On Thursday 9^th April the FA confirmed that the decision to declare the season beneath Step 2 null and void would be upheld. Understandably, this decision has not been received with enthusiasm. In particular, we sympathise with those local clubs who were looking to end the season on a high note, with trophies and promotions on the horizon. Everybody in non-league knows the amount of hard work that goes into just keeping a team on the pitch all season. Success at the end of a hard season makes the years of toil worthwhile; to have that taken away due to reasons far beyond the remit of football must be heart-breaking.

The decision to null and void the season did not impact upon COLFC to any great extent as we were in 17^th position when the season was terminated and would be 16^th if the “Points Per Game” (PPG) criteria were applied. As such, we have kept our counsel during what is a highly emotive debate. We have written to each of the clubs in our locality who were most affected by the decision, Lower Breck, Vauxhall Motors and 1874 Northwich, and offered our support in any way we could, including the playing of a pre-season friendly with each if wanted (cold comfort we know).

We have nothing but sympathy for those clubs who were within touching distance of winning trophies or gaining promotion.  However, if we were in a relegation position (or close to one) and the PPG system was used with 25% of the season remaining, we would be equally as infuriated and would be fighting tooth and nail for our club. Frankly, we could not support a position that relegated clubs with 25% of the season left to play.

Club members will have received notification of our virtual AGM. In addition to this, COLFC will be hosting a series of online Q&A sessions with members and supporters over the coming weeks to discuss the practical implications of the season being terminated, lay out the various scenarios that may be facing the club and to begin planning for next season, if and when that becomes a reality.

However, as Jurgen Klopp has famously stated, “football is the most important of the least important things”. The country is in the grip of a crisis unparalleled outside of wartime. While football often offers a welcome escape from life’s troubles, we cannot allow football to blind us to the gravity of the situation we are in. Many people, including a number of our volunteers and players, have been infected by this virus. Many of us have friends or family working in front line occupations, risking their health and the health of their loved ones as a direct consequence of PPE provision that would be unacceptable health and safety practice in a routine production line environment, let alone in hospitals facing a killer pandemic. Most of us are socially distancing, while our older and less well friends and relatives still face weeks, if not months, of further isolation. Unfortunately, some have also lost loved ones prematurely. Our sincere condolences go to all who have experienced such devastating loss.

Of course, one day, we will return to football. However, there is absolutely no certainty when that will be. The biggest clubs, in the European Clubs Association, along with FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League remain committed to the completion of the 2019/20 season. However, the prospect of this being completed before August remains remote. Similarly, both the EFL and National League have kept the option of completing the season on the table. However, all of the competitions concerned involve professional clubs and players. Full-time professionalism awards clubs a greater degree of isolation and self-containment for their playing squads. In the semi-professional ranks we would be bringing people together for training and matches from an array of backgrounds, from social distancing to front line workers. In the current, and ongoing, climate that is not acceptable.

At the top of the tree, broadcasting revenues make “behind closed doors” a viable option. Obviously this diminishes the further teams are down the football pyramid and playing behind closed doors becomes less viable, although the National League does benefit from a TV deal. Practically, as a club that relies on gate receipts to cover match related outgoings, we would not be able to consider a behind closed doors option. We also think it is likely that this would apply to clubs that rely on bar takings and the hire of facilities that remain indefinitely closed due to social distancing measures.

Ethically, we are loath to put the health and safety of supporters, volunteers, players and staff at risk should an economically, rather than scientifically, driven partial lifting of restrictions on gatherings be lifted. We believe that, up to the suspension of fixtures after 14^th March, football had been unnecessarily cavalier with public health concerns for at least a week. The blame for this lies fairly and squarely with the government and the disastrously laissez faire policy of herd immunity. 

In the continued absence of a testing, tracing and isolating regime, COLFC remains unconvinced that herd immunity has been fully replaced as a government strategy. As such we remain resolute that our supporters, volunteers, players and staff will not be part of any “herd” should that potentially catastrophic, ideologically driven, policy of “taking it on the chin” rear its head again. We will remain guided by trusted voices, such as Professor John Ashton and the World Health Organisation, and urge people not to be distracted from the task at hand by “nudge” messaging from the government’s Behavioural Insights Team. These, often conflicting, messages are not based on medical science but on behavioural economics and are intended to judge public reaction to political options, not provide public health information.

As things stand, COLFC remains more a community organisation than a football club. We have mobilised our COLFC Community volunteers as part of the Liverpool City Region social and solidarity economy. Parcels of food and household items are being delivered to vulnerable and isolated people on a weekly basis by our volunteers. Our Club Welfare Officer is using social media to provide links to sources of guidance and support, including resources for those who may feel that the current situation is affecting their mental health. Our PurpsTV YouTube channel is being used as a platform for online fitness sessions, accessible to all ability levels, delivered by Juanita Steel Fitcamp. We ask that everybody involved with the club, in whatever capacity, does whatever they can to make sure our vulnerable neighbours are safe and well.

COLFC sends solidarity and support to all of those workers that are keeping us afloat through these difficult times. The healthcare workers; the nurses, medics, porters, cleaners and all the other staff that prop up the NHS in the face of cutbacks, lack of investment, PFI, outsourcing, low pay and lack of essential PPE. The workers in care homes and in retail, many of them among the most exploited and lowest paid in our economy, but essential to civilised life. The transport workers, the workers in warehousing and distribution, and all of those that are keeping essential workers and our food stocks in the right places at the right time. The role of these workers must be rewarded with decent pay and the best of conditions, including the health and safety at work that has been criminally neglected in the face of the pandemic threat.

Until we meet again, please look after yourselves and your loved ones by following the strictest guidance on social distancing and the isolation of our vulnerable elders, those with disabilities and those with health conditions.

We remain in the match of our lives.

COLFC Board of Directors

UPDATE FOR MEMBERS, SUPPORTERS, PLAYERS AND STAFF

Saturday marked exactly one week since the postponement of our home fixture against Pickering Town. For many of us it will feel more like a lifetime since we were preparing for a football match, such has been the pace of events in the past week or so and the almost overnight changes to everything that we have taken for granted.

COLFC was granted a postponement on 14^th March due to the corona virus impacting upon our matchday squad. However, the board of directors had resolved, that come what may, we did not believe that it was safe or in the interests of public health to fulfil this fixture.

With the cancellation of Premier League and Football League football, we may have attracted an attendance in the region of 450. We were not comfortable with the prospect of seeking to socially distance people in a crowd of that size. How were we to manage entry to the clubhouse and the facilities inside, such as the toilets? How were we to ensure the distancing and safety of our older fans, those with disabilities and those with underlying health conditions? Were we supposed to proceed, with a bumper attendance, but without supporters and volunteers who’ve followed this club everywhere since its inception?

The health and wellbeing of our playing and coaching staff was a huge concern. Placing 43 people, those being two playing squads and coaching teams plus three match officials, into three small rooms before the match, at half time and post-match did not seem a very wise move. We looked at PFA guidance and realised that there was no way we could manage the changing rooms to the standards that the professionals were demanding for their health and safety. If those standards were required for the health and safety of professional players, why would our players and staff be safe and well against the same viral threat with standards that would fall well below PFA guidance? We also considered an option being mooted in cricket, with players arriving already in kit and not using the changing rooms. This was clearly not a realistic proposition.

In short, the prospect of playing matches under the threat of the corona virus was untenable. This placed the club in a precarious position. The FAW had cancelled all football at all levels in Wales. However the FA, “following government guidance”, left the decision to continue with fixtures up to individual leagues to determine. With Premier League and Football League matches cancelled, we were hopeful that the Northern Premier League would follow suit. Alas, this was not to be and a postponement was sought and granted. In the event of this not being granted, the board of directors was unanimous in agreeing that COLFC would not be fulfilling the fixture. This position was taken in the knowledge that refusal to fulfil a fixture can carry heavy sanctions.

The directors were observing events leading up to Saturday 14^th March with increasing concern. The UK government’s “herd immunity” strategy was drawing increasing criticism from trusted voices, like Professor John Ashton, and was clearly flying in the face of what the World Health Organisation was urging governments to do. The decision to play the Liverpool v Atletico Madrid fixture in front of a crowd including 3000 fans from Madrid was nothing short of reckless and Barney Ronay wrote in The Guardian on 13^th March:

“The UK has embraced the notion that herd immunity can be developed by exposing healthy hosts to the virus and surrounding it with those who have already processed it through their system. In effect, the government wants you to contract this disease. Sport was to be left alone as part of this, both a high-functioning industry and an existing tool of transmission through the entire populace that the government believes is inevitable.”

COLFC was not prepared to risk the health and wellbeing of supporters, volunteers, players and staff by being part of “the herd” for this misguided and potentially catastrophic policy. A policy that subsequently disintegrated on Monday 16^th March, when it was revealed that “following the science” actually meant following the wrong science, “science” that the government’s own advisors say could have cost 250,000 lives! The government’s policy had been based on modelling the wrong data and, thankfully, drastic changes in direction have subsequently ensued. Nevertheless, it is regrettable that the FA chose not to follow the lead of the top 92 clubs and, instead, passed a crucial public health decision down to league committees, largely lacking any professional public health input, to stand or fall on their own uninformed decisions.

Effectively, and for the foreseeable future, COLFC is not so much a football club as a community organisation, mobilising alongside others in the Liverpool City Region social and solidarity economy to support those who are most vulnerable during these unprecedented times. On Friday, with donations from our sponsors Regenda and PLS Food Foundation, COLFC Community volunteers packed and delivered food parcels to elderly people in isolation. COLFC Community is now collecting funds to purchase food to enable this service to continue for as long as is required:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/purple-pantry-local-food-emergency-drops?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=chat&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

In addition to providing links to information on the corona virus itself, the club’s Welfare Officer is using social media to provide links to sources of guidance and support for people who may feel that their mental health and wellbeing is being affected by the current crisis.

