsshop.com/replicakit.asp
Leisurewear such as T-shirts, polo shirts, hoodies and women’s clothing is here: https://www.afcdiamondsshop.com/leisurewear.asp
Training kit is here; wear what the players wear!: https://www.afcdiamondsshop.com/training.asp
Coats and Hats are here; timely!: https://www.afcdiamondsshop.com/coatsscarveshats.asp
And lastly we’ve got the ‘Souvenirs’ section here which is limited to Bags and Rucksacks at the moment: https://www.afcdiamondsshop.com/souvenirs.asp
With the exception of home and away kits, please note there is a 28-day lead-time. Items are delivered direct from the manufacturer to your door and don’t forget that Club Members receive a 10% discount on all items.
Thank you all for your continued support; we hope to see you all at Hayden Road on Tuesday evening for the re-arranged match v Basford United.
