Thank you to everyone who has followed us on Social Media so far, this really helps to demonstrate the demand for a Senior Football Club in Widnes but we still need much more! Our following on Instagram is building nicely, but we do need to work hard on getting our numbers up on others especially Facebook. If you could give us a quick follow, it would really help us – www.facebook.com/widnestownfc .
We hope to have news on a home ground this week, and we would like to thank everyone who has assisted us so far with this process including the office of Derek Twigg MP. Once we have a firm answer on the ground situation, we will be able to finish budgeting for the coming season and submit our application to the Football Association and the North West Counties Football League. We made contact with both the FA and the League last week to request information about the application process and criteria on which we must meet for admission to a league.
We spent the past week planning fundraising events starting in the Spring. These events will be a combination of fundraising social events and some larger community events throughout the year. Our goal is to raise 35% of our funding through events in 2026, with 35% coming from sponsorship & partnerships. That would mean we would need to raise the remaining 30% of running costs from gate receipts on matchdays.
As part of our project planning, we have also reached out to a kit manufacturer as we seek to establish what our kit and equipment cost will be. We want to try and deliver a membership package for supporters that provides excellent value for money by combining supporters club membership, a season ticket for friendlies & league fixtures and a home & away jersey all in one price.
Finally, we also explored options this week to add post sixteen academy teams to the club and establish what this would cost the club to put in place. By establishing a post sixteen education academy, we hope to build partnerships with existing junior clubs to provide players with a local pathway to continue their football development while also gaining education qualifications.
For the week ahead, the focus is obviously on the outcome of discussions relating to a ground to play at for the next two years. We will also begin our search for Sponsorships once that piece is in place, as we can’t quite finish the budgeting process until we know exactly what we need to pay for home fixtures.
Finally, we hope to start reaching out to local junior clubs this week to set out our ambitions for a Community Trust, how we will raise funds and how we might be able to work together positively.
Thank you so much for follow us in this process, and remember that this club is your club! We have a small steering committee working on the finer details, but ultimately the club will be run by the community for the community. We are looking for an experienced Football Secretary to join our team, even if it is just for the first eighteen months or so. We are also looking for a Commercial Sales person who can assist with selling sponsorships. If you know anyone who could fill either of these two roles, please have them reach out to widnestownfc@gmail.com.