For updates and opportunities to contribute, volunteer or help out in any way please follow:

                @COLFCcommunity

                @ColfcWelfare

In the meantime, COLFC urges members, supporters, players and staff to look after themselves and their loved ones by following the strictest guidance on social distancing and the isolation of our vulnerable elders, those with disabilities and those with health conditions. We also urge everybody to do whatever they can to make sure our vulnerable neighbours are safe and well.

This is the match of our lives.

COLFC Board of Directors

We have a player currently in self-isolation as a result of Coronavirus and another player displaying symptoms who we have advised to self-isolate and we are providing appropriate advice to all of our squad members and staff.

Both of these players have trained with the squad over the course of the last 7/10 days and consequently as the employer we have no alternative other than to follow Department of Health and Governmental guidelines.

We also have several older supporters, several supporters with disabilities and several supporters with underlying health issues and these groups are most at risk of contracting the virus and of it's most serious consequences.

We have no desire whatsoever to place them in any danger of contracting this deadly disease, for what in the current context amounts to a meaningless sporting event.

Consequently, we have no alternative other than to postpone tomorrow's home game versus Pickering Town.

Later today the NPL North West Division League table will show a 6 point deduction from our points total.

We were charged with fielding an ineligible player in two league games that we won and an NPL disciplinary panel found the charge proven and therefore we would lose the points that we had won from those two games.

Although accepting that we did make a mistake in the process, we had what we felt was hugely compelling evidence of the failure of the FA's own systems and processes, which created the initial problem and then compounded it, as well as written confirmation from the FA that the player was registered, so we appealed the original decision.

An Independent FA panel heard all the evidence recently and upheld the original decision of the NPL.

Although hugely disappointed by this decision, we accept that the onus is on the club to ensure that everything is in order with player registrations and that the FA's own systems, processes and personnel should not be relied upon.

The club will make no further comment on this matter.

City of Liverpool FC is delighted by the decision of the IPO to reject Liverpool FC’s application to trademark the word “Liverpool” in a wide array of football related contexts, following our formal objections, the complaints of local independent traders and eventually those of Liverpool City Council.

As we stated initially, this caused us significant difficulties in a practical sense with the ongoing use of our own club’s name and, from a moral perspective, we simply don’t believe that any privately owned business should ever be allowed to own and profit from the name of the name of the city, and the accumulated collective endeavours of its people, in any context.

We had positive engagement with LFC Chief Executive Peter Moore and re-stated our position to him in person. He agreed to provide legal protections in perpetuity to the club, so in a legal context we had already secured our victory back in July.

However, we continued to offer moral support to the local independent traders in their efforts, so it is good news today for all complainants.

Some of our Directors and many of our supporters are long standing supporters of Liverpool FC and we undertook our legal actions with no pleasure whatsoever. We acted in this matter to protect our football club and to act as a local, critical friend to Liverpool FC and hopefully this whole, sorry episode can now be put behind everybody.

As we began our new journey in the BetVictor NPL this season, Manager Craig Robinson wanted to give the NWCFL championship winning squad an opportunity to take the club forward in the higher division.

As we have all seen so far, performances have not yet delivered the desired results, despite Robbo trying different personnel and formations, so we as a club have to begin transitioning the squad into one that can win games in the NPL.

We need players who want to be at the club and who match our work ethic, ambitions and desire to win football matches.

The Manager has a responsibility to the club as a whole to make difficult decisions in team and squad selections. Players naturally believe they should be playing or need to be playing every game and it's a natural friction between players and Manager at any club. 

Consequently, 3 players have left the club this week; John McGrath, Peter Moore & Michael Roberts.

John and Michael have been with us from the first season and each have made significant contributions to the club with appearances, and in John's case goals as well, although Michael also scored a very important goal in the Play Off Semi Final. So we wish them both well with whichever club they go to.

Peter Moore has only joined the club this season and I think we can all see his potential on the field, but as he will admit himself, he wants to be playing 90 minutes every week and in the NPL and at COLFC that can't be guaranteed. Credit to the lad he accepts this, but does want to be playing more.

We also wish Peter the best of luck with whatever team he joins moving forward.

Robbo is working hard to build a squad that can compete in the NPL and even tonight we had two lads at training who will be available for selection, following International Clearance, with more players in the pipeline.

Thank you to everybody who came to last night's match and made the special atmosphere that was so fitting to our mate Finney.

I am proud that he was a supporter of COLFC and proud to have known him, but I am especially proud that we as a club could pay our respects to him last night. I thank Tony Caveney and Paul McCartney for helping us facilitate the arrangements.

To have a record home attendance was brilliant, but of course we would have liked the performance and result to go with it, but on the night everything went wrong from virtually the kick off.

Our lads more than matched Warrington Town on Saturday and were 90 seconds away from going through to another massive game in the FA Cup against FCUM, but last night Warrington were dominant from start to finish and were deserving winners.

We are waiting on news of Danny Dalton's injury, but of course it is bad and will likely see the big fella sidelined for a good long while. 

We move on to a very busy September for the club starting with an away trip to Brighouse Town on Saturday and then home games against Mossley in the Integro Cup and Colne in the BetVictor NPL and we hope that the several hundred people who came to watch thier first Purps match last night, come back and enjoy more great days with City of Liverpool FC.

On Saturday we praised our supporters and again last night they got behind the lads in a big way, but a final word for our volunteers last night who worked incredibly hard to run the game on behalf of the club. Thank you to every single one of you for the work that you do on behalf of the club. 

Officials of COLFC and have today met with Liverpool FC CEO Peter Moore and his colleagues.

The meeting opened with a sincere apology from Mr Moore on behalf of LFC that a consultation process did not take place prior to the trademark application being submitted.

Ahead of the meeting we had set out our position in writing to Mr Moore that we would like LFC to withdraw the trademark application in it's entirety, or failing that, that we would need legally binding agreements about the future use of our club's name.

We are pleased to report that today's meeting was positive, with both parties keen to work towards a mutually beneficial outcome. 

We will be updating our member shareholders in greater detail, but in the meantime we look forward to receiving an intial draft of a proposed co-existence agreement between the two clubs, that will give us the legally binding assurances we seek.

City of Liverpool opposes the Trademark application made by Liverpool FC to acquire the word "Liverpool" in all football contexts.

Our position is that no privately owned business should be able to own the name of a City in any context and especially not in the football context in the city of Liverpool.

Football has existed in Liverpool for centuries and many football clubs, related organisations and small businesses use the name of the city in their title. The social capital that has been built up in Junior, Youth, Ladies, Amateur, Non-League and semi-professional football, along with supporters, supporter culture and fashion, belongs to the City as a whole and not to any private organisation.

If Liverpool FC are granted this Trademark they will effectively own the names of all these clubs and organisations and could force name changes or a license fee.

We had contact yesterday from Liverpool FC who gave verbal assurances that we, nor any other local football clubs and organisations were the target of this application, and we of course accept the word of the club that we are not the target. However, the fact remains that the practical effect of the granting of the trademark is a serious threat to the future of our community owned football club.

On that basis discussions are ongoing between officials to establish what legal guarantees we can be given that are not subject to staff changes or change of owenership at Liverpool FC. We have also suggested that they withdraw the application in full.

In the meantime, LFC have refunded the £300 we have spent to date opposing the application, which as a volunteer led, community organisation we have accepted, but on a without prejudice basis.

Regenda Homes will be operating the foodbank at our home games on behalf of City of Liverpool FC for Season 2019/20.

Matchgoing Purps Kevin Short & Neil McEwen will lead on the project for Regenda which will see one collection each quarter in association with our usual partners Supporting Foodbanks.

Regenda also wish to provide an enhanced matchday experience to all mascots at home games this season and further details will be provided in due course, following consultation with our Charity & Mascot lead Amanda Manning and Club Welfare Officer Mike Caulfield.

In other volunteer news Bill Sheppard will take up the role of club statistician for Season 2019/20. Welcome aboard Bill!

Yes the 1st of July 2019 is here and with it comes the official start of Season 2019/20, an historic season for the Purps as it is our first at Step 4 of the National League Pyramid.

We join the Northern Premier League North & West Division, which due to Sponsorship will be re-named in the very near future (watch this space!).

Today we welcome Sean Lindblad and Tony Zeverona to the Board of Directors and on Thursday the 1st team squad reports back for the official start of Pre-Season training.

On the volunteering front, after great work with the popular Last Man Standing competitions, Gary Walthew will take over responsibility for the club's fundraising efforts and will work closely with the existing team of volunteers who carry out fundraising efforts for us and report directly to the Board of Directors. 

Mike Caulfield will take responsibilty as Volunteer co-ordinator, ensuring that we have adequate and appropriate coverage at all home games.

With the generosity of Regenda Homes, "Volunteers Day" will take place on the first Saturday home game of the Season (TBC) and again with the support of Regenda Homes, we will be offering a new matchday experience to all mascots

We also welcome two new club sponsors Soccer Million and Perfect Getaways and I'm sure everyone asociated with the club will engage with them, when they can.

We also appreciate the continuing Sponsorship of the Slaughterhouse, Empire Flooring, PLS, Townsend Aerials and other new sponsors who will join us shortly.

