Keyworth News

April 10 Under 16s through to Cup Final as Greg departs for Mansfield Things are hotting up at Platt Lane as we approach the business end of the season! We have numerous teams in the promotion mix, including Mark Foster's Under 10 Greens who currently top Division 1 for their age group by six points and stand a massive seventeen points clear of third place. We also have a cup final to go to, with Jim Manton's Under 16 team making it through in style with a 3-0 semi final victory over Pegasus courtesy of a fine all round performance and a superb hat-trick from a red hot Chilli (Matt Chilvers). With the Under 18s also in with a shout of a cup final appearance at the time of writing, it looks like being an exciting climax to the season over the next few weeks. We're delighted and incredibly proud to announce that Greg Halford, a powerful, bustling, forward from our Under 16 team has been offered a two year scholarship with Mansfield Town commencing in July. Our warmest congratulations go out to Greg. He's a smashing lad and an excellent footballer. Keyworth's loss is most definitely Mansfield's gain! We wish Greg every success and will be following his progress with interest. Off the pitch, building work on the new clubhouse is progressing well - to keep up to date on developments and to view an artist's impression of the new building, visit our website: www.kucfc.com Our recent Race Night once again proved popular. A good night was had by all and we raised over £500 in the process. Our next social event takes place on Saturday 17th April when our own Cosy mans the decks for an 80s Night. So dig out that retro gear from the back of your wardrobes, put on your make-up (and that's just the blokes!) and make your way down to Platt Lane for what promises to be a cracking night of nostalgic tunes! Don't forget to mark Saturday 5th June in your diaries too. That‘s the day of our Chariot Race. With lots of great activities planned, it promises to be even bigger and better than last year's event - it's the place to be if you're looking for a fun day out for all the family. Finally, as the World Cup draws ever closer, make sure you enter our World Cup Predictions Competition with the opportunity to win £100. For more details and to enter online, go to www.worldcupcompetition.co.uk   March 10 Keyworth United retains FA Charter Standard Community Club Status We're delighted to announce that Keyworth United has again been awarded FA Charter Standard Community Club status - the highest level of award achievable by an amateur club. Already holders of this coveted award, we are required to submit a renewal application every three years in order to meet the increasingly stringent standard. Our recent application has now been approved by the FA, ensuring that we continue to hold the award for another three years. The detailed assessment process examines the standing of the club, our standards and disciplinary record, the strength and application of our policies and procedures; compliance with first aid and safeguarding children requirements; the quality of coaching and our links with the community. We are incredibly proud to retain this award which recognises our commitment to quality and endorses the efforts of all involved with the club. Equally, the award reflects the extent to which we engage with the local community and our core values which place community at the heart of all that we do. Our continued Charter Standard Community Club status is the foundation stone which underpins all of our activities from the clubhouse development through to our five year Football Development Plan - its importance to the club cannot be understated! Congratulations to all and special thanks to Roy Reed who has done such a sterling job in driving us through to success. Staying with the community focus, as a result of our Christmas charity football match with BGS Veterans, we recently presented local resident Dave Huscroft with a cheque for £1,001 towards his chosen charity, Macmillan Nurses. Many thanks to all who have supported us in this and our other fund-raising activities which have raised over £10, 000 for various charities over the past few years. See home page (bottom left)  for a photo of the official "handover" of the cheque. Anyone travelling along Platt Lane can't fail to have noticed that work on the new clubhouse has now started. Whilst this is a major milestone in our development, we also recognise that it is likely to cause some short term disruption. With car parking spaces at the ground now reduced to a minimum, the number of cars parking along Platt Lane is likely to increase on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings until the end of the season in April. