Aveley Youth Football Club is a club for boys and girls aged six to seventeen years. It was founded in 2005, when the Aveley FC Secretary and Chairman saw a requirement for a youth development policy in the Aveley and South Ockendon area.

The philosophy was to bring in youngsters with little or no local recreational opportunities, to get them involved in their local community, support a non-league football club and finally - and probably most beneficially - to achieve a healthier lifestyle, with weekly training sessions for all age groups and Sunday matches in the local youth league.

With the involvement of volunteer parents acting as managers, and a couple of mums helping on the committee, four teams of different age groups started the Aveley Youth Football Club. In the 2006/7 season four teams became seven and when the season starts in 2008/9 the club may have fifteen teams, including for the first time teams solely for girls.

In 2006 the club also achieved Charter Standard accreditation and an SX award. All coaches are either Level I qualified or currently training for their Level I or Level II coaching qualifications.

The club is looking for sponsorship to help with the costs of kits, training equipment, goals, balls, etc. For the benefit of the children, they try to purchase wet coats and tracksuits for the cold and wet weekends. Other expenses that the club incurs are volunteers' and coaches' training courses, CRB checking and pitch costs, which also help to support the local secondary school Belhus Chase Academy, which the club pays in order to use their pitches and changing facilities (this in turn gives some much needed funding to the school).

The club's players come from different backgrounds, ethnic groups and are of all abilities; and even though its very youngest players only play non-competitive matches, they are still given a full season's fixtures.

What can Aveley Youth FC offer a sponsor? Well, all sponsors get a mention and a link on the club's website, an advert in its bi-monthly newsletter and at least one feature advert in the Aveley FC senior team programme on match days. Depending on how much the sponsor is able offer, he/she could sponsor all of the club's away shirts. This would put the sponsor's company name or logo on 200 shirts, featured in local press, on the club's website and with a link to the sponsor's website, an advert/feature in all the club's newsletters and event programmes and a permanent advert for two seasons in the Aveley FC match day programme.

Individual teams require sponsors for their home kits, which is in the region of £250-£350 per team. Wet coats and tracksuits can be sponsored for about £300-£600, which would put the sponsor's company name or logo on the back of the jackets.

Other advertising opportunities are also available.

Contact: Kathy Keiller.

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