As we have always said People and Players will come and go and we have lost some good people this close season, to whom we wish all the best. Other people and players will come in and replace them and the club will continue to move forward.

So we say goodbye to Craig Cairns, Joe Holt, Ben Ascroft & Dave Forbes, who all go off to play thier football elsewhere, but also to Tom Spearrit one of the last few Purps who have been with us from the start. Tom is a great lad and a good Purp, who leaves with our best wishes for the future and who is welcome back at the club anytime. 

So strap in and once again prepare for a ride on the Purple Rollercoaster - it's gonna be boss!

Last Thursday, the club held a Special General Meeting of club shareholders at Smithdown Social. 

Lively debate was held throughtout regarding 4 key aspects ahead of our first season in the Northern Premier League; Admission Prices, Membership Fees, Fundraising & Travel, all designed to keep the Purps competitive on and off the field next season.

It was agreed that admission prices next season will be as follows:-

Adults £8

Concessions £4

Kids U16 FREE with a paying adult or £1 without.

These prices are in line with that charged by other local clubs and the mandate given by the Northern Premier League for Step 4 and include VAT.

Shareholders also discussed raising annual membership fees for adults from £10 annually to £120 annually (or £10 per month), but eventually decided to raise it to £60 annually or £5 per month.

In addition all memberships will now commence in July and run until the following August. Any member who has renewed in the last 6 months will be required to enter the new scheme in July but any fees paid will be taken into account for the new period.

Further information will be sent to shareholders before 1st July.

These increases are designed to do no more than maintain our competitiveness and increase professionalism off the pitch as we move up the non-league pyramid, with kit & equipment, training, analysis, performance, scouting and recruitment high on the agenda.

A new club Home strip was also voted on, which whilst maintaining our affinity with Adidas, will significantly improve our merchandising operation.

Following on from the news that Reserve Team manager James Walsh was stepping down, COLFC has notified The Liverpool County Premier League that we will not be entering a team for Season 2019/20. 

We'd like to thank James and all the players who have represented the club at Reserve level in the 3 seasons we have been formed, especially team captain Tom Carney, who has been with us from the start. 

With a team already playing in the National Youth Alliance at U19, backed up by an U18 squad and a new U18 team playing next season along with a new U23 Sunday Squad, the club feels that we have more than enough talented footballers in our pathways, to continue to develop our young footballers to be ready to support the 1st team squad competing next season in the Evostik Northern Premier League North & West Division 1.

We have also informed Harriet Miller that we will no longer be able to support the Women's team in Season 2019/20 in the North West Regional Women's League. We'd like to thank Harriet and her staff for thier efforts over the past two seasons and wish them all the best for the future.

Craig Cairns has informed manager Craig Robinson that due to his wife due to have a baby, that he will not be joining the squad for Season 2019/20. 

The two lads who joined us together from Runcorn Town (Cairns and Holt) are now both due to have babies and have left the squad together!

We would like to wish Craig and his family all the best for the future and for some great memories during our title winning season.

Manager Craig Robinson said " As disappointing as it is, I understand his decision with him and his wife expecting thier second child this week and being unable to commit after the club getting promoted.

I'd like to thank Cairns for his efforts in this memorable season, he never seemed to stop running, and I know he his disappointed himself to be leaving as winning the league was the highlight of his career! 

Not only has he been a great player for us but he's a good, honest lad and I'd like to wish him and his family all the best for the future"

Sadly, we are losing two very well liked and professional volunteers at the end of Season 2018/19, both due to work commitments.

Mark Howard has done a great job managing the volunteer’s group for us this season and has kept a smile on everybody’s faces. He has transferred to Marseille in his job and is unable to commit the time to managing the group anymore, although he will still be helping out whenever he is home.

We wish Mark all the best.

Paul Squires has been with us from the start and has taken care of the website for the last two seasons, the FLOK loyalty programme and kept the clubs official stats updated. During this time Paul has become more and more stretched for time due to his new career as a paramedic. As we all know NHS workers have to do long hours and deal with very difficult situations at times and Paul has found it hard to get to games and to keep everything updated.

Paul has given the Purps great service and we wish him all the best moving forward. Again, we hope to see him at some games next season.

We are talking to existing volunteers about taking up these roles on behalf of the club and will make an announcement in due course.

In the meanwhile, if anybody wishes to step up and help the club in a voluntary capacity, please do contact us.

COLFC announce that Tony Zeverona will be co-opted onto the Board of Directors for Season 2019/20.

Tony, who was Chairman of Prescot Cables FC for over 10 years, and has recently been on the Board at Cammell Laird 1907 FC and has been brought to the club to provide much needed experience of the Evostik League and will serve in an advisory capacity initially, pending his taking up an agreed area of responsibility moving forward.

Purps Chairman Paul Manning said “We have known Tony for a long time and have had numerous dealings with him during his time as Chairman at Prescot Cables. We know he will be a very good addition to what is already a strong Board of Directors, that is growing in depth and experience as we move forwards.

We felt it important that we got off on the right foot with the Evostik League and all the member clubs and Tony will be a familiar face to them all. His knowledge and experience will be invaluable to COLFC and we are all looking forward to working with him.

Tony will officially join the Board with effect from 1^st July but will likely assist us before then as we prepare to join The Evostik League.”

Tony said, “I would like to thank the COLFC board for this opportunity and I am looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead for the club.”

Yesterday was the pinnacle of a superb league campaign from COLFC and the win at Irlam and the celebrations that took place immediately afterwards and later on at the Slaughterhouse pub will of course live long in the memory.

Craig Robinson and his staff and the entire squad of players deserve all of the plaudits for actually delivering the points and results required over a 38 game season. The club has won 4 cups to date, but this is our first League Title and it means a lot!! Robbo is also an absolute pleasure to work with and is a credit to his lovely family, as are all of the staff and players. 

COLFC is a community and each and every person or organisation associated with the club has played their part in this success. All of the volunteers (and by neccesity their families) give up thier free time to ensure the club operates every day. Supporters spend more money than they probably expected to by buying Golden Goals and COLlotto or playing in our fundraising games to make sure that we meet our financial targets and give total support to the team each week in all kinds of weather (just like at Irlam yesterday!)

All of our sponsors, but especially the club's main sponsor Regenda Homes are part of the COLFC family and we could not have won the League without their unstinting support - we thank them all and look forward to sharing this success with them in the coming weeks.

Everyone plays thier part in this community ethos so that we can have days like yesterday.

We would also like to thank Irlam FC and especially Warren for being so understanding yesterday when we were celebrating after the game and continuing to use the ground for the trophy celebration and photographs, well over an hour after the game had finished - class always rises to the top!

A big thank you also to the Hallmark Security League and Ian Williams and Ian Templeman in particular, both of whom braved atrocious weather to get to the Ambitek Stadium to present the trophies and carry our media duties respectively.

It all got far too close for comfort this week after the defeat at Bootle on Easter Monday and them taking 60 points on the bounce - an absolutely phenominal acheivement at any level of football, but at Step 5 of the pyramid and in the Hallmark Security League, it was literally astounding, so we give enormous credit to Bootle FC and to Joe, his staff and squad of players for winning 20 games on the run and taking the title race to literally the last second of the season.

We move onto the Macron Cup Final on Saturday and hopefully "The Double"!

The club's offices will be open from 12pm - 7pm on Tuesday 30th April (manned as usual by an array of volunteers) to allow any known COLFC supporters or members to purchase tickets for the final. 

The Hallmark Security League Premier League Trophy will also be present for photo opportunities throughout the day!! 

The offices are located at 427 Smithdown Road, Wavertree and the sign says "Golding Estates". It is next door but one to Naked Lunch Cafe. 

City of Liverpool FC is pleased to announce the further expansion of the club into Junior football for next season.

Junior teams at ages U7, U8, U10, U13 & U15 will all be representing COLFC next season under the auspices of the excellent COLFC in the Community team, with a view to having teams at every age group in time for the start of the 20/21 season.

COLFC Chairman Paul Manning said “Each Season we look at ways of expanding the club’s footprint and the ways in which we can positively affect as many lives as possible. Having established our hugely successful 1^st team and then the Reserves, we moved on to Women’s football before expanding into the Youth section via our exciting partnership with Liverpool Football College.

We have worked hard to create pathways up to the 1^st Team via Youth Football at the College and through the Reserves side and it made sense to us to continue working downwards into Junior football and to develop pathways there as well.

We have always considered ourselves to be a Community Football Club but the FA has an actual definition that has to be met and so we are working towards achieving that status over the coming Seasons.”

Paul continued “When we decided that we wanted to make this progression we felt it would be a good fit to bring the Junior football under the auspices of Sean Lindblad in the COLFC in the Community team and were delighted when Sean agreed to manage this on the club’s behalf.

As a result of the great work carried out by the Community team it was unanimously agreed by the Board of Directors that a permanent place on the Club’s Board would be created for COLFC in the Community, in much the same way that The Supporter’s Council has a permanent seat and we are delighted to announce that Sean Lindblad will take up this position with effect from 1^st July 2019 and we look forward to seeing our 5 new kids teams run out in the famous Purple kit next season!”

Sean Lindblad said “I am delighted that the work that goes into COLFC in the Community has been recognised and that we have earned a place on the Club's main Board of Directors. I am proud to take up this place on behalf of all of the Community team and look forward to continuing to develop our plans further as we continue the fantastic work COLFC & COLFC in the Community do.

