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GOOLE AFC – Building a Community Club for the Future
Goole has been a back water for football and football related
matters for far too long. In this year of the World Cup, thanks
to Goole Town Council and East Riding County Council,
we have been granted a tremendous opportunity to take
the club forward, in the form of a one year “trial period”. This
gives us total ownership of the Victoria Pleasure Grounds
for the next 12 months, commencing on the 1st July 2018.
It has long been recognised that for the Club to have a
sustainable future it needs to have a greater degree of
control over its own destiny. The ownership (either outright
or on a long term lease) of its own ground and the resultant
impact that this is expected to have will provide this. It
will allow the Club to further expand its relationship with
its supporters and to greatly improve its’ financial stability
and sustainability but in such a way as enabling it to offer
more facilities and services both to the supporters and to
the wider community.
As a result of a change in ground ownership we have
taken the opportunity to modernise the club management
structure. The club will no longer be dependent on and
controlled by individual benefactors. Instead it will be run
by supporters, who are entirely dependent on you the
community supporting us.
If we can demonstrate at the end of the “trial period” that
we have run the club in a professional manner and that the
club is sustainable, both GTC and ERYCC have promised
an extended lease (commencing July 2019) that will provide
the club with the opportunity to kick-start a process that
will establish Goole as a footballing force with the aim of
Evostick Premier football by August 2023.
In order to achieve this, and to ensure that the club as a
whole is successful, it has to be developed with a strong,
sustainable base. Therefore, our aims over the next five
years will be:
• to provide improved sports and community facilities for
Goole and surrounding areas, delivering community benefit;
• to provide a focus for local teams who want to play under
the banner of Goole AFC. This will provide the club with
access to a pool of local players, and at the same time offer
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an avenue of development for those local players, who at
this moment have to travel many miles outside of Goole to
play;
• to assist the community in achieving their ambitions for
developing junior football opportunities for young people
(of both sexes) in Goole;
• to provide a centre of excellence for local coaches;
• to create a facility in which Goole AFC, in partnership with
an external provider, can deliver its’ Community Programme
to help improve health and well-being, educational
attainment and employment possibilities for its’ local
communities;
• to ensure that the Victoria Pleasure Grounds once again
becomes an attractive, usable community facility;
• to establish a facility which becomes a recognised,
valued and sustainable venue within the local community.
The stadium will act as the focus in the area for the use of
sports as a driver for wider community regeneration.
Ultimately, once the foundations have been secured, we
want to be in a position to:
• Provide opportunities for education, training and
employment to combat the problem of young people not in
education, employment or training (NEET) through:
• A developing Academy based at the Club offering a
Football Education Programme
• Opportunities for local schools to use facilities, such
as for pre- or after-school clubs
• Provide opportunities for skill development in sports,
administration and other areas;
• Provide volunteering opportunities across the operation
of the club;
• Work with health agencies to promote good health,
healthy eating, non-smoking and well-being programmes;
• Create employment.
If you feel you wish to contribute, either financially or with
your time please contact us on [email protected], or
go to our crowd funding page “Goole AFC - Building a
Community Club for the Future”