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause, however it really is a case of short-term pain for long-term gain as additional parking at the ground should reduce parking problems along Platt Lane once the building work is completed in late summer. Last, but by no means least, congratulations to the Under 9 Blacks; Under 9 Greens and Under 10 Blacks who have made it through to the Semi Finals of the Young Elizabethan League Cup and the Under 12 Greens who have reached the last four of the FA Shield County Cup competition. We wish them well and hope to be reporting on some Keyworth finalists in the next issue! February 10 Charity match nets £1,000 for Macmillan Nurses Wintery conditions might have devastated recent league and cup fixtures, but one fixture which did beat the elements was the annual "local derby" charity match between the Veterans teams (over 35s) of Keyworth United and BGS. On a bitterly cold day, with local bragging rights up for grabs, both sides put in competitive performances, providing an entertaining contest for a decent sized crowd. BGS twice took the lead through Phil Marley and Craig Hudson but were pegged back by a Carl Fox effort and a late equaliser from Bobby Oldham, before referee Councillor John Cottee, brought the match to an end, ensuring honours remained even for another year. Funds raised from the match, subsequent activities at Keyworth Tavern and the exploits of a few die-hard Keyworth United golfers on New Years Day, generated just over £1,000 for our chosen charity, Macmillan Nurses - a fantastic effort! Many thanks to all involved. It's not just the weather that's created fixture chaos; we're also victims of our own success! Cup matches take priority, so with teams in each of the age groups from Under 10 - Under 14 reaching the Quarter Finals of the FA Shield competition and some also Quarter Finalists in their respective league cup competitions, the fixture backlog is really building up...at this rate we'll still be playing in June! Things are progressing with the new clubhouse. After getting the verbal "nod" in November, we've now received official written confirmation of funding from the Football Foundation. The new building, which will house six team changing rooms, two officials changing rooms with en-suite facilities; male, female and wheelchair accessible toilets, a club room and a kitchen with external servery, should be open for the start next season. We've also welcomed Helen and Ali into the club, taking over the running of the Platt Lane food bar. Why not pop in on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning and sample the excellent fare on offer. While you're there, you could buy a ticket for our Race Night on 26th February. For more details, along with news of our teams and all our activities, visit the Keyworth United website: www.kucfc.com. There's even a free competition to win a signed copy of Graham Joyce's highly entertaining book "Simple Goalkeeping Made Spectacular", personally donated by the Leicester based author. Short-listed for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award, it's well worth a read, so get online and get your entry in now! January 10 Exciting Year Ahead for Keyworth United! As it's traditional at this time of year to look back at the old and welcome the new, let's engage in a spot of nostalgia and crystal ball gazing! Wow - what a year it's been!...the Reserves' cup final appearance; league and cup success for the Under 10s; the Under 13s tour to Feignes; the Under 16s "international" against the Australians; relocation of the First team pitch; a highly enjoyable Soccer Fun Day; superbly resurrecting the village Chariot Race; our usual participation in the Keyworth Show; the live BBC TV broadcast; an interview on Radio Nottingham; the hugely successful Shoeboxes for Afghanistan campaign; numerous excellent social events; the launch of our World Cup Competition and last, but not least, success with our funding bid for the new clubhouse. It's been a busy time and there's still more to come with our annual charity match between the Vets and BGS Vets on Sunday 27th December (noon kick off). With proceeds going to Macmillan Nurses, we're hoping for a good crowd. We enter the New Year full of optimism. Although the First team hover just above the drop zone, the Reserves and Vets are both well placed for a promotion challenge, while sides at Under 16; Under 13; Under 10 and Under 9 are all in contention for honours and we have a number of teams through to cup quarter finals. We're planning an even bigger and better Chariot Race on 5th June and with work expected to start on the new clubhouse in the early New Year and completion due by the start of next season, plans are already afoot for a high profile opening launch. Add to that all the interest around our brilliant World Cup Prediction