Our newly formed Junior football section is really exciting and we have already entered into a partnership with Kingsley United which will see us work closely together to build teams that will represent our club next season. COLFC & Kingsely hold similar values and both do great work in the community & I look forward to working with Earl, Aubrey & the entire Kingsley Utd team”

COLFC in the Community is looking for Sponsors for its varying activities for next season, so if you are a local business and want to get involved with COLFC and its outstanding Community team, please contact Sean Lindblad via E-Mail at sean@colfccommunity.co.uk or via phone on 07835 098 960

The Board wishes to place on record its thanks to all members who attended the AGM and those who could not attend but provided proxy votes. The meeting was a positive and uplifting event that re-affirmed our collective commitment to building a football club that truly represents the diverse social and cultural identity of our city.

Three resolutions presented to the meeting were passed without opposition, with the contributions from the floor demonstrating both the passion and insight of our members, and their absolute rejection of prejudice, discrimination and exclusion in football.

Resolution 1 determined that membership or active support of the Football Lads Alliance, Democratic Football Lads Alliance, or any organisation acknowledged as derivative, linear or successor to these organisations, is in contravention of the objects of the club. Members found to have breached this resolution will be removed from membership and banned from attending club fixtures and events.  Supporters found to have breached this resolution will be banned from attending club fixtures and club events.

In seeking to protect the club’s image, in the form of our logo, name and abbreviated name, from misappropriation by tiny and unrepresentative factions, Resolution 2 provides a policy for regulating the use of the COLFC identity on materials linked with other clubs and organisations. COLFC is a relatively new club, playing in the ninth tier, that has worked hard to carve out an identity that does not involve reference to Liverpool FC or Everton FC. This cannot be undermined by individuals and small groups unilaterally determining to dilute the club’s collectively owned identity by linking it to top tier clubs in Germany, Scotland or other nations.

Henceforth, only the names, colours, crests, symbols and other insignia of clubs where partnerships have been properly approved, via the club Supporters’ Council and Board, may be linked to COLFC on banners, scarves, stickers or any other media or materials. Similarly, only the banners and flags of clubs where partnerships have been properly approved may be displayed at club fixtures. Those responsible for bringing items in breach of this policy to club fixtures, or for the production and distribution of such items, can now be asked to leave club fixtures and may be subject to formal warning and possible further action, up to and including removal from membership.

Finally, Resolution 3 has provided additional powers to be used in the member disciplinary process. Any member who has received a formal written warning regarding conduct prejudicial to the club will now be suspended from club membership, to include exclusion from club meetings and removal of voting rights, until such time as the warning is lifted or lapses.

While the subject matter may appear dry when presented in black and white, the meeting positively crackled with the enthusiasm, energy and the determination of members to reinforcing the club’s founding vision and values and to building a truly inclusive community club for Liverpool.

As the shouts that punctuated the applause at the meeting’s close said, “Up The Purps!”

The Club's AGM for season 2017/18 will take place on Wednesday 6th March 2019 at Smithdown Social Club, Crawford Avenue, Liverpool L15, commencing at 7pm and concluding at 9pm.

Doors will open at 6.30pm and there is a bar available for people to purchase drinks and a small car park.

This is a Members Only meeting and tickets (which are free) can only be obtained from within the membership database. Please log on to your membership page at www.webcollect.org.uk and click "Events".

People who purchase new memberships between today and the AGM will not be allowed to attend this meeting.

Regenda Homes will continue to be the main sponsor of City of Liverpool FC (COLFC) for another two seasons, having  appeared on the front of the club’s shirts since it was established over three years ago.

The announcement is the perfect start to the second half of the season for City of Liverpool FC, who are chasing promotion and currently sit top of the Hallmark Security Football League Premiership.

Since the start of our long-standing partnership, staff from both organisations have tirelessly worked together to support several community and fundraising initiatives during the season, including local foodbanks, domestic abuse charity - Centre 56 - and national mental health awareness charity, Chasing the Stigma.

Paul Manning, City of Liverpool FC Chairman, said " We are delighted to be able to continue working with Regenda Homes for another two years. The support we have had has been superb.

“As a volunteer led organisation, time and money are the two most valuable commodities and having support from an organisation like Regenda Homes allows us to move the club forward, both in the football sense and in the work of COLFC in the Community.

“We simply could not have asked for better partners!"

Michael Birkett, CEO at the Regenda Group, said: “I am absolutely delighted to extend our sponsorship of City of Liverpool FC.

“The partnership is built on shared values and the role that organisations like us play in helping our local communities. For many people, Premier League football is unaffordable, but City of Liverpool Football Club ensure that football continues to be accessible for all, including families with children.

“We have enjoyed working closely with the club, its staff, volunteers and supporters and we look forward to continuing this for the next two years and playing our part in the clubs footballing success too.”

City of Liverpool FC play its home games at the TDP Solicitors Stadium, Vesty Road, Bootle, L310 1NY. Adults entry free is £6. Concessions £3 and U16 free.

At Saturday's home game v 1874 Northwich, we will be collecting for the foodbank in honour of Ben Williams, the AFC Liverpool manager who tragically passed away aged 41 last week.

Ben was a big supporter of Supporting Foodbanks at AFC Liverpool and his familiy have asked that we make this week's donation in Ben's name. 

We hope that all of our supporters who are able to, will bring a donation to the ground on Saturday, so that Supporting Foodbanks have a massive delivery to make over the weekend to help feed those in our community who need support, especially with Christmas just around the corner.

What a brilliant thought from Ben's family to think of others in our region at this most terrible time in thier lives.

RIP Ben.

Due to our progression in the Macron Cup, the home league match with Northwich Victoria scheduled for the 8th December has been moved to Tuesday 8th January, KO 7.45pm.

Our Liverpool Senior Cup Tie v Widnes will take place on Monday 17th December, KO 7.45pm and the match will be played at Halton Stadium, Widnes.

The Board of Directors of City of Liverpool are of course aware of the incidents which occurred before, during and after the game yesterday and categorically deny that any proportion of our supporters travelled to the game intent on causing trouble.

This vile rumour emanating from the North East, is the sole reason why there was any kind of disturbance yesterday and is being used as a justification for groups of youth and males from various football clubs in the Tyneside area coming to the match to attack our supporters.

Whoever has started this rumour and passed it on stands responsible for yesterday's disturbances.

Our supporters were physically attacked inside the ground before the match had even started and then again outside the ground walking back to their transport. Only for the quick reactions of the security guards closing the stadium gate and thus locking many more of these people inside the ground, more serious injuries were avoided.

In this country when you are attacked you have the right to self defense and the reports we are receiving from across the spectrum of our support, by which we mean Men, Women and Children, a significant amount of them have had to defend themselves yesterday, to both verbal and physical abuse.

Whilst there was security guards placed at each stadium access point, not a single steward identifiable by a high visibility jacket could be seen inside the ground, hence the gang of teenagers that attacked our supporters before the match were allowed to remain in the stadium and to repeat their attack at the end of the game, whilst hurling abuse and vile chants throughout the match, encroaching onto the pitch and releasing smoke cannisters.

Quite why Hebburn Town FC were so determined to attract a “record crowd” to this particular game is unclear to us but is perhaps related to the rumour swirling around.  The 500-600 attendance that would have been generated by the supporters of the two clubs themselves, who incidentally got on very well indeed as expected, would have been more than enough to generate a great atmosphere for this football match.

However, the biggest group in attendance was approximately 700 people who were not supporters of either club and it is now clear that contained within this were not only very many friendly neutral supporters, but also groups of males who were at the game for the sole reason of attacking the supporters of City of Liverpool FC.

With those groups inside the ground, and with a vicious rumour swirling locally about our supporters, it was always likely that local troublemakers would be attracted to attend the game and so it proved.

Comments from the security guards, local police and on social media stated unequivocally that many banned football hooligans were present at the game and responsible for the trouble.

Hebburn Sports ground is a brilliant facility and we are certain that Hebburn Town FC is a great club with great supporters, but its unilateral decision to make this an all-ticket game (incidentally rescinded 22 hours before the game) and probably based upon the rumour, created a negative atmosphere initially, which was then compounded by a complete lack of matchday stewards inside the ground.

Consequently, this was not a safe environment for the 600 or so supporters of both clubs and the very many friendly neutrals who also attended the game. Instead, inadvertently, an environment was created where banned football hooligans could and did enjoy themselves.

That said, if we are presented with evidence from Northumbria Police that any of our supporters where involved in creating these disturbances, as opposed to defending themselves, then we will have no hesitation in banning them from our club with immediate effect.

We wish Hebburn Town FC the best of luck in the FA Vase this season. Nothing that happened off the pitch affected anything that occurred on it and they deserved thier win yesterday.

Craig Robinson, the Manager of COLFC said "Our first tie in the FA Vase this season will see us play Hebburn Town away which we will look forward to.

Like any competition we enter, we want to win it and it is the same with the FA Vase. The final is of course held at Wembley where every player dreams of playing and where I'm sure our fans would love to go and watch us play.

Last season we got knocked out by eventual finalists Stockton Town and I followed their results all the way thinking "that should have been us" an I know everybody else did too.

There wasn't much in that tie so I know my players will want to put that right and give our club the chance to be walking out at Wembley on Non League finals day next May."

City of Liverpool FC will play Hebburn Town of the Northern League in the FA Vase 1st round proper.

The game will take place on Saturday 13th October, KO 3pm.

This will be the Purps 3rd consecutive away trip to play a team from the Northern League in the FA Vase.

Details of coach travel will be released nearer to the time of the fixture.

This game will take place at Ashville FC (postcode is CH45 8RH) on Wednesday 19th September, KO 7pm

With it being an FA competition, we are required to make a charge for everyone entering the ground. The entry prices are as follows:-

Adults £3 

Conc £2

U16 £1

The game will be played to a finish on the night.

