Calverley United Junior Football Club has come together over the difficult last year we’ve all faced and offered everyone involved support, encouragement and hope. They’ve worked hard to become a Community Charter Standard Club, achieved last year, and their acceptance as a new Wildcats Centre, helping further grow local girl’s access to football and fitness. The hard work behind the scenes often goes unnoticed but the Club does so many things, like as developing a Youth Committee to help inform the Club’s DNA, improving the whole experience for everyone involved.

The positive impact in the local community is truly phenomenal. They’ve grown the girls game from 5 girls, on a mixed team 4 years ago, to nearly 100 girls training and playing regularly, and their first ever girls’ team reached the West Riding Cup Final last year. Behind the scenes volunteers have worked really hard to help improve access to better pitches and facilities. During lockdown the club inspired over 180 players and coaches to contribute to the #PassTheBallNotTheVirus challenge, just one example that shows what an impressive, inclusive, and well-loved community club they are.

They’re a small village club which has doubled in size over the last 5 years, even though there are a lot of clubs nearby with huge catchment areas and all without an official clubhouse and limited use of pitches. It’s the volunteers that makes the club stand out, they really do inspire the children from the local community, and further afield, to be the best they can be. They’ve come together to raise money for community, school and sports defibrillators and they’ve worked so hard to ensure that each return to football following lockdown is as safe, and fun, as it possibly can be.

It was also double delight for the club to see that Luke Cooper had also won Coach of the Year for youth players. Congratulations to everyone at the club.