Press Release: Bromley FC announces investment in its new Academy, important new appointments and a commitment to community engagement.
We are delighted to announce that Bromley FC is to launch its new Academy for 2016 /17 intake to be located at The Warren in Hayes. On Thursday, the first team squad, employees, directors and local councillors spent the afternoon at The Warren, which will provide first class facilities to the club for the next 5 years.
During the visit, the Directors outlined the medium term plans of the Club to the staff which included the following key points:
- The full time appointment of Mark Hammond as Head of Youth and Academy. Mark’s role, as well as remaining 1st team coach, will be to enhance and broaden the programme of the Academy from an educational and footballing excellence perspective. Mark has been tasked with obtaining Category 4 status for the Academy during the 16/17 academic year as well as bringing together the 400 plus boys and girls that are currently playing football in some capacity under the Bromley FC banner through the existing Youth, Academy and Junior sections. The objective is to provide a clear pathway through the ages from under 7’s all the way to the first team for elite footballers as well as providing a fulfilling and safe environment for non-elite footballers to enjoy the sport. Mark is a qualified teacher and will join us in July, leaving his current role as Head of Football at Ravens Wood School. We are also pleased to announce that Steve Baker will continue his excellent work in his role as Academy Manager and will support Mark in continuing to grow and improve the Academy.
- An increase in the number of students at the Academy from the existing 40 students to 6o in 16/17 and increasing beyond that to over 100 in 3 years’ time. The new Academy will cater for elite football, community footballers (those that are looking for a career in football coaching and administration), girl’s Academy and futsal Academy. To apply for the new Academy programme and for more details please click here>
- The appointment of a Director of Community Affairs who will spearhead the Club’s commitment to engage with supporters, local schools, charities, businesses and the wider community. The first team squad were keen to express their interest and support in helping the club with its community engagement and this was greatly appreciated by management. This appointment will take place during September 2016.
- The executive directors, Rob Kay, Jon Plassard and Jerry Dolke also expressed their commitment to investing in the infrastructure of the club over the long term, and will be supported by the non executive directors Robin Stanton-Gleaves and David Waller, in order to fulfil the following objectives:
- Our aim is to make Bromley FC a financially sustainable, community-focussed football club playing at the highest level possible in the English game. We will achieve this by:
- Developing home grown Academy talent
- Actively engaging with our members, supporters and wider community
- Delivering a viable financial performance within an integrated business strategy; and
- Investing in our employees, pitches, stadium and educational facilities
- Our aim is to make Bromley FC a financially sustainable, community-focussed football club playing at the highest level possible in the English game. We will achieve this by:
Club Chairman Jerry Dolke said “I am delighted with the agreement reached with The Warren to provide first class Academy facilities. The Warren is a fantastic facility that will offer students an environment in which they can thrive and achieve academic and football success. This facility will propel our Academy to a level beyond that of clubs of similar status to ours and will compete favourably with the majority of football league clubs. This is a major step in helping us achieve our medium term objectives. I look forward to working closely with Jon and Rob in developing our club and I welcome Mark to the club in a full time capacity”