We have had confirmation from Chester FC that we have been allocated a segregated area of the Swansway Stadium that is completely seated and can accomodate approximately 1100 supporters across the whole of the South Stand and an area of the West Stand.

Any COLFC supporters attempting to enter any other area of the Stadium will be refused entry or removed from the ground altogether.

Prices to pay on the gate are as follows:-

Adults £15.00

Concessions (proof required) £12.00

18-21 (proof required) £10.00

5 - 17 (proof required) £3.00

U5 Free

There are no advance ticket sales.

Coach travel is available via Paul McGrady of the Supporter's Council priced at £8 Adults & £4 kids departing from the usual points at The Empire Theatre and The Rocket.

We are awaiting further information about disabled access and spaces and will make a further announcement in due course.

Manager Craig Robinson said on the signing of Anthony Brown:

"I'd like to start by welcoming Anthony back to the club!

This is another statement of the progress of the club and where we want to go as a football club that we can sign a player of Browny's calibre.

Once he became available, he had offers from clubs at levels above, but he showed a desire to come back to City of Liverpool FC because he knows what we are about and wanted to be part of what we are doing. 

As we seen last season Browny is a winner and will be bring a great mentality to the squad on and off the pitch and is a signing I know the fans will be pleased with and will give him a big welcome back"

The club is absolutely delighted to have been drawn away to National League North side Chester FC in the 2nd Preliminary round of the Emirates FA Cup.

The FA have made it clear that all games in this round of the competition must take place at 3pm on Saturday 22nd, other than potentially any live streamed game which may kick off earlier, but for now the game will be going ahead as a 3pm KO on Saturday 22nd September.

We do not have any ticketing or pricing as yet as the two clubs have not yet been in contact, but we will confirm all of this as soon as we can.

Manager Craig Robinson said:

"What a great draw for us all as a club to look forward to and its a week on Saturday, but before that we have 3 very important league games that we must all be focused upon, starting tomorrow at home versus Whitchurch Alport.

Chester is a great club with a long history and large support and our players will look forward to playing at that ground and on that pitch.

It is of course a tough tie as I know thier managers and they always have a tough, competitive team on the pitch, but the pressure is all on them and its our players and supporters who can go and enjoy the event.

This is a big platform for us to show people what this club is about and after all, it is the FA Cup and the squad we have is capable of causing an upset. 

So let's look forward to this game, but first of all lets get behind the lads tomorrow night against Whitchurch."

As a result of yesterday's FA Cup game at Squires Gate, our away match at Barnoldswick Town yesterday was postponed and the game has been re-arranged for Tuesday 18/9/2018, KO 7.45pm, although we will request an 8pm KO if possible.

The win at Squires Gate yesterday also means we are through to the 2nd Preliminary round of the FA Cup and so our scheduled League game on 22nd September at Silsden will also now be postponed and re-arranged for a future date.

Due to Charnock Richard's success in the FA Vase at the weekend, our scheduled home game with them on 15/9/18 has been re-arranged as they will be playing in the Vase that day, for Tuesday 9th October, KO 7.45pm

We will now play away at Ashton Athletic on 15/9/18, Kick off 3pm at Brocstedes Park.

As previously advised, Paul McGrady has been acting Supporter's Council Chair pending being elected and an election meeting was scheduled for 6pm tomorrow, before the Runcorn Town game.

Nominations were invited for the role with a closing date of 4pm yesterday (Wednesday). No other nominations have been recieved and so Paul has been elected unopposed as Chaiman of the Supporter's Council and the meeting tomorrow to hold an election has now been cancelled.

We' congratulate Paul on his election and he will now make arrangements for a full meeting of the Supporter's council to take place.

The reward for the winners of the replay between ourselves and Glossop NE on Tuesday 4th September will be an away tie against Droylsden or Squires Gate.

The tie would take place on the weekend of 8th September.

We have confirmation from the FA that the replay away at Glossop North End will take place on Tuesday 4th September, KO 7.45pm.

Our Bank Holiday fixture at home to Burscough tomorrow is unaffected and goes ahead with a kick off of 3pm at the TDP Solicitors Stadium.

City of Liverpool FC are delighted to announce that we have today completed the signing of Paul Williams.

Paul is an experienced and versatile defender who has enjoyed successful campaigns at Burscough and Witton Albion in the Evostick League and has joined us from Trafford FC.

Manager Craig Robinson said "I am delighted to secure the services of Paul, who has the experience and quality that we are always looking for and has exactly the right mentality that we need.

He's played at higher levels and is a winner and I'm sure he will enjoy playing for his home town club and being on this journey with us."

Paul goes straight into the squad for tomorrow's Emirates FA Cup tie with Glossop North End.

The next meeting of the COLFC Supporters Council will take place before the match v Runcorn Town on Friday 31st August in the bar at TDP Stadium.

The meeting will commence at approximately 6.00pm.

The purpose of the meeting is to elect a new Chair of the Supporter's council. Paul McGrady is currently the interim Chairman and is standing for election to the full time role.

Should anybody else which to stand for election please send your nomination to contact@colfc.co.uk using the subject "SC Nomination" and further instruction will be then be provided.

The closing date for nominations is 4pm on Wednesday 29th August.

3 new players have put pen to paper for the Purps over the weekend, following the conclusion of our pre-season fixtures.

Karl Clair spent almost 10 seasons with Liverpool FC and played in the 2009 FA Youth Cup final alongside Purps' stalwart midfielder Michael Roberts, before later playing for Vauxhalls in Conference North and latterly Marine in the Evostick Premier Division.

Adam Pepper is a well know name locally, who was once touted as one of the hottest prospects in the country and also spent several seasons at Liverpool FC, before moving onto Aberystwith Town, Stalybridge Celtic and Nantwich Town. We are still waiting for Adam's international colearance to come through.

Aubrey Rogers has recently returned from a football scholarship in the USA and has shown that he has the ability to to be a part of our squad for this season.

We welcome all 3 lads to the club and wish them the very best for the season ahead.

COLFC's home fixture v Runcorn Town originally scheduled for Saturday 1st September, has now been re-scheduled to Friday 31st August with an 8pm KO.

Thank you to Runcorn Town and Bootle FC for accomodating our request.

With the new season just around the corner, we are now inviting local charities or causes to contact us to book in for a fundraising or engagement event at one of our home games.

Over the last two seasons, COLFC has helped many organisations raise money or awareness with bucket collections at our home games and an enagement table in our clubroom and you can benefit from COLFC too.

With an average home attendance of over 400 people, a Purple home game is a very good place to promote your cause.

To book an event with us firstly take a look at our fixture list here and then e-mail our enagagement co-ordinator Amanda Manning on amanda@colfc.co.uk with your chosen game and she will run through the options with you.

Similarly it is always great to have kids in as mascots for games, either individuals or teams are welcome to contact Amanda and make arrangements. COLFC does not charge for this, seeing the kids happy always puts a smile on everybodies face. 

COLFC has CRB checked volunteers on hand to ensure a safe environment for the children at all times.

You can now get OFFICIAL daily news and updates about The Purps direct to your phone via Whatsapp.

Simply add 07712424292 to your contacts and send a message saying "Purps Updates". You will get a confirmation message back and you will then begin recieving Purple news and updates as soon as they occur, which will be from tomorrow, 17/7/2018.

You'll get news of fixtures, travel, transfers in and out, matchday team news 1 hour before the game, as well as insights from the Management Team and players, along with anything else we can think of.

For obvious reasons we won't be able to provide details of injuries or squad news ahead of matches.

This is not a Whatsapp "Group" so no discussion will take place it is merely an information service.

This is a free service and in asking to recieve updates from the club via whatsapp, you are accepting that we will send you messages, although we promise not to bombard you with messages or share your information with any 3rd party.

With the league fixtures now having been released (you can see our full fixture list here ) it's clear we have got a tough start to our league campaign.

Two away games on the bounce to 1874 Northwich and Northwich Victoria are then off-set somewhat by a run of fixtures that would see us play 10 home games in our first 14 matches (if we can beat Silsden in the FA Cup).

Early home games against old foes Runcorn Town, Charnock Richard, Whitchurch Alport and Litherland REMYCA should see big crowds at the TDP and our two furthest away trips in the league this season to Barnoldswick and Silsden are out of the way by September.

We host our landlords Bootle on Boxing Day (weather permitting!) and they return the compliment on Easter Monday, before ending the campaign with a difficult looking 4 away games out of 5.

Its exciting and it all starts in a little over 3 weeks!!

Season tickets are available at www.colfc.co.uk/shop and are priced at £114 (adults) and £57 (concessions).

#UTP

It's back! We are pleased to relaunch Flok again for this new season for the Partisans List, beginning with Saturdays trip to Merthyr Town.

As always, there will be a poster at ever First Team, Reserves, Ladies and now Under 19s game, home and away, for you to scan the QR barcode on using the Flok app on your smartphone. If you dont already have it, then download it now, register and search for the City of Liverpool FC Club. 

Don't worry if you dont have a smartphone etc - you can still just email partisanlist@colfc.co.uk after each match letting us know your name and which game you were at and your attendance will be added to the list too. 

Please note that scanning the barcode or emailing your attendance confirms that you are happy for your name (and number of games attended) to be included in the published Partisans List on the club website or elsewhere.

Please let us know if you do not wish to be included in this and we will remove you. 