Competition and Mystic Malc foresees an exciting year ahead. So why not make it a New Year resolution to pop down to Platt Lane and to enter our World Cup Competition (www.worldcupcompetition.co.uk)? Finally, we couldn't end without mentioning Alan and Jenny Wilkins, who have become a bit of an institution at the club over numerous years, providing a welcome as warm as the food they've served up in Oscar's Food Bar! Alan and Jenny decided to hang up their oven gloves at Christmas in order to do something different on winter weekends...like enjoy themselves and take well earned holidays! On behalf of the club and many hungry / thirsty footballers and spectators: Thank you and very best wishes for the future! Happy New Year! December 09 All Systems Go for New Clubhouse! After several years, a lot of hard work and considerable hair loss, we've finally had the news we've all been waiting for! We're absolutely delighted to announce that on 11th November 2009, the Football Foundation approved our bid for over £300,000 - the outstanding piece in the funding jigsaw for our new clubhouse. With all the funding in place we are now in a position to go ahead with the new building. This is fantastic news, not just for the football club but for the whole community! Not only will the club have a new clubhouse with modern changing rooms, function room, etc, which will provide the stimulus for our football development plan (which, amongst other things, will see a growth in the number of teams and the establishment of a disabled section), the wider, non-footballing, community of Keyworth will benefit from a new facility which will be available for general hire. The other contributors in an overall funding package totalling up to £765,000 include Biffa; Wren; Notts County Council; Rushcliffe Borough Council; East Midlands Airport; Keyworth Parish Council; Sport England Community Sport Fund and, of course, the football club itself. We are incredibly grateful to all our funding partners and to Notts FA for their support in turning the dream into reality. Work on the new building will commence in December, with completion expected in summer 2010. We'll keep you informed of progress through these pages and on our website www.kucfc.com. Back on the pitch, congratulations to the miserly Reserves who equalled a Notts Senior League record for consecutive clean sheets in a run of five games without concession. Meanwhile both the Under 9 Blacks and the Under 10 Green teams remain unbeaten in the league at the time of writing. Finally, as part of our fundraising efforts, we'll be launching our World Cup Prediction Competition on 5th December following the previous day's World Cup draw. The competition will be open for entries until the start of the World Cup next summer. We've some great prizes on offer and are hoping to attract a large number of entrants. For further details and the opportunity to enter online, check out the competition website: www.worldcupcompetition.co.uk. It's great fun - tell your friends! November 09 Keyworth United Live on TV! It's been an exciting few weeks for Keyworth United! On 8th October, we made our first live television appearance when the BBC came to Platt Lane to run an article featuring Bobby Oldham's Under 14s team. A co-owner of Clean as a Whistle - the team's sponsor - whose son is serving with the Grenadier Guards, recently started a campaign to send shoeboxes containing the little luxuries which we all take for granted,(soap, toothbrushes, etc) to brighten up the lives of our troops in Afghanistan. Happy to assist, we've adopted the regiment and, through the generosity of players, parents and officials, filled a substantial number of shoeboxes for dispatch to the troops. BBC captured the event with a live link into the East Midlands Today bulletin, which also featured pre-recorded interviews with some of the Under 14 boys during their weekly training session. We are proud to have particiatcd in this excellent event which epitomised the community ethos that goes into making us a recognised Community Football Club. The bid for the new clubhouse has now been signed off by Notts FA and submitted to the Football Foundation for consideration at a meeting in November. Many thanks to all of those, including Notts FA officials, who have worked tirelessly in developing the bid - we now wait with fingers crossed for the decision. On the pitch, we're honoured to have successfully hosted an Under 16 New South Wales representative side, who included Keyworth United within their UK tour schedule, which also featured games with Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest! While our senior sides have experienced mixed fortunes over recent weeks, the Under 9 Blacks and the Under 10 Greens continue to show our other teams how to do