Crowborough Athletic Crowd Funding Project

Aim

The survival and future of a Community Football Club which has been in the local community for 125 years.

Dear friends of Crowborough Athletic Football club,

We don’t need to tell you that we are living in unprecedented times. The effects of the corona-virus pandemic have clearly reached far and wide in all aspects of life. Of course, our thoughts are first and foremost with all those that have been affected and impacted by this awful virus. We hope that all our well-wishers, players, members, volunteers, supporters and committee members remain safe and healthy.

Here's the situation...

Crowborough Athletic Football Club has provided football to the local community since 1894. While our team of volunteers works tirelessly to keep the club running on a shoestring budget, we certainly aren't immune from the knock-on effects of the virus and unfortunately this has only exacerbated what was already a difficult time. An extended period of inclement weather (including the wettest February on record) has meant that the football club’s last home game for our First Team was on the 10th March 2020, and we’ve had no way of raising funds since. We estimate lost revenue to be in the region of £7500-£10,000, with senior games postponed, losing not only gate money but revenue from things like programmes, burgers, merchandise and bar sales. There's no clear date as to when football at Step 5 will return...

Why we need your help...

While money had been set aside to maintain the pitch inside the stadium, our concerns have now turned to our Junior teams (Under 6 to Under 18) and the problems with the junior pitches outside the stadium. Crowborough Athletic provide football to around 200 children in the area and our target is to get those children back out on a training pitch, in the fresh air, with their friends and at the club, where we have access to all the necessary facilities. Unfortunately, the outside pitches at Alderbrook are in extremely poor condition, unplayable, with the Town Council unable to help at this moment in time. We have had the required work assessed and we are looking at a bill of just over £5000 to make our three pitches playable again, as they need to be scarified, Verti-drained, top-dressed, seeded and fertilised – a bag of seed on it’s own costs nearly £80 and we need at least 15 bags….

While these pictures may show a lovely field - and it IS a lovely field - it's not a surface that's safe to play football on for young muscles and bones. It is for this reason that the Executive Committee have taken the decision to launch this crowdfunding appeal, as we simply have no other income to rely on and no date as to when football will return for the First Team. Our fundraising target is £5,000, therefore, and this would help to replace the anticipated revenues which would have been generated before the season ended. 

We understand that this is a big ask.

We are incredibly fortunate to be a well-supported community club, and from the hundreds who watch us on a Saturday, it is now you that we turn to for help at this difficult time. Any donations, large or small, would be gratefully received.

Quite simply, we need your help.

Thank you

This project successfully funded on 19th July 2020