On Saturday 10th June, Bradley Stoke Youth FC (BSYFC) hailed the success of their latest Schools’ Football Festival at the Jubilee Centre, which attracted 130 Year 1 children representing 13 different local primary schools and 45 Year 2 children from the BSYFC teams. The festival is the finale to the club’s School Link Programme where BSYFC’s FA Qualified Level 1 and 2 coaches go into the schools and coach all the Year 1 children for a three-week period at each school. The programme starts in February and finishes in the last school in May, ready for the Festival in June.

The Football Festival has been running since 2006 and over the years has developed into a major event as part of the town’s annual Community Festival, with over 1,650 children having now taken part. The School Link Programme started in 2007 and has grown over the years to become a major community activity with over 7,000 children having received football skills coaching in their school.

At the festival, every child received a medal and a gift bag full of football-related essentials like shin pads, football socks, water bottle, baseball cap, activity play pack and sweets. Each school received a cup and a ball bag with size 3 footballs, so they can continue the football coaching at their school. The winning school also received a new kit for their team. The Teacher Awards this year went to Iron Acton and Stoke Lodge.

Football Festival organiser Martin Lee said:

“The club would like to recognize all the club coaches, managers and helpers who assisted on the day, ensuring the success of this community event. Also a big thanks to our key long term sponsors McDonald’s, Bradley Stoke Town Council and the Gloucestershire FA.”

More: Festival award winners and team photos »

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Workers at a supermarket in Bradley Stoke have pulled together to support a local youth football team.

The Under-16 Girls’ team at Bradley Stoke Youth FC will be playing in new kit next season, thanks to the generosity of staff at the town’s Tesco Extra store.

Tesco customer experience manager Joe Kilpatrick said:

“We’re delighted to be able to support an organisation that is really local to the store and at the heart of the local community.”

Receiving a cheque for £670, Martin Lee, community officer at BSYFC and manager of the U16 Girls’ team, said:

“Many thanks to Tesco Bradley Stoke for supporting the U16 Girls’ team for next season and providing a new kit for the squad. BSYFC is an FA Charter Standard Community Club with 20 teams, so the donation is very helpful and much appreciated.”

Photo: Martin Lee (centre) receives a cheque from Tesco staff (l-r) Hannah Naish, Joe Kilpatrick, Alice Abraham and Dawn Richards.

This article originally appeared in the May 2017 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on page 28). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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The girls’ teams at Bradley Stoke Youth FC (BSYFC) have smart new training kits, thanks to a £400 donation from national engineering company AV Birch Limited.

The sponsorship was arranged through Lewis, guardian of one of the BSYFC girl players, who contacted club coach Lee Lawson, suggesting the company he was working with could potentially donate funds to the team.

AV Birch were working in the area and wanted to give something back to the local community. This was great timing, as Lee was already in the process of looking into sourcing kit for the girls.

Lee said:

“The coaches, players and parents of BSYFC would like to extend their thanks and gratitude to David Tilsley-Curtis of AV Birch Limited for enabling the team to purchase the training kit. On the night the training kit was given out there was a great sense of excitement and the girls couldn’t wait to get home and try it all on.”

“The players all look great in their new kit. They are really happy; it makes them look and feel like a team.”

BSYFC was established in 1998. It is an FA Charter Standard Community Club covering all age ranges from Reception age upwards. It also runs football sessions for children with disabilities.

The club won the FA Charter Standard Community Club Award in 2016 and was runner-up in the Bristol Post Sports Awards for Community Clubs in 2016.

More: Girls train on Friday evenings at BSCS »

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Local football team Bradley Stoke Youth FC U6s have received a brand new free kit courtesy of local McDonald’s franchisee Mike Guerin and the McDonald’s FA Kit Scheme.

The McDonald’s scheme, now in its third year, has provided over 175,000 kits to clubs across the UK with 70,000 new football kits being delivered this year. This year has seen a huge number of applications from clubs across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who were eligible to order a brand new kit, choosing from a number of styles and colours.

To mark the occasion, Bradley Stoke Youth FC held an event at their training ground, inviting local McDonald’s franchisee Mike Guerin to come along to celebrate the U6s receiving their new strip of kits for this year’s season.

Local McDonald’s franchisee, Mike Guerin, who is a keen supporter of grassroots football, said:

“Bradley Stoke Youth FC is a club that is close to my heart, and an excellent example of a grassroots club which has a real community spirit. I am thrilled to be able to supply the young players with a new kit to achieve great things in this season! The kit scheme is something that McDonald’s is incredibly proud to be able to roll out to clubs all over the country. I would like to thank Bradley Stoke Youth FC for inviting me along to celebrate with them in receiving their new kit and wish them the best for this year’s season.”

Martin Lee from Bradley Stoke Youth FC said:

“We’re hugely grateful to McDonald’s for donating a new kit for our U6 team. An average team strip costs around £500 per season, so this really is a huge saving for us and means we can spend the money on other areas of the club that need it. The kids absolutely love wearing their new strip. Having the kit has created fantastic unity and team spirit and has given the kids extra motivation to train and have a great season.”

More: Scheme is part of the McDonald’s 14-year Community Partnership »

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