Same as last season - make it to 15 games and you become a Silver member, 25 and you're Gold and Flok in to more than 50 games this season and you're one of the elite Platinum members. The person who attends the most games this coming season will win The Purple Partisan Award at the Purps end of season party. For those who made it to those levels last season, you will see that the Flok app will recognise your loyalty by showing off your Silver, Gold or Platinum membership. If you have already emailed in your attendance at games played already, then these are being added onto Flok this weekend - if you havent emailed in yours yet then do so now!

See if you can beat last season and make it to a higher level this year!

For those who did make it to Silver, Gold or Platinum levels last season will also be pleased to know that your prize is available for collection. They will collected on the coach trip down to Merthyr Town on Saturday 14th July and from First team preseason games after then. 

In a change and improvement from the originally advertised prizes, we have created a limited edition medal as a memento for you to show off your loyalty, with a designated colour for the number of Purps games you attended last season.

The Board of Directors of City of Liverpool FC are pleased to announce that Craig Robinson has been appointed as Player / Manager of the club with immediate effect.

Craig brings with him a wealth of experience throughout the Non-League pyramid and the respect of everyone at the club; from the Tea Ladies to the Players, to the Supporters to the Volunteers and Directors.

On his appointment Craig said “I wasn’t looking for a role in management at present as I still feel I have got at least 1 good season left in me on the pitch, but once I got approached I spoke to the squad and they have given me total support and along with the support of the Directors, I felt it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

I’m honoured to be given the chance to manage this great club in my home City with so much potential and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the job and doing my best”.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Chairman Paul Manning said “We always wanted continuity and having spoke to the playing squad at training on Monday it was clear that they wanted continuity as well at this crucial time of the season.

We have been inundated with enquiries and applications from all across the football spectrum over the last couple of days and we are grateful to everybody who has contacted the club.

Craig is a good lad and very humble, but we have seen his will to win on the pitch and the respect that he commands in football and we know that he has the total support of the playing squad, so we are very confident that we have made the right choice.”

Craig will be appointing his backroom team shortly.

The Club would genuinely like to thank our members and supporters for their total support and patience at what has been a very busy time for the club.

The Board of Directors of COLFC announce that the club has parted company with Simon Burton by mutual consent with immediate effect.

We’d like to pay tribute to the role Simon played since being appointed as Manager in 2016, especially the amazing success of season 2016/17 and the squad he built from scratch to achieve that.

We wish him the best of luck with whatever he does next in football.

The club will issue a further statement later today, but will make no further comment until then and we ask that our members and supporters do not engage in speculation on social media.

On Friday the club enjoyed its second annual awards ceremony, this year's event taking place at our old haunt the RNA Club in Broadgreen.

Around 100 purps were present along with players and management from all 3 of our teams; the 1st Team, the Reserves and the Women's plus ex-players Anthony Brown and Jamie McDonald.

The list of winners are as follows:-

Purple Partisan Medal - Gary Johansen

1st Team Players Player of the Year (Sponsored by Regenda Homes) - Kevin McEllin

Reserves Players Player fop the Year - Greg Power

Wonen's Players Player of the Year (joint) - Hayley Doran & Shannon Robinson

Leading Goalscorer - 1st Team (sponsored by Regenda Homes) - Tom Peterson

Reserves Player of the Year - Paul McKenzie

Women's Player of the Year - Rachel Parry

1st Team Player of the Year (sponsored by Regenda Homes) - Luke Denson

Rocket Claims Player of the Year - Jack Hazelhurst

Purpz Kidz Player of the Year - Jack Hazelhurst

Purple Samba Supporter (sponsored by Transalpino) - Sean Lindblad

Purple Samba Player (sponsored by Transalpino) - Francis Foy

We also held a minutes applause for our fallen comrades Danny Dalton & Bill Logan.

Thank you to everyone who came along and enjoyed the night, to Regenda Homes & Transalpino for sponsoring the awards and Chris Maguire for sorting the Purple Sambas.

Below are all of the prize winners being presented with thier awards.

COLFC announces that admission prices for Season 2018/19 are as follows:

Adults - £6

Concessions - £3

16-18 - £1

U16 with paying adult - FREE

The increased adult admission price of £1 is due to our impending VAT registration as discussed with members previously.

Adult Season Tickets are £114.

Concessions Season Tickets are £57.

A limited number of Season Tickets in both categories are now available to purchase from the club shop here www.colfc.co.uk/shop

We are excited to announce that midfielder Joe Holt has also agreed to join City of Liverpool FC for Season 2018/19.

Joe made 39 appearances for Runcorn Town last season, scoring 5 goals from midfield with his all action style.

Simon Burton said "I'm absolutely delighted to get Joe in. I tried to sign him last season and it didn't come off, but we spoke a couple of weeks ago and felt we had a chance. Joe is a fantastic signing for the club, he's got a brilliant engine and is technically superb.

He'll fit perfectly with the style of football we play."

Chairman Paul Manning said "Joe is another who we have been tracking as we looked to re-model the squad to put a team on the pitch that can win football matches for the club. Joe is certainly in that category and again being a local lad he will easily fit right into our current squad".

We hope to get Joe's thoughts later tonight.

After the announcement earlier today of the signing of our new top striker for the forthcoming season, Craig Cairns had a few words to say about his arrival at The Purps.

Craig said "I'm looking forward to a new challenge with the Purps and getting into pre-season training.

Having played against COLFC twice last season I know what a good side they are and how loud and supportive the crowd is, but I just want to be one of the lads and do what I do best for the team.

I'd like to thank everyone at Runcorn Town for a great couple of years and wish them all the best for next season."

We are delighted to announce that Craig Cairns has committed to joining City of Liverpool FC for season 2018/19.

The striker, who has scored 96 goals in his two seasons with Runcorn Town, including 44 last season, is both experienced and a proven goalscorer at Hallmark Security League Premier Division Level.

Manager Simon Burton said "Craig is an excellent addition to our already strong squad and after last season's very creditable 4th place finish, we are looking to improve on that this season in what is again going to be a very competitive division.

Craig is a proven goalscorer in this league and can only strengthen the squad and we are delighted to have him with us."

Chairman Paul Manning said "We have been keeping an eye on Craig for a while and we are delighted to bring him to the club. He's a local lad and so we know he's going to fit in to the dressing room no problem and quickly become a favourite of our supporters.

A lot of hard work has gone into securing Craig's signature and he will not the last player we bring to the club this season as we continue to strengthen our playing squad ahead of what is going to be another very tough season."

With the resignation of Sarah Comber as Chairman of the Supporter's Council, the Board of Directors has tonight unanimously voted to co-opt Paul McGrady onto the main Board to temporarily fill the role, pending the next meeting of the Council, at which the role will be formally voted on by supporters.

We'd like to welcome Paul to the board and look forward to working with him to drive the Supporter's Council forward ahead of the new season and #ProjectL10.

Paul will take up his interim position with effect from 1st July 2018 - the start of Season 2018/19.

We'd like to also thank Sarah for her efforts on behalf of the Supporter's Council and with the Board of Directors.

With the 2017/18 season barely finished, the Directors, Manager and Coaching Staff at COLFC immediately set about preparing for 2018/19 season.

Our collective goal is to ensure that The Purples can put the strongest possible 11 on the pitch to win football matches for the club, enabling the good form of the latter half of last season (two losses in 19 games) to be continued into the new campaign.

It is fair to say that we have been happy with the initial discussions that Simon Burton has had with the players and pleased that, to date, we have secured the services of those players who we feel can form the basis of a successful squad.

Of the pre-deadline signings that helped turn the last campaign around, only Anthony Brown has confirmed that he will be leaving us. Anthony is an exceptional player who made 16 appearances for us and in doing so scored 7 goals from Centre Half. Anthony was used to playing at a much higher level and frankly it showed!!

The other two lads who joined around the transfer deadline; Ben Ascroft and David Forbes have also committed themselves to the Purps. Ben was absolutely outstanding in goal and Forbesy once again reinvigorated our forward line and scored 10 goals in 18 appearances.

We are delighted that these lads, along with the remaining members of the squad have committed to staying with the Purps, including stalwarts Luke Denson, Craig Robinson, Danny Dalton, Francis Foy, Kevin McEllin, Alex Davies & Tom Peterson, as well as rising stars Jack Hazlehurst & John McGrath.

Joe Camozzi and John Connolly, who have both given the club sterling service have announced their departures following offers of improved terms elsewhere at Step 5. Joe played 49 games last season and John played 48 scoring 15.

We wish both these lads good luck in their new endeavours.

Work is also ongoing to bring in the quality players that have been identified to complement the talent already at the club. We hope to be able to announce some exciting signings in due course, as well as hopefully welcoming some graduates from our newly established youth set-up in partnership with Liverpool Football College, that has already produced Bartosz Kowalczyk, Elliot Nevitt, John McGrath & Jack Hazlehurst, so we don’t expect to be short of talented local players.

As always, #UTP

City of Liverpool FC are delighted to announce that the club’s newly formed U19 team, have been offered a place in the National League U19 Alliance for season 2018/19.

This represents an amazing opportunity for the young Purps to potentially play against the likes of Rochdale, South Shields, FC United of Manchester, Gateshead & FC Halifax Town.

COLFC Chairman said “This is great news for the staff and players who will be representing City of Liverpool FC next season. The National League will be a big challenge, but I know that the management team are confident that they can hold their own at this level.

This U19’s squad represents a pathway for the players up to the 1^st team, which is very exciting for everyone at the club. It’s always great to see local talent coming through to wear the famous Purple.

The u19 Purps will play home games at Volair Prescot on midweek afternoons and will be part of our Flok attendance software, so hopefully we’ll get the Partisans along to support as well.”

