Football club in mourning
A STALWART of Cwmaman Football Club, Howard Davies, has died after suffering a long illness. Mr Davies joined Cwmaman Institute Football Club back in 1968.
FOOTBALL is mourning a Cwmaman stalwart of the game following the death of Howard Davies.
Mr Davies, 66, died in Prince Charles Hospital from a long-term illness.
Born and bred in Cwmaman, Mr Davies joined Cwmaman Institute Football Club in 1968. Back then the club had only been around for three years and was called the Ivy Bush after the pub where it was founded.
In 1976, it became clear that several of the players were ambitious and they changed their name to Cwmaman Football Club.
Over the next seven years, the club went from strength to strength, winning the league three years on the trot. This was in no small part to Mr Davies’ drive and leadership as chairman.
In the 1983/84 season, the club joined the South Wales Amateur League and Mr Davies became the league chair in 1988. This meant he had to step down from his beloved Cwmaman. He would remain in that role for 14 years and was given a service award for his work.
After stepping down in 2001, he took over as Chair of Cwmaman for a second time and in 2007 the club, now known as the Cwmaman Institute, became a member of the Welsh Football League.
Mr Davies’ extraordinary 40 years of achievements, hard work and dedication resulted in an award from the Football Association of Wales.
He lived a busy life outside of football serving his community as a borough councillor for the Aberaman South ward in the years 2006-12 while also holding the role of chairman of the Cwmaman group of schools.
Philip Northey, a close friend, said: “Howard was very much a Welshman, he loved everything about Wales. He was a big Stereophonics fan and fol- lowed their careers. Kelly actually played for the club in his youth.
“He was also a racing fan and would go on trips to the races and in later years grew to love his boxing.
“No-one has ever said anything derogatory about him, if people needed advice they would go to Howard. If he spoke to you, he knew everything about you in five minutes, he was passionate about people.”