Clubs amongst end of season fan awards
Corsham Town, Bradford Town, Bitton and Keynsham were amongst the awards in the Fans of Western League Clubs’ end of season Twitter polls. An incredible 13,532 votes were cast across the categories.
Corsham were jointly awarded the Division One Social Media Account of the Year award alongside Warminster Town and narrowly missed the Nightmare of the Year Award, their 7-0 drubbing by Wells City being worsened by Bridport’s 9-0 and 9-2 in defeats in just four days.
However Corsham’s 7-2 loss against Radstock proved to be the Division One Result of the Season, and they missed out on Best Division One Ground to Visit to Cheddar. Ashley Alchin also missed out on the Division One Midfielder of the Year to Wincanton Town’s Dan Wise, while Zach Costello lost the Division One Player of the Year to Radstock Town’s Luke Ingram.
Keynsham and Bradford were involved in the Premier Division Result of the Season when the Ks pulled off a 3-1 victory. Bradford fans were voted the Best Premier Division Supporters though.
Bitton’s Alex Grimshaw was voted the Premier Division Player of the Year ahead of Bradford’s Matt Morris, who also missed out on the Premier Division Midfielder of the Year to Plymouth Parkway’s Mike Williams. Teammate Dan Worton lost the Premier Division Keeper of the Year to Plymouth Parkway’s Kyle Moore.
■ Behind the scenes, Corsham have announced that Matthew and Karen Littlechild of Station Road Garage are once again sponsoring the first team next season. Alongside their matchday sponsorships for every home game, Corsham are now offering the opportunity to sponsor their match highlights on their Youtube channel.
The cost to sponsor a Western League Division One match in 2020/21 will be £30, home or away, but prices would increase to £45 for cup matches in the latter stages and £60 for a final. The sponsor’s business name and logo would appear at the start and end of the video and also be mentioned on social media when episodes are released. To find out more, get in touch with commercial manager Chris Turner.
On the pitch, Corsham have welcomed Gary Wackett to the reserves. Bradford have re-signed midfielder Simon Prangley, Prangley had a spell with the Bobcats two seasons ago and looks like he will be a big part of the team next season. Meanwhile Bradford’s Jack Witcombe and his company JOT Carpets and Flooring and laid a brand new carpet in the clubhouse.
Keynsham held a virtual end of season awards night last week. Matt Brown ended the campaign as top goalscorer, while Jordan Anstey won the supporters’ player of the year. Mike Grist was named players’ player of the year with Ash Clark receiving the manger’s player of the year.
Keynsham Ladies are looking for new players for the 2020/21 season. For more information contact Barrie on 07977 784167 or email manager@ktlfc.com.
■ AS the lockdown restrictions begin to ease, the FA released an updated guidance on permitted grassroots football activity during COVID-19 on Monday.
Playing football individually and playing football with family or other people in your household is allowed, while football training or fitness activities can take place in groups of no more than six, keeping two metres apart at all times.
Sharing of equipment should be kept to a minimum and strong hand hygiene practices should be in place before and after.
Physical contact with anyone outside of your household is not permitted, therefore the playing of any games (small-sided or full) is also not permitted. You must avoid meeting in groups of six in busy or overcrowded areas, especially if it is so busy that it is not possible to maintain social distancing at all times.
Football coaches can now undertake small group sessions up to six people (including the coach) but are reminded to follow The FA safeguarding policies when coaching/ working with children.
This must include risk assessing the activities, gaining consent from parents/carers and ensuring that you are in sight of another adult, and that the ratio of coach to different age groups of children is appropriate.
However, the additional parent/ carer or coach is not included as part of the group of six, but must remain in sight of the activity. It is permissible for coaches to organise a training session that has two or more groups of six (including the coach) involved, as long as the groups of six are kept separate, everyone is socially distancing and strict hygiene measures are in place with any equipment.
Football coaches working with people with impairments must ensure they can adequately cater for any additional needs whilst still avoiding physical contact and maintaining social distancing. Individuals should follow government guidance relevant to their own impairment or health condition.
Any individual that is symptomatic, living in a household with a possible COVID-19 infection or are classified as extremely vulnerable on health grounds is asked to remain at home in isolation.
The FA is working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Sport England in order to provide good practice guidance for those responsible for delivering different aspects of grassroots football.