it, with superb unbeaten starts to the season - keep it up boys! Last, but not least, we're holding a race night on 27th November and watch out for the launch of our World Cup Competition! More on that in the December issue and on our new website www.kucfc.com October 09 Mixed Start for Keyworth teams At senior level, the new season couldn't have started any worse for Keyworth's 1st team, who slumped to a 6-0 defeat at Clifton in their opening fixture. Since then though, the boys in green have bounced back in style and with impressive victories on the road at Magdala, Ruddington and Linby, along with a creditable point in the local derby at Cotgrave, things are looking much brighter. At the time of writing we've reached the dizzy heights of 4th in the top flight of Notts Senior League. Well done to Dave Fisk and his team, long may it continue! In contrast, it's been a reversal of fortune for the Reserves. Having splendidly overturned a three goal deficit at Calverton to record an amazing 4-3 victory on the opening day, the Reserves produced another comeback three days later at Radclffe to secure all three points. It wasn't to last though, as depleted by first team call ups and limited availability, the "Ressies" crashed to successive heavy defeats and currently occupy a position of mid-tale respectably. Off the pitch, things have been increasingly hectic as we put the final touches on the clubhouse funding bid and embark on the process of renewing our FA Charter Standard status. Recent meetings with officials from Nottinghamshire FA and the Football Foundation have been very positive and we're quietly optimistic that both applications will prove successful. Watch this space for regular updates on progress. After our successful excursion into Europe last season, when the Under 13 boys visited Feignes in France, we're delighted to announce that our reputation has spread further across the international arena. Following an approach from our antipodean friends, we'll be hosting a visiting team from New South Wales, Australia in the (Down) Under 16 age group on 24th October. Finally, a word of thanks to Dave Voce - our long-suffering Club Secretary. This time of year is a nightmare for Dave, who has to co-ordinate fixtures, pitch allocations and player registrations for over twenty teams, all within specific deadlines. It's a mammoth and thankless task, but without Dave's efforts, no-one would be playing football for the club. From all of the coaches / managers; players and parents of our junior players...THANK YOU! September 09 Back to Business! Despite the lack of football, it's been a busy summer at Platt Lane. With the highly successful Chariot Race, nineteen end of season presentation events and reworking of the bid for the new clubhouse, it feels like we've never been away! Now though, as the close season itself draws to a close, its football that is once again the focus of our attention as we embark on the new campaign full of hope and expectation for the season ahead. With demand as high as ever, this year we'll be running 23 teams, plus our ever popular Sunday morning Soccer School for 5-7 year olds. The 1st team kicked off our season away in mid August but have to wait until 12th September for their first home match. Junior and youth teams also get underway on the weekend of 12/13 September. We wish all of our teams the best of luck for the new season - particularly the new coaches, tentatively taking up the reins for the first time. We'd also like to thank those coaches who stepped down at the end of last season and Andrew Leatherland who, after several years at the keyboard, is relinquishing his role as Press Officer. Well done guys, from all at Keyworth United, many thanks for your sterling service over the years! Through these pages we'll keep you updated on the progress of all our teams over the coming months and hope to have some news on the new clubhouse shortly. In the meantime, if you'd like to find out more, check out the Keyworth United website at www.keyworthunited.co.uk. Better still, why not pop down to Platt Lane on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning to see for yourself, take in a game and sample the delights of Alan and Jenny's "Oscar's " food bar? We look forward to seeing you! November 7th 2009 - Nottingham Evening Post http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Football-team-help-troops-Afghanistan/article-1491628-detail/article.html  FOOTBALL mad youngsters are sending more than 200 shoeboxes filled with goodies out to soldiers in Afghanistan. Keyworth United Under-14s have been filling the shoeboxes with items such as soap, toothpaste and magazines. The youngsters have smashed their target of collecting 50 shoeboxes and will be sending out 210 to troops based out in Afghanistan.

