Bury Town Community F.C. are taking part in Tesco Stronger Starts funding scheme!

That means we need your help.

Tesco Stronger Starts offer grants up to £1,500 for schools, registered charities, and not-for-profit organisations to improve access to healthy, nutritious food.

Our project gives the youngest children in our community a strong start through football, ensuring every child can join in, learn, and grow. Early experiences in sport build confidence, teamwork, physical health, and lifelong wellbeing, but rising costs, financial barriers and a lack of equipment can sometimes stop some children from taking part.

With funding, we will create and support new early-years teams, provide essential kit, age-appropriate equipment, and offer healthy snacks during sessions. This ensures all children feel included, valued, and ready to enjoy football safely, while learning key skills and forming healthy habits.

The benefits reach beyond the pitch. Children gain confidence, social skills, and a sense of belonging, while families connect with each other and the wider community. Expanding our youngest teams strengthens grassroots football pathways and promotes inclusive, active lifestyles for the future.

By supporting our youngest players, Tesco Stronger Starts funding will help ensure sport is accessible to all children, giving them a strong foundation not just in football, but in life. Together, we can create healthier, happier children and a more connected, active community.

To vote, you will need to make a purchase within store of any value. You will receive one token per transaction and it’s not necessary to purchase a carrier bag in order to receive a token.

Voting opens in-store at Tesco Bury St Edmunds Superstore on Tuesday 28th April and closes on Friday 31st July.

Do:
– Cast your vote as soon as you receive your token for a project in the current voting round
– Only submit Tesco blue tokens to cast your vote
– Maximise promotion of your project during the voting period by making best use of press and social media guidance
– Encourage the local community and your supporters to get involved with in-store voting

Don’t:
– Tamper with the voting unit (otherwise your project may be void from the vote)
– Influence customers casting their vote at the voting unit
– Take more than one token from the self-serve checkouts
– Encourage supporters to hoard then submit multiple tokens in the voting unit
– Promote your project in store without permission from the Store Manager
– Collect Tesco tokens from stores that are not within your region to vote for your project
– starting spending your grant, as this is done as your own risk, items cannot be purchased until you have received your offer letter

As Chairman of Bury Town Community Football Club, it gives me great pride to present this years end of season report.

I would like to take this opportunity to firstly thank you all for being a part of this season and recognise your contribution to making the success we have seen both on and off the pitch which has been remarkable. Thank you!

We say a fond farewell to those that are moving on to pastures new and we wish you all the very best for the future.

This season has been a roaring success and a reaffirmation of our core values of Inclusion, Development and Ambition.

On the pitch

Our teams continued to thrive on the pitch this season with several standout performances along with league success across all age groups. It has been particularly rewarding to see the growth and development of our players which is testament to the quality of our coaching staff and the dedication of the players.

Here are just some of our teams’ achievements:

U15 Girls – League Cup runners up and runners up in the League
U13 Girls – Plate winners
U12 Girls – League winners
U16 Rams – League Cup runners up
U15 Lions – League runners up
U14 Colts – League Cup winners
U10 Royals – League Cup runners up
Adult Disability team – 3rd place in regional tournament

We held our first ever whole Club Presentation day at Ram Meadow in May as a joint event with the Family Fun Day which was a huge success and we will be looking to do something similar again this year which we hope will be attended by even more teams and families.

Volunteers, Service Awards & Garry Barker Trophy

As a Charitable organisation we are heavily reliant on the voluntary contributions made by our members and this year we had a record 81 registered volunteers which have helped us to achieve our charitable aims.

I am pleased to announce that George Gearing joins us on the Committee as Vice Chair to ensure continuity with the leadership and governance of the Club. George had this message:

I am incredibly proud to be joining the committee and supporting Ben to achieve the ambitious plans for our community club. This is a really exciting time to be involved with Bury Town Community Football Club as we strive to become more engaged in our community through our charity affiliations, financial support programme, website and community events.

Most importantly, none of this is possible without the fantastic support of all our volunteers, parents and players and I extend my ‘Thanks’ to each and every one of you for all you do. I look forward to working with you to build the long-term sustainability of our club, from the Youth Teams through to the Women’s Team and Adult Disability Team, ‘the future is bright, the future is BLUE!’.

It’s extremely important that we continue to recognise our volunteers and I’m delighted to announce that this season we will have our first ever service recognition awards to mark key milestones for individuals that have displayed incredible dedication and loyalty to the Club.

This years Garry Barker award was claimed by Tom Lockwood voted for by you for outstanding contribution to the Club. Well done to Tom and his work with our girls teams in particular has been remarkable. I’m sure you will all join me in congratulating him and thanking him.

Community Engagement

We held our annual Community and Sponsors day at Ram Meadow in April and for another season we saw a crowd of over 1,000 witness our players parade around the pitch with flags and we had some excellent photos of teams and supporters alike enjoying this special occasion.

We were joined by our Charity Partner Suffolk Families Together who had a stand set up to raise awareness of the great work that they do in our local community and we will continue to work with them this year to generate funds and raise awareness.

Our Youth Disability centre and increased number of teams/age groups will make this season even more accessible and links will be strengthened with local schools to ensure that we are reaching families from all areas of our local community.

Charitable Aims & Blues Community Support Scheme

As a not-for-profit organisation we ensure that every penny goes towards our charitable aims and this season we managed to use surplus funds to develop our new facility at The Vinefields with over £20,000 to date being committed for new goals, pitch improvements and storage. This facility provides more pitches which will enable more teams and more players to participate each week.

