Frequently Asked Questions

There are many ways to be involved in the club and every contribution is warmly welcomed.

Of course there are many committee roles, but we appreciate that level of involvement might not suit everyone. You might be able to help in the following ways, though (this is not an exhaustive list):

Helping at the Clubs Fundraising events – this occurs throughout the year – we are always looking for helpers from selling tickets to being on a stand at the local gala – this all helps raise money for the club.

Setting up – There are some pieces to put in place before matches, such as putting up goal nets and setting out Respect Lines and corner flags. It doesn’t take a lot of effort but it is one more thing the managers, coaches and committee members don’t have to worry about.

Be a sponsor – If you run a business or have an employer you can talk to about his, we’re always looking for support at all levels. It doesn’t cost a fortune to make a huge difference to a team, buying new strips, waterproof jackets and other bits and pieces. We’re actively looking at more ways of exposing the names and logos of our generous sponsors so that you can see the benefit. Your community will be grateful when they see your name!

The best way to explore becoming part of Eldwick Junior Football Club is to come down to training on a Saturday morning (in bad weather it’s best to check our Facebook site to ensure it hasn’t been cancelled). You can talk to managers and committee members and we can help to introduce children to the appropriate team.

Once the season is underway, teams can fill their quota of players eligible to play in league matches, but there is often still space for more to train and those players can take part in friendly matches and tournaments.

We have, through great efforts of committee members over time, worked very hard to keep the membership fees as low as possible.

This has been done by asking for occasional contributions to pieces of kit (shorts, socks, etc), attracting sponsors and careful financial management.

We understand that we are one of the lowest cost clubs in the county. Annual membership is just £170 for players and players will be registered with the FA to take part in the league and includes all training and kit costs. We are keen to try and keep our fees around this mark and we hope parents appreciate the value this offers.

The fees the club charges help to cover some of our many costs, including maintaining the pitches, insurances, FA affiliation costs, supplying teams with football kits, training equipment and footballs aswell as funding hundreds of medals and trophies given out at the award ceremonies our teams hold each year.

None of our coaches or players mind a bit of rain! The problem is that once the ground is very wet the pitches get churned up and turn to mud. If they then freeze while in this state, that makes things even worse. When this happens they can become unplayable for weeks on end and cost literally thousands of pounds to put right. Disappointing as it can be, it’s better to miss a week than to miss six weeks and put club finances at risk.

Please also be aware that our grounds are managed by very hard working volunteers, who give as much time as they can freely to do this. During the season if there is any question over the state of the ground, committee members and managers carry inspections on everyone’s behalf and often have a very difficult decision to make.

Cancellations are not made lightly. We’re all here because we love our children to play the game!

Each team’s fixtures generally alternate between home and away. When matches are at home, the Eldwick Juniors Club secretary will allocate pitches and kick-off times. Different age groups require different pitch sizes and we have pitches to meet these needs.

Of course teams who need the same size of pitch can’t all use it at once, so we have to stagger start times.

When a team has an away match the kick-off time is a matter for the hosting club, which will often have similar considerations as those outlined above. The facilities available also vary greatly club by club.

Our teams play their matches in leagues which are governed by Football Association rules. This means that a team must have suitably registered and eligible players, both for the purposes of ensuring fair play and so that players are properly covered by the relevant insurances.

The FA sets limits on the amount of players a team can have in its eligible playing squad. This is generally twice the number allowed on the pitch at any one time – so, for example, 14 signed players for seven-a-side age groups.

Once a team has its full complement it cannot sign any new players unless some leave or transfer to other teams. Transfers are also governed by an official process which must be observed by all sides.

However, our teams are welcoming of players even if they don’t have space to sign them. Non-signed players can still become club members, can train with the teams in their regular sessions and can take part in friendly matches and tournaments