January 15th 2010 - Nottingham Evening Post A VILLAGE is celebrating after winning a nine-year campaign for new £600,000 football changing rooms. Since 2001 Keyworth United has battled to raise around £90,000 to unlock more than £510,000 from the Football Foundation. The club, based at Platt Lane, has organised chariot races, golfing days, race nights and more to get the cash to replace its old wooden clubhouse. Yesterday the Football Foundation announced it would fund the scheme - and construction should start within two weeks. Father-of-two Robert Clegg, 45, from Keyworth, the club chairman for nine years, said: "We have done it! We have finally got there. I am so relieved after such a long time. "It is going to make a tremendous difference. People don't like to come down there because of the facilities. But now, because of the improvements, we will attract more." Campaigners say the club, which has 27 teams, had to wait a long time for the money because the village is a wealthy area. The Football Foundation previously promised £345,000 but the application had to be resubmitted because of cost increases. The club says this was due to changes the foundation wanted to the design, plus inflation. John Cottee, county councillor for Keyworth, said: "I am absolutely thrilled for the community. We have been having problems because Keyworth is seen as a wealthy area. But the sports facilities are in a pretty poor state. "This will now give us decent facilities for our own teams and visitors. It is going to be a pleasure for kids to go down there." The new brick building will have six changing rooms and two separate rooms for referees and linesmen, as well as a function room, kitchen, toilets for spectators ,and a bigger car park. Under-13s' manager Malcolm Healey, 46, who has been involved with the club for six years, said: "We have been working towards this since 2001. It has been a long, long time coming. We are absolutely delighted with what's going to happen. We will be getting new people come into the club. "We will be looking into holding coaching courses and working with disabled people. It will be a lot more modern. We are absolutely thrilled to bits." The club recently had £180,000 spent improving the pitches with better drainage. The £514,000 grant from the Football Foundation, a body run by the football authorities and the Government, is part of a £765,000 package with contributions from Biffa, Wren; Notts County Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council, East Midlands Airport, Keyworth Parish Council and Sport England Community Sport Fund. Paul Thorogood, chief executive of the Football Foundation, said: "We warmly congratulate Keyworth United Community FC and the Nottinghamshire County FA for their hard work and dedication in securing this award." chris.birkle@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Village-wins-near-decade-long-football-campaign/article-1709807-detail/article.html

Archives Malc Healey's interviews on Radio Nottingham  available for download  ---- Malc Healey ---- Press Officer KUCFC 23/10/09 15/01/10

PRESS RELEASE: Timing: Immediate release (14 Jan 10) Keyworth United Clubhouse gets Green Light! Keyworth United Community Football Club is to benefit from a new clubhouse thanks to a grant of up to £514,460 from the Football Foundation. A delighted club President, Allan Cook said: "This is fantastic news for the football club and the whole community of Keyworth. Not only will it kick start our football development plan, which will see us running more teams, it will provide a new facility for people of Keyworth to use. We are extremely grateful to the Football Foundation and all our funding partners, for helping turn our dream into reality." Funded by the Premier League, The Football Association and Government, the Football Foundation is the country's largest sports charity with a £40m budget going straight into the heart of football. Keyworth United Community FC was previously awarded two grants worth £800 towards new football strips and equipment through the Foundation's Junior Kit Scheme. Keyworth United Community Football Club is a FA Charter Standard Community Club and one of the oldest and largest football Clubs in Nottinghamshire, having celebrated its centenary in 2004. The project will provide a new pavilion to service the club's existing Foundation funded pitches. The new changing facilities are desperately needed in order to meet the demand from existing teams and to accommodate new girls and boys teams. The new building will house six team changing rooms with toilets and showers and two officials changing rooms with en-suite facilities. The social side of the building will see separate, male, female and wheelchair accessible toilets, along with a large club room and kitchen with external servery. Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation said: "We warmly congratulate Keyworth United Community FC and the Nottinghamshire County FA for their hard work and dedication in securing this award." "Sport is playing a central role in helping people to stay fit, strengthen communities and promote responsibility amongst young people. This new project in Nottinghamshire is but one example of thousands across the country that the Football Foundation is supporting with money provided by our funding partners - the Premier League, The FA and Government." The grant is part of an overall funding package totaling up to £765,000, with other contributions coming from Biffa; Wren; Notts County Council; Rushcliffe Borough Council; East Midlands Airport; Keyworth Parish Council and Sport England Community Sport Fund. Work on the new building will start later this month and is expected to be completed by the start of next season.