Our Blues Community Support Scheme supported five families this season providing £600 worth of funding towards registration fees and kit for those that need it most. To date this Scheme has provided over £5,000 worth of financial support to families which we are extremely proud of.

We have made £500 in donations this year to local charities and contributed £1,500 towards dugouts for a local school which will be of community benefit.

We had over 350 registered players this season and we will be looking to increase this number and our contribution towards the Suffolk FA Benevolent Fund which assists injured youth and adult players.

Strategic Partnerships

We have formed a partnership with Norwich City FC and their academy to help us with recruitment, player development, professional development and to provide opportunities to progress through a tier 1 academy system. This is one of many initiatives we have put in place to support our volunteers and we continue to build on our professional relationships with outside organisations and professional clubs in the region tp provide the best opportunities to our members.

Finances

We submitted our 2023/24 accounts to the Charity Commission which were externally audited and verified and we are extremely fortunate to be in a strong financial position heading into the new season.

The Club continues to face external financial pressures and most notably the costs associated with hire of training and match pitches. We are actively having conversations with key stakeholders on this matter and we will continue to look for opportunities for an interest in our own facility should this arise.

We are pleased to announce that the registration fees will not be increasing for the majority of our members and news on this will be announced very soon through coaches.

Looking ahead

We recognise that the coming season will present new challenges on and off the pitch and we will continue to support our Coaches with financial support towards any further training and we will also continue with our Blues Community Support Scheme.

There are exciting improvements coming with a new website and Club shop that will be announced soon and we are hopeful of adding additional teams to the ranks to continue our male and female football pathways.

Our Community Club continues to grow but it is important we don’t lose sight of our charitable aims and ensure that we are continuing to create a fun, positive and inclusive environment for everyone.

Enjoy your Summer break and we look forward to seeing you all next season!

Our U13s playing in the ISYFL are looking for new players next season! Players in all positions welcome, including goalkeepers.

The team train on Thursday evenings at King Edward VI School.

Trials will be announced shortly.

Please email adi3093@sky.com or call 07941 901 152 to register interest.

Congratulations to the Bury Town Community FC disability team on their third place finish in the last tournament of the season at Coplestone High School this past weekend.

Thank you to the Suffolk FA for organising the tournament, as well as everyone involved in making such an event possible.

We’re looking forward to more fun and excitement after the summer!

If you’re interested in joining or supporting our disability teams, please email secretary@burytowncommunityfc.co.uk to find out more.

We are thrilled to announce our new Partnership Agreement with Norwich City Football Club who have a category 1 academy! This exciting collaboration will bring a host of opportunities for our players, coaches, and community, helping to elevate the quality of football development at Bury Town Community Football Club.

What this means for Bury Town Community Football Club

Pathway to Professional Development: Our players will have direct access to NCFC’s talent identification days, development programmes, and potential opportunities to train with their academy teams.

Norwich City Football Club will help us recruit talented players and promote Bury Town Community FC within their wider footballing network.

Coach Training & Resources

Our coaching staff will benefit from exclusive CPD (Continuing Professional Development) events hosted by NCFC, ensuring they stay at the forefront of football coaching.

Exclusive Access & Experiences

Matches and festivals against NCFC Development/Academy teams.
A signed Norwich City replica shirt for our club to proudly display.

This partnership not only strengthens our ties with a prestigious category one academy professional club but also reinforces our commitment to offering the best opportunities for football development in our community.

A bright future ahead!

We are incredibly proud to partner with Norwich City Football Club and can’t wait to see the positive impact this collaboration will have on our players and the local footballing community.

“I am delighted that the Community Club have entered into a Partnership Agreement with Norwich City Football Club and a big thank you to everyone involved for bringing this together.

There’s no doubt that this partnership will strengthen the Community Club, increase our reach to a wider audience and create new opportunities for our coaches, players and volunteers.

As a registered Charity our resources are limited and we rely heavily on our volunteers and the goodwill of our generous sponsors so access to this kind of support will help us greatly to achieve our charitable aims.

I am looking forward to working with the team at Norwich and I know that we are all excited to get things moving.” – Ben Oxley, Chairman of Bury Town Community Football Club

“The announcement of this Partnership is an big step forwards in our strategic goals within an important recruitment area. Bury Town FC Community is an exciting place with some very dedicated staff and we look forward to working together.” – Jake Swan, Head of Regional Academy Recruitment at Norwich City Football Club

Together, we’ll build a stronger future for grassroots football!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Join Bury Town Community Football Club as a coach today!

We’re on the lookout for a PAID football coach for our EJA teams. If you’re passionate about the game, send your football CV to recruitment@burytowncommunityfc.co.uk

You’ll be coaching for two hours each week and matches on a Sunday. £80.00-£90.00 a week.

See the full role description and apply via Indeed at Football Coach (Paid & Voluntary)

We are excited to announce that open trials will be taking place for the U12 and U13 EJA teams, ahead of the 2025-26 season, starting on Sunday 19th January 2025.

Trial Details:
• Date: Sunday, 19th January 2025
• Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
• Location: Skyliner Sports Centre 3G, Rougham Tower Avenue, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP32 7QB

Register now

For more information, please email recruitment@burytowncommunityfc.co.uk