Prior to the AGM the football club had been exploring avenues on how to implement changes and improve its structure following a challenge with a lack of volunteers across the football club.

The club has made several changes over the past few months and further change was deemed necessary to ensure the challenges that the football club had faced previously are eliminated and we can focus our energies collectively to improving year on year.

As a result, Haverhill Rovers F C have implemented some large structural changes within its system to ensure the above improvement is achieved, this includes merging some of our fantastic volunteers that sit across our youth and senior committee into one group who will focus all their energies on one section of the club from U13 EJA into the first team to make it the best it possibly can be.

The football club following conversations has reached out to The New Croft Foundation (charitable trust based at The New Croft) who have employed staff who work across administration, football development, education and coaching on a part- or full-time basis to look after the operations of our grassroots U6-U18 Mini Soccer, Colts and girls’ section of the football club. This team of people are headed up by The New Croft Foundation Lead, Lois Balfour and include other staff such as Kevin Horlock, Rhys Shulver, Barbara Jones and a group of trustees with a range of skill sets that will support improved operations across that section over the coming months and years ahead, and more importantly allows Haverhill Rovers F C youth provision to remain as is but having clear plans and resources in place on which to enable improvement.

This decision was reached to ensure the best possible opportunities could be provided to all across the football club including players, coaches, parents, and volunteers as the current model was simply unsustainable with the lack of volunteers in place.

The football club will be setting some key KPI’s for the Foundation and its staff on what it would like delivered over the coming seasons to ensure the whole club continues to improve from top to bottom and it reserves the right to move teams across under the club’s umbrella should it deem necessary in the future.

Haverhill Rovers F C working in partnership with other organisations now has a clear structure and a plan in place on which to achieve success in the coming years. We will continue to work closely with the HCSA who are responsible for facility operational matters only as we strive to continue improving already excellent facilities for our members. We will also now be working hand in hand with some excellent staff at The New Croft Foundation who currently look after all football and community activities at The New Croft site alongside some amazing work they currently carry out in our local community.

It promises to be an exciting period ahead for Haverhill Rovers F C and we look forward to seeing these partnerships flourish. We will now look forward to welcoming you all back across the coming weeks and months!

ON BEHALF OF THE CLUB COMMITTEE