PRESS RELEASE: Timing: Immediate release (14 Jan 10) Keyworth Charity match nets £1,000 for Macmillan Nurses The annual Veterans (over 35s) charity football match between local rivals Keyworth United and British Geological Survey ended with honours even but the Macmillan Nurses a clear winner. A tight game, superbly officiated by Keyworth councillor John Cottee, saw BGS twice take the lead, only to be pegged back by Bobby Oldham's late equaliser. Subsequent activities at the Keyworth Tavern public house and the New Year's Day exploits of a few die-hard Keyworth United golfers pushed the total raised for the chosen charity to just over £1,000. Keyworth United Vice-Chairman Paul Costall said: "This has been a tremendous effort from all involved. The Macmillan Nurses do a fantastic job and we're delighted to support such a worthy cause."

PRESS RELEASE: Timing: Immediate release (30Oct 09) Keyworth United Shoebox Campaign tops 200 Keyworth United's efforts to help brighten up the lives of soldiers serving in Afghanistan has proved more successful than anticipated. The club has been filling shoeboxes with the little luxuries that we all take for granted, such as soap, toothpaste and magazines, for dispatch to the troops. Originally setting themselves an optimistic target of filling fifty shoeboxes by the end of October, the club is astounded to have now sealed a massive 210 boxes. These will be taken to the Army Recruitment Office in Nottingham later this week and dispatched to the troops from there. Manager of the Under 14s team and the club's co-ordinator of the shoebox campaign, Bobby Oldham said "this is a tremendous achievement and far exceeds our expectations. The generosity of all involved has been amazing and is greatly appreciated. I'm sure the soldiers will get great comfort from the boxes and this will give them a big lift". If anyone still wishes to still donate, Keyworth United will arrange to send over any additional items after the first batch has been dispatched. Details of approved items are available on the Keyworth United website at: www.kucfc.com/support_troops.html   Anyone wishing to donate can contact Bobby Oldham on 07920 515 785 or at: u14blacks@kucfc.com

PRESS RELEASE: Timing: Immediate release (25 Oct 09) Honours Even in Keyworth International  A typically highly charged encounter between England and Australia ended with honours even as Keyworth United Under 16s took on a representative side from the Far North Coast of New South Wales. In a pulsating game, Keyworth took the lead from Matt Milnes' spot-kick midway through the first half after Man of the Match Greg Halford was pulled down in the area. Undeterred, the Aussies fought back and were rewarded with a deserved equalizer with twenty minutes remaining. Keyworth United Under16s Manager Jim Manton said “this was a great day for Keyworth - a superb game which was a tremendous advert for youth football.”  Managed by former Nottingham resident John Sowter, the Australians now continue their tour with trips to Hucknall Rolls-Royce, Priory Celtic and Pelican before heading north to face Newcastle United and Aberdeen.

PRESS RELEASE: Timing: Immediate release (20 Oct 09) KEYWORTH TAKE ON AN AUSSIE XI The mere mention of an England vs Australia clash conjures up competitiveness, tension and a will to win. This Saturday (October 24th) will see this tradition maintained when Keyworth United Under 16s take on a representative side from Northern New South Wales at Platt Lane in Keyworth. It may not be an Ashes clash or a Rugby battle, but taking on the old enemy at any sport gives the game that bit of edge. The Northern New South Wales XI is coached by former Nottingham resident John Sowter, and the Keyworth fixture is one of eleven the team will play during the UK tour. Other teams being lined up include Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and Aberdeen as well as local sides Hucknall, Arnold Town and Priory Celtic. Keyworth United's Under 16s manager Jim Manton said: "As a Community Club we're delighted to welcome the Australians to Keyworth for such a prestigious fixture - we can certainly bill this as our first international at Platt Lane." Notts Youth League has allowed Keyworth to postpone their scheduled fixture in order to accommodate the touring side. Kick off at Platt Lane is 10am.