We are writing this as an open letter to the supporters and friends of Trafford FC. As you know full well, we are facing unprecedented times. Not just for our football club, but for our families, friends, and communities. Because we feel that the club is very much a part of your community and your lives, we think it a good time to express our gratitude to you all.
It was back on 22nd February, a home win over Marine, that football ended at Shawe View and did not return for exactly six months – 22nd August when Ashton Athletic were the visitors in a pre-season friendly. During that half-year, Lockdown saw the entire country stopped in its tracks. However, this didn’t mean the grass stopped growing or the paint stopped flaking at our beloved stadium. There remained work to be done, even in Lockdown…….
The enforced hiatus not only lost us nine league games in the abandoned season (including four home fixtures) AND the Manchester Premier Cup Final, but we also had to cancel all the amateur and junior finals we host annually in May. This was a sad loss to grassroots teams across the district and costly to the club in terms of vital post-season income. We were able to acquire some financial support from Trafford Council and Sport England in the form of grants, which went some way towards mitigating the loss of income due to the cessation of all footballing activities.
However, what was THE most positive and uplifting occurrence during these uncertain times was the way that Trafford FC’s supporters and friends rallied together to help save the club. The Supporters Club was instrumental in setting up a “JustGiving” crowdfunder which exceeded its £5,000 target and went on to raise £7,302. Donations came from far & wide – not just what we call the “Trafford Family” but also fans of other clubs, former Trafford players and managers, local businesses, and the greater Urmston community….. It was heart-warming to feel the love for the club and to see everyone rallying to keep us afloat. It is a testament to all of you amazing fans and friends of TFC. From the bottom of our hearts, the Committee thanks every single one of you who were involved in organising this, and every single person who contributed, no matter the size of the donation.
But that wasn’t all, oh no! Some crazy “virtual match days” involving online Subbuteo and Playstation fun as substitutes for lost fixtures raised just over a thousand pounds. Then, later in the summer as Lockdown restrictions started to be relaxed, we saw Shawe View become a hive of activity (within the social distancing rules of course!) as volunteers got to grips with the jobs that are needed to maintain our high standards. In particular, the grounds team of Graham and Adrian maintained a mini-rota for cutting, seeding and fertilising the pitch. As the break from football continued, deep cleaning of the bar, kitchen and clubhouse areas was undertaken whilst outside jobs were completed including the painting of buildings and barriers, the of fixing roofs, pressure-washing the concrete panels around the pitch, and generally keeping the place spotless.
As the possibility of a start to the new season emerged, we had to up-our-game in making the stadium Covid-safe. We were assisted in this by one of our loyal supporters, Mike Jones, whose day-job is in the discipline of industrial health and safety. The professionalism and thoroughness of his advice helped us produce a full Covid-19 “Risk Assessment” document which is published on our website. This, along with the measures implemented around Shawe View saw us pass with flying colours all the stipulations set for us by the authorities and enabled us to open our doors again to paying customers for the aforementioned friendly on 22nd August. The work that was carried out in the run up to this game was immense – all done by a band of volunteers who stepped up and did themselves and the club proud. We would like to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and support. It will not be forgotten.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Supporters Club had a few projects ongoing as a result of their fantastic fundraising outside of the JustGiving page. Having been raising funds since the SC’s relaunch about three years ago, the new PA system was completed this summer and if you thought THAT was enough, they then decided to undertake a project to install additional concrete steps on the west side of the stadium, behind the Pennybridge Lane end. This is the first stage of a medium-term project that will eventually see the building of another fixed covering to protect supporters from the elements. The cost has been met with around £4,000 of fundraising efforts over the last three years, plus a grant of £2,000 for which the SC submitted a successful bid to the Manchester FA. The Committee wish to add their thanks to the TFC Supporters Club for all the hard work carried out to complete those successful projects.
For those of you who have managed to return to Shawe View for the first few games of this new season, you will have witnessed the results of the hard work done over the summer. You will have seen the rules which we must adhere to, and you will have experienced the new ways of accessing the stadium with E-ticketing and capped capacity. We have had considerable help in this from one of our numerous local sponsors, Shocal. We cannot exaggerate the benefits that their ticketing App has brought to the management of admissions to the stadium and the requirements for track & trace. It is looking likely that for the foreseeable future we will need a traceable E-ticketing system and the Shocal app has worked very well from the outset. Indeed, all home games so far have sold out to the capacities that we were allowed by our local council.
The success of everything we describe above has been possible through the actions and compliance of you, our loyal fans. As we continue with the season it is critically important that we do not relax our match day protocols relating to Covid-19. We have had communication from the League reminding us that unless every club implements its Risk Assessments diligently, and manages social distancing effectively, there is a very real risk that the government will restrict access to football further. We are also subject to scrutiny from Trafford Council with regular spot checks and reviews. As such, can we remind you all of the strict rules regarding the bar and drinking up times. The authorities will not hesitate to apply sanctions on any club found to be disregarding government and FA guidance.
We are ending this message by reiterating the Committee’s gratitude to every one of our loyal fans and friends. You have all done amazingly well so far and we want that to continue. From being seriously concerned that there might be no Trafford FC after the Locked-down spring/summer of 2020 we actually feel like we’ve gone from strength to strength thanks to the efforts and commitment from everyone in and around our Club. Please keep up the good work. Spread the word that football is continuing, and Trafford FC needs your support. We will continue to provide a safe and welcoming environment to our local community as long as we are able to, and we hope you enjoy this for many seasons to come.
Thank you!
Trafford Football Club
