Ashington Cougars U16s and Steyning Strikers under 16’s will move to Steyning Town FC to play U18s County League football in the 2013-4 season. Both clubs are keen to ensure that their talented crop of young players are given every opportunity to continue developing their playing careers and we are delighted they have chosen Steyning Town FC as the place for this to happen.

The team will continue to be managed by Daniel Fuller-Smith who has been managing Ashington Cougars for the last 7 years, who along with his fellow coaches, will also move to Steyning Town FC.

Richard Woodbridge of Steyning Town FC says “We are really excited about getting a large inflow of talented players from Ashington Cougars and Steyning Strikers next year, and we see players from these two teams forming the nucleus of a strong youth squad for the coming years. This team and the existing county youth side run by Ian Coyle will exist side by side and will play in separate County Youth divisions."

He adds" This will further strengthen our player base as a club and we hope many of these local lads will go on to play in the senior sides. We are delighted to be forging links with local feeder clubs and we hope these links will develop in the future as we give opportunities to local talented young footballers."

“The whole team is really excited about the opportunity to play for Steyning Town FC” says Ashington Cougars U16’s captain Joe Brooker who as a Chelsea fan is also really impressed that the team has recently received sponsorship for a complete kit from Chelsea’s David Luiz via the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and the Premier League.

Training for the U18s season will start on January 15th from 18-19:30 with sessions being overseen by Gerry Murphy, a UEFA “A” coach who spent 7 years coaching at the Fulham Academy. Any players interested in taking one of the few remaining squad places should email u18s@ashingtoncougarsfc.co.uk to arrange a trial.