The Soccer Store have donated two Samba Football Goals to Bradford (Park Avenue)’s Horsfall College of Sport. The goal posts will be used in training sessions at the College.

The donation coincides with the current recruitment campaign in which the college is inviting applications from male and female students (16-18 year olds) who are interested in a career in the sports industry; the college is open to all students with an interest in Football. Students will study for a BTEC Level 2 or 3 dependent on their academic qualifications, for further information please contact – info@horsfallcollege.com

Jack hart from The Soccer Store said

“It is great to get involved with Bradford (Park Avenue) who place such importance on youth football and football in the community. We know that away from the Premier League every penny counts in the running of football clubs and their academies and hope the two Samba football goals will help out.”

Alex Meechan of Horsfall College of Sport said

“We really appreciate this support from The Soccer Store in supplying these goals. Our students are doing a great job completing their studies and are developing well on the pitch with some good results recently. These goals will be used at our training sessions and we encourage any parents of boys or girls looking at post 16 study options to get in touch at this important time and come and discuss about what we can offer. It’s a very exciting time here at Horsfall with the Bradford (Park Avenue) first team sitting on top of the league and a real buzz around our loyal supporters, The Soccer Store have chosen a great time to get behind the club “

The Soccer Store is the leading online supplier of Samba Portable Goal Posts, which are used by Pro and Amateur clubs as well a young aspiring footballers in their own back gardens. They also supply an extensive range of football training equipment, match day equipment and footballs. You can visit their website to check out their full range of football goals

For further information about the Horsfall College of Sport please contact:

Alex Meechan – meeks80@tiscali.com or 07967376958
Tally Clayton – natalie-clayton@live.com or 07772651700

Club shop Manager and fundraiser Dave Stordy would like to provide the following update to supporters on the progress of this seasons players fund.

Our supporters players fund, which due to a couple of substantial donations, has now risen to over £5,110, thanks to all those who have contributed so far. As the majority of you will be aware the fund was started to help Mark and his management team compete with some of our wealthier rivals by possibly bringing in couple of additional signings, be they permanent or loans.

Whilst we have not set any targets I would at this stage like to propose we target to reach the end of the year with the target of £10k. To achieve this I’m suggesting that if say 250 of our regular fans could commit to paying £10 each in the months of November and December then that would see us reach that target to enable Mark to hopefully make a couple of new signings to help our promotion push. I know not everyone might be able to afford this but those that can will you please consider making the donations.

Donations can be made in cash in the club shop on match days, cheque or by bank transfer, if you wish to use the latter methods please contact me on 01274 512989 or email davestordy@hotmail.co.uk and I will give instructions on how to make your donation.

Thanks for all your support.

Dave Stordy

Jayne Spencer, Community Manager and Mark Duffy, Community Sports coach will undertake their first official sponsored walk on the 16^th & 17th November 2018 to raise funds for our newly created charity ‘THE HORSFALL COMMUNITY TRUST’ who’s working delivery name is AVENUE IN THE COMMUNITY.

Our new community trust has been created to increase its reach and delivery of community based projects across Bradford and we are hoping that local stakeholders, businesses and volunteers will get behind us to make a real difference.

Over the last couple of years, the club have been working in partnership with J.A.M.E.S, a local Bradford charity to deliver a range of community projects.

Our successful projects include attending community events/galas, after school clubs, ball boy/girl programme, Holiday clubs, Parents on the Ball programme, youth groups, Man VS FAT football, and outreach football sessions, including homeless football competitions, at community venues across South Bradford.

The National League Trust (NLT) provide funding for our community sports coach and as a result of setting up the charity, this will increase opportunities to apply for further funding for further coaching support staff. With NLT support we will be running (for the third year) our U11s 6-aside boys and girls football tournament, and we are hoping to apply for the Premier League Primary stars programme and other funding streams, to especially target inactive school children and young people in the district

The gruelling 30-mile walk will start at 10.30 on the morning of Friday 16^th November 2018 at our current home at Horsfall Stadium but will also visit our former Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC football homes and return to Horsfall Stadium on Saturday 17^th November 2018 in time for our game vs Ashton FC with a 3pm KO.

Our route will START from Horsfall Stadium to Horton Park to Campion FC to Bramley RLFC to Batley RLFC and FINISH back at Horsfall Stadium.

Jayne Spencer, Community Manager said

‘We are looking forward to undertaking this challenge to raise funds for our new community trust. Our aim is to make a difference to the lives of people living within our local community. We hope we can get lots of people on route saying hello and possibly some fans walking / greeting us on route’.

Robert Clunas, Chair of Trustees said

“The Horsfall Community Trust have recently attained charity status and this is the first major sponsored event we have organised in celebration. I would like to thank Jayne and Mark, and our volunteers for their commitment to the Trust and our objectives, and for delivering a host of different community based projects and activities across the past year, and especially for organising this challenging sponsored walk who’s theme we hope will appeal to all our loyal BPA fans old and new. All monies raised during this special event will be used within the charity to deliver more deserving community programmes across the coming twelve months…”

The team have gained support from their first sponsor, XBM but they are keen to hear from local businesses who wish to support the team in any way they can..

Donations can also be made through our Local giving page at www.localgiving.org called Horsfall Community Trust.

For further information please contact Jayne Spencer – Community Manager on Jayne.spencer@bapfc.com or 0780701194.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH- MANAGER OF THE MONTH

Phil Parkinson (Altrincham)

As a Sports Science lecturer, Phil Parkinson knows it’s not just about someone’s strength of character – it’s their strength of mind, too. After a September which saw Altrincham defeated in three of their four National League North games, the Robins boss and his players certainly summoned something from within. October was a totally different story as four wins from five cast aside concerns after re-joining the division following on from their Step Three title success. Victories in the league against Nuneaton Borough, Alfreton Town and Ashton United were supplemented nicely by FA Cup success against Bradford (Park Avenue) – even if they did fall short in the following round at Stockport County. They are now only a win away from a play-off place as Alty attempt to make it back-to-back promotions. Ambitious? Well, Parkinson is all about the power of positivity.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH – PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Gary Roberts (Chester)

Chester have looked unstoppable in October and it was no small part down to the exceptional performances of Gary Roberts. The influential midfielder more than played his part as the Blues continued their march to the upper echelons of the National League North. The 31-year-old helped his side to maximum points in their three league games against the likes of Ashton United, Hereford and Alfreton Town. He almost single-handedly took all three points for the Blues against Alfreton – scoring a superb hat-trick, with the third of his goals coming in the dying seconds to snatch victory at the Swansway. That continued a barnstorming run that stretches back to the beginning of September in the league and after a shaky start, Chester and Roberts find themselves within one point of Chorley at the summit.

VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH- VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

Bradley Saxton (York City)

Bradley Saxton has won Volunteer of the Month for York City in the National League North. The 19-year-old is a proud supporter of the club and has volunteered in the shop for some time. He is always willing to help out wherever he can, even becoming ‘Yorkie The Lion’ at a recent Open Day. In October, he excelled himself with his contribution to a special evening organised by the club for its supporters ‘Question of City Sport’. This was not only Bradley’s idea, but he spent many hours of his time preparing for the event, drafted all the questions, prepared and edited videos for ‘Mystery Guests’ and ‘What Happened Next?’ and looked after the technology on the night. Hosted by a former player, Jon Parkin and featuring teams of players and supporters, the event raised vital money for the club’s Academy and Foundation.