Winter Survival Fund

I am very happy to inform you all that we have received confirmation from the Football Foundation that our application for a £15,000 Winter Survival Fund grant has been successful.

This grant will ensure we have the cash to cover our operating costs plus essential pitch and grounds maintenance whilst safeguarding our earmarked reserves. I would like to thank the Football Foundation for their speed in processing our grant claim.

Season Update

The FA have released a statement regarding the continuation or curtailment of the 2020/21 season. They have said that the results of the survey showed that over 76% of all clubs across Steps 3-6 indicated a preference to curtail the 2020-21 league season if it could not be restarted with limited spectator numbers and hospitality before 1 April 2021.

It has been decided that extending the 2020-21 league season beyond the end of May 2021 would not be a viable option and the FA's Alliance and Leagues Committees have reached a consensus that subject to the approval of FA Council, the 2020-21 league season for Steps 3-6 of the NLS should be curtailed with immediate effect, with no further league matches taking place this season.

The statement also says that subject to the FA Council's approval of the curtailment of the season the committees will revisit the restructure plans which have now been on hold for two years.

As always, we will provide you with a further update when we receive any new information from the league or the FA. Although it is disappointing that we have been unable to complete another season, at least we now have clarity which will now allow us to make plans for the future.

In happier news our Junior section will be able to start training and playing matches again from 29th March and this is great news for our Little Linnets. It will be great to see them all back at the Millbank complex.

Floodlights

I bet you were hoping you'd heard the last of our floodlights, but I have a bit of information that I felt was worth sharing with you all. Following the repair, it was discovered that one of the bulbs had gone. When this bulb is replaced we will also take the opportunity to replace the capacitors (one of these going caused the fault and subsequent fire) on the other floodlights, so hopefully we should have no more issues with floodlights and you never have to read about them again!

Pitch Booking System

As I'm sure you're all aware, having the Hybrid Pitch allows us to hire the pitch out to bring in some additional income. We will shortly be launching a new booking system which will allow prospective customers to view the available time slots and then book a slot if it is available. The system will then allow the club to vet the prospective hirer before confirming the booking. The new system will make the pitch booking more efficient and professional.

200 Club Draw

February's 200 Club draw will take place on Sunday 28th February at 2pm, if you do not already have a number but wish to be included in the draw, then please join the club using the below link.

Join the 200 Club

Volunteer Request Response

I was absolutely blown away by the response to my request for volunteers and some of our new volunteers have already started work including attending a working party to help with clearing the compound ready for the much-needed maintenance work to begin. I was there myself to lend a hand and it was great to see how much work has already been done.

If you would like to become a volunteer, then please click on the link below.

Volunteer for the club

Thank you for taking the time to read this update, as always stay home, stay safe and I'll see you all soon.

Dave Jones

Chairman - Runcorn Linnets FC