Winchester City were delighted to host a special day for St Francis Youth Football Club at the Denplan City Ground last Sunday, 19^th August. The centrepiece of the day was a three team tournament, featuring the under 14s of St Francis and visiting sides, Bedford Town and Leyton Orient. This was preceded and followed by matches featuring the U11 St Francis Rangers and U11 St Francis Knights, who had both invited local sides for friendlies.

 

The standard of football was very high and entertained a good sized crowd of parents and friends throughout the day. All the young players were delighted to play on the Southern League pitch and made use of the first team dressing rooms in the clubhouse. The host club were also pleased with the success of the day. Club chairman, Derek Caws, said, “It’s great to see so many happy youngsters playing out on our pitch. For me, sharing our facilities like this to encourage young players is just as important as working with the first team. The young guys out there are not only our future players, but our future supporters as well". The club is looking to continue to build up links with local youth clubs, schools and other members of the community. The next joint event with St Francis is already being planned, and the club is also hoping to stage events such as this with other local clubs. “We are Winchester’s football club," said Caws, “We are looking to build up opportunities for football in the City and surrounding area for everyone from the Southern League squad down to local kids."