U19's Coach Dave McDiarmid said " We are delighted to be playing in the National League U19 Alliance next season. The top players we attract will now be playing in the most competitive National league in the country.

Having been champions of the ECFA Cat 1 and Youth Development leagues it was right to test ourselves againsta wider range of clubs in the football pyramid and our partnership with City of Liverpool FC allows us to do that.

One of our graduates, Jack Hazlehurst is now starring for City of Liverpool FC in the Hallmark Security League Premier Division. Jack’s roll of honour at the college included BTEC extended diploma L3 in sport, the Dallas Cup, Everton Shield and Youth Development League and Cup winners."

The Offer of a place in the league is subject to final ratification at the League's AGM.

The Supporters Direct Shield is up for grabs once again, as Merthyr Town host City of Liverpool FC at Penydarren Park on 14^th July 2018, KO 3pm.

The two supporter owned clubs will contest the shield ahead of both clubs potentially featuring in a season long “Fly on the Wall” TV documentary that is being created by Kentucky based film maker 180 Degrees, which is in the process of being Green Lit.

Merthyr Town Vice Chairman Jonathon Davies said, “This is a very prestigious fixture and we look forward to welcoming the City of Liverpool FC to the South Wales Valleys to compete for the Supporters Direct Shield.

The board at Merthyr Town Football Club would like to thank the City of Liverpool FC chairman Paul Manning, James Mathie of Supporters Direct and Merthyr Town owner Mark Evans for their efforts to ensure this fixture could take place.

Both clubs represent the true values of supporter ownership and it will be good to meet up and share our experiences together and discuss our progressive plans forward both on and off the pitch.”

Purps Chairman Paul Manning said “It will be great to travel to Merthyr to meet up with another community owned football club, play the match, have a bevvy and a laugh together and contest the prestigious Supporters Direct Shield.

The Partisans love a good coach trip and hopefully we’ll take a good crowd down to South Wales to enjoy the weekend. Merthyr play at a much higher level than us, so this will be a good pre-season test for us.”

Supporters Direct’ James Mathie said “Each year we invite two supporter owned clubs to come together to contest the SD Shield, and this year we are really pleased that Merthyr will be hosting City of Liverpool. Although competition on the pitch will be fierce, it’s great to see how these two clubs work together off it, with a similar set of values as the 50+ supporter owned clubs in the SD network.”

Mike Fitzer of 180 Degrees said “As a geographically distant yet avid supporter of non-league football it is an absolute thrill to have had some small part in bringing these two supporters owned clubs together on one pitch.

Both teams play at a high caliber and the dedication shown by fans for each is inspiring. I hope to bring a story of both clubs to the screen, so the world can see what it means to be part of a great football family.”

Further match arrangements will be confirmed nearer the time.

Editors

Merthyr Town play in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division. City of Liverpool FC play in the Hallmark Securities League Premier Division.

Media Enquiries:

City of Liverpool FC – gary@colfc.co.uk

Merthyr Town –   richbmtfc@gmail.com

Supporters Direct – james.mathie@supporters-direct.org

180 degrees – info@film180.com

City of Liverpool FC have entered into a partnership with Liverpool Football College that will see the College’s U18 & u19 teams play under the club’s banner with effect from season 2019/20.

Through this partnership, both parties expect to continue to provide young footballers with the opportunity to develop their talent.

One of the Directors at Liverpool Football College, Dave MacDiarmid, said: “This is a development that we are really excited about. We already have a strong relationship and a pathway exists between the Club and College that has seen several players, such as Elliot Nevitt, Bartosz Kowalcyck, John McGrath and Jack Hazlehurst, make the step up with COLFC.

We have been approached by many clubs to enter into partnerships over the years but this is the right one. We have the same ethos in terms of using football to bring change and positive outcomes on and off the pitch, bringing communities together and achieving success through development of our youngsters. We are delighted to be part of this long term and sustainable project.”

Purps’ Chairman Paul Manning said: “Liverpool Football College has a proven track record in developing excellent footballers and it makes perfect sense for both parties to formalise our partnership in this way. It feels like a perfect fit for their lads to become part of the city’s non-league club as they continue their development into adult football.

One of our current players, the talented Jack Hazelhurst, was a Dallas Cup Winner with the College in 2017 so we know all about the talent at the city’s top Football College. Everyone at the Purps would like to wish the College the very best of luck in defending their crown over in Texas when the tournament starts this Sunday 25^th March.”

Progress in the Dallas Cup can be followed via the College’s twitter @livfootycollege

Until now COLFC has only fielded its 3 adult teams. However, for season 2018/19 we will have at least 5 teams; with 2 men’s, 1 women’s and 2 youth football teams all playing in the famous Purple colours. With #ProjectL10 moving forward as well, these are exciting times for the club as a whole and, as COLFC takes these important steps in the club’s evolution, we expect to add more youth and junior football teams in forthcoming seasons - all of which we want to see based at #ProjectL10.

Having now committed to these under-18 & under-19 youth teams and with a junior set up in the pipeline, the club is also delighted to announce that Mike Caulfield has agreed to take on the important role of Club Welfare Officer. Mike, who has been a member of the club since 2016, already undertakes this role in an informal way on COLFC’s behalf. He has previously led the focus group that created the club’s Respect policy and has assisted club members who have needed support. The directors are delighted to welcome Mike to the club’s management team.

While the club can already take great pride in its work with local charities, community causes, the supporters’ foodbank initiative and the excellent COLFC Community programme, everyone connected with City of Liverpool FC can look forward to The Purps developing into a fully-fledged Community Football Club.

Purps Secure Exclusivity on land with view to building Community Stadium

City of Liverpool FC is delighted to announce that we have entered into a period of exclusivity with Liverpool City Council in respect of a potential site for our Community Stadium.

This follows an exhaustive near three-year process, the start of which preceded the actual formation of the Club by virtually a year, The Club will now have a period of six months during which time we will develop a comprehensive business case, including funding and planning, in order to enable the Council to grant us a long-term lease to the site.

The Club has seriously engaged with 4 sites in this 3 year period and for various reasons each has proved to have insurmountable obstacles. Having explored the possibility of locating our Community Stadium at numerous existing sports and leisure and green field sites throughout the city and along the municipal borders, we changed our focus to working with Liverpool City Council to look at potential regeneration sites. This resulted in the drafting of a comprehensive list of regeneration sites of varying degrees of viability, from which two preferred options emerged. Due to significant planning barriers posed to development at the site that was initially favoured by both the Council and the Club, our attentions turned to “option two” – the former Fazakerley Playing Fields in Liverpool 10.

Initial investigations have led all parties to believe that Fazakerley Playing Fields is a realistic option for our Community Stadium and the period of exclusivity provided by Liverpool City Council grants the Club time to do the necessary preparatory work without the looming possibility of the site being sold to another party – as has happened previously with a privately owned site. However, while the Board is pleased that we have taken a step forward , there are still some major hurdles for the Club to overcome and a lot of hard work to be undertaken before the site can be assigned to COLFC and we see the fabled “spade in the ground”. Nevertheless, we are delighted that we have this opportunity to secure the long-term future of the Club.

It is our ambition to deliver a stadium that is genuinely unique to COLFC, with innovative and sustainable design features being developed that the Board believes will enthuse our members, supporters and the wider community, as well as clearly display the ambitions of the club to progress through the football pyramid and provide a Community Football Stadium that the City & indeed the City Region can be proud of.

The Club will undertake comprehensive consultation with our members and with the wider community as our plans for the site and the funding package required emerge in coming months. In the meantime, the Board wishes to place on record our thanks to Deputy Mayor Cllr Ann O’Byrne, Mark Kitts and Nick Flanagan at Liverpool City Council, and Dr Michael Birkett and his staff at our main Club Sponsors Regenda Homes for their invaluable and ongoing assistance and support.

Member Shareholders in COLFC will have already received more detailed information ahead of a Shareholders meeting which will occur in the next couple of weeks.

Media enquiries to contact@colfc.co.uk

Notes to editors

About City of Liverpool FC

City of Liverpool FC is a Supporter owned football club formed in 2015 and playing at Step 5 of the Non-League football pyramid, which is known as the Hallmark Security League.

COLFC has approximately 1200-member shareholders and has an average home attendance of 459, which is over 3 times the national average at this level of football.

The Club regularly hosts a foodbank and provides facilities for local charities and good causes to promote and fundraise at home games.

In the Club’s inaugural season, they achieved a virtually unprecedented treble success, winning both league cup trophies and gaining promotion via the Play-Offs.

Paul Manning, the Chairman of City of Liverpool FC, is one of 100 leaders across England to have been selected for a competitive learning programme and Match Trading grant of up to £10,000.

More than 330 people across England applied for the Community Business Trade Up Programme, run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with Power to Change. The programme supports people improving their local communities through trade.

The programme will support Paul to grow COLFC, which is the highly successful, community owned Non-League football club for the Liverpool City Region.

Paul will soon begin a six-month learning programme at the School for Social Entrepreneurs, which supports people starting up and running social enterprises, charities, community business and environmental projects.

Paul says: “I am delighted to have been accepted onto the Community Business Trade Up Programme, run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with Power to Change. The programme and Match Trading grant of up to £10,000 will help me to grow “The Purps” even further, so we can support more people in the Liverpool area in 2018.”

Lisa Mairah, the head of the School for Social Entrepreneurs North West, says: “We are thrilled to welcome Paul onto the programme, where they’ll learn alongside other community leaders how to create lasting social impact for the region. We are confident Paul has the entrepreneurial qualities and motivation to increase their impact on Liverpool and even further, which is why we have awarded him a highly-coveted place.”

The £10,000 Match Trading grant

City of Liverpool FC will also be one of the first organisations in the world to receive a Match Trading grant of up to £10,000. Match Trading is a new type of funding for socially-led organisations. It matches an increase in sales pound-for-pound, incentivising social entrepreneurs to find ways to earn more money, which they use to help more people or the environment.

Match Trading was created by the School for Social Entrepreneurs with the support of pioneer partners Lloyds Banking Group and the Big Lottery Fund, and programme partner Power to Change. Power to Change has provided the funding for this programme.

For further information, please contact:

• Paul Manning

• Sophie Hobson, communications manager, the School for Social Entrepreneurs: sophie.hobson@sse.org.uk / 0207 089 9120

Notes to editors

About City of Liverpool FC

City of Liverpool FC is a Supporter owned football club formed in 2015 and playing at Step 5 of the Non-League football pyramid, which is known as the Hallmark Security League.

COLFC has approximately 1200 member shareholders and has an average home attendance of 459, which is over 3 times the national average at this level of football.

The Club regularly hosts a foodbank and provides facilities for local charities and good causes to promote and fundraise at home games.

In the Club’s inaugural season, they achieved a virtually unprecedented treble success, winning both league cup trophies and gaining promotion via the Play-Offs.

About the Community Business Trade Up Programme

The Community Business Trade Up Programme is a learning programme accompanied by a Match Trading grant of up to £10,000 for early-stage community businesses that are planning to grow – 80% of grants are Match Trading grants. The programme is run by School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), in partnership with Power to Change. The programme includes 12 learning days, spread over six months.

The programme will support 130 community business leaders in total. The first phase of the programme ran from May to October 2017, supporting 30 community business leaders at SSE London (London) and SSE North West (Liverpool). The second phase of the programme is supporting a further 100 community business leaders across England via School for Social Entrepreneurs’ eight England schools. It runs from January to July 2018.

About the School for Social Entrepreneurs

The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) empowers people to create change in their communities and improve the lives of others. It supports social entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs: people who tackle social problems by starting, scaling and sustaining organisations. SSE helps more than 1,000 leaders of social change every year through courses, connections and support. Michael Young founded SSE in 1997 in London. Today, SSE’s network of 11 schools impacts communities across the UK, Canada and India.  www.the-sse.org.

About Power to Change

Power to Change is an independent trust, whose funding is used to strengthen community businesses across England. At a time when many parts of the UK face cuts, neglect and social problems, we are helping local people come together to take control, and make sure their local areas survive and stay vibrant. http://www.powertochange.org.uk/

About Match Trading

Match Trading is an innovation in grant-funding that incentivises growth through trading, created by School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE). Match Trading is grant-funding that pound-for-pound matches an increase in trading income. By rewarding sales growth, Match Trading empowers social entrepreneurs and community business leaders operating in challenging markets to develop their trading base, so they can build stronger futures.

Match Trading is supported by pioneer partners Lloyds Banking Group and Big Lottery Fund, and programme partner Power to Change. It will support at least 500 social entrepreneurs and community business leaders over the next five years. www.the-sse.org/match-trading

Coach travel to the FA Vase 3rd round proper away to Stockton Town FC on Saturday 2nd December is now available to purchase via Paypal.

To book your places, please use the Paypal button below (if using a PC, Laptop or Tablet) if you are using a phone and cannot see the button below, simply send £25 for adults, £15 for Children, directly to contact@colfc.co.uk via Paypal, specifying your chosen coach and pick up point.

Coach 1 is for Players & Staff and has approximately 30 places available for supporters (suitable for families and Older people).

Coach 2 is for the middle-agers who want a bevvy on the way back.

Coach 3 is for the younger crowd who want to party all the way there and all the way back.

Coaches 2 & 3 will be departing at 10.00am from The Empire and 10.30am from the Rocket.

All coaches will be leaving Stockton at approximately 6pm.

If the demand is there, we will put on more coaches as appropriate.

COLFC are delighted to announce the extension of last season's Club Sponsorship with Regenda Homes for a further 2 seasons.

You can read all about the agreement by following this link

https://www.regenda.org.uk/news/two-more-years-regenda-homes-extend-winning-partnership-with-liverpools-most-successful-club-1498

We look forward to continuing our partnership with Regenda.

As supporters will have seen during Pre-Season, we have been operating with a large group of players and have often fielded two completely different teams from one half of a game to the next.

Simon and his management team have been using these matches to assess the squad requirements for the coming season with a view to bringing the squad size down to around 20 players.

At this level of football, lads don't need to hang around on the edges of any squad hoping for a chance to get in the team, as they can virtually always get themselves sorted with another club at the same or a similar level. It's a cruel game at times like this but that is football at this level.

Simon having assessed his squad over this pre-season has let the follwoing lads know that there 1st team opportunties will be limited; Emini Adegbenro, Elliot Nevitt, Declan Gregson and Allen Weston.

All four lads will now be moving on to pastures new for season 2017/18.

We wish Emini the best of luck with his future which sadly won't be with the Purps.

Declan and Elliot will always be welcome back at COLFC having played thier part in our 1st and highly successul season and both having made major contributions. Declan was with us from the very start and after an injury plagued start to the season, really came to the fore out wide on the left and right wings, running at defenders and swinging great crosses into the box.

Elliot is just an absolute physical beast who has all of the skills required to go as far as he wants in football and at just 19 years of age has all the time in the world to get it right, but work commitments have hampered his ability to train and play for us.

Both of these lads are welcome back at the club anytime as players or supporters and both can rest assured that they have played their part in the history of COLFC.

What can be said about Allen Weston?

With us from the very start and with the heart of a lion that was displayed on the pitch for the Purples, it is fair to say that everybody associated with the club, including Simon Burton, is gutted that Weso is moving on.

Weso was not only the heart of the team on the pitch but also a brilliant ambassador off it, beloved by the army of Purple kids who follow us everywhere and the Partisans who recognised his contribution to the team and the club as a whole.

Ultimately, the Manager (be it Simon Burton or anybody else) has to make decisions that he believes are right for the club at any given time. He has to trust in his own judgement because ultimately he himself will stand or fall by those decisions. That's football at any level of the game and he has a responsibility to the club to make these kind of decisions, as difficult as they can be.

Having been informed last night that Weso was being released, we spoke to the lad and offered him a role in the club that we believed could be beneficial to all parties. Weso has intimated to us on a couple of occasions that he wants to get into management ( especially with the Purps!) so we offered him the opportunity to take on a Player / Coach role with our reserve team working with Tom O'Hanlon, with a view to him taking his coaching badges, getting some practical coaching experience and moving towards management, whilst at the same time carrying on his ambassadorial role for the club.

Allen has slept on it overnight and decided that he wants to carry on playing for as long as possible at as high a level as possible and that is absolutely his right.

We wish Allen all the best for his immediate future and as with the other lads, thank him for his service to the club so far and for his commitment to the cause both on and off the pitch.

He has his place in our history!

At the club's recent AGM, the members voted to create a Member's Council, in which issues arising from the membership can be raised at regular meetings.

The Member's Council will create it's own committee if it so desires and will nominate a Member to sit on the club's Main Board of Directors.

The 1st meeting of the Council will take place 12pm on Saturday 12th August, in the clubhouse at Bootle FC (to be confirmed) prior to the home game against Irlam.

The initial meeting will be Chaired by Company Secretary Peter Furmedge, but will then be turned over to the Members to take the Council forward as it sees fit.

Last night the club held its AGM at Sefton RUFC in West Derby and approximately 70 members where present to sign off on last season and set us in motion for what promises to be a very exciting Season 2017/18.

Amongst a range of topics discussed and voted on, the members voted to accept the proposed governance structure and also to form a properly constituted Supporters Council, which will in turn vote for its own commitee and for a representative to take a place on the main Board of Directors for supporter issues.

The current Board of Directors was re-elected and was joined by Cathy Long who was elected unopposed. Cathy is a long-standing Purp having attended loads of games last season and joins us with great experience of fan engagement at the top levels of the game and a great football network.

The meeting was minuted and members will receive a full AGM report via email at some point next week.

City of Liverpool FC are delighted to announce the signing of hugely experienced defender Craig Robinson from Warrington Town.

Craig has a wealth of professional & Non League experience having played for Blackpool and latterly Vauxhall Motors, Droylsden, Hyde United, Ashton United, Trafford and Warrington Town.

We welcome Craig to his hometown club and look forward to watching him in the famous Purple next season.

Coral have announced that we are their chosen Non League Team of the Year for 2016/17 and everybody at the club is extremely proud of this award, which along with all of the other fantastic acheivements this Season, is made all the more sweeter by the fact that it is still our very first season as a Football Club!

Well done to everybody involved with the club as we have acheived this award together. You can read about it here http://news.coral.co.uk/football/coral-non-league-team-of-the-year-2017

We think we can be rightly proud of our club, of what it stands for and what it hopes to achieve both on and off the pitch moving forward and thank you to to Coral for creating the award and choosing us as the Team of the Year.

Sadly this award was bestowed upon us on the day we learned of the passing of our friend & comrade Alan Dixon who was only chatting to a lot of us at the Play Off Semi Final on Saturday. 

Alan was a great fighter for our City and as can be seen by the outpouring of grief on social media was a very well loved Man who will be sorely missed. So tonight we are dedicating this award of Non League Team of the Season from Coral, to Alan Dixon; Fighter, Comrade, Friend, Purp.

Rest in Peace Alan.