About AFC Henley

Are you looking for top-quality football training and development for children and young adults in Henley and South Oxfordshire?
If so, you'll find it at AFC Henley, FA Charter Standard Club, provider of children's, youth and women's football.

We offer:
The complete football experience for boys and girls as young as 4 and for all age groups up to 18 (mixed or girls only).

Our facilities include:
- Seven pitches, additional training space and our clubhouse at our Reading Road facility at Jubilee Park.
- A full-sized 11v11 pitch and changing facilities in the village of Harpsden
- An 11v11 pitch at Henley YMCA, Lawson Road
- Training on both the RhinoTurf at Jubilee Park and the Invesco Turf at Henley Rugby Club
- Occasional use of Henley Town's pitch in Mill Lane

Dog owners, please note that dogs are not allowed in our Jubilee Park and Harpsden grounds on match days.

Our activities include:
- Saturday morning Mini-Soccer Centre for Reception - U8
- Midweek Mini/Junior Soccer Centres
- Midweek Player Development Centres
- Competitive league football for U9s-U18s
- A pathway to adult football at Henley Town Football Club
- Football for adults with learning disabilities at Henley YMCA
- Girls-only midweek training and two girls-only teams
- Holiday football camps
- Football parties

AFC Henley is affiliated to Oxfordshire Football Association (OFA).

AFC Henley is an FA Charter Standard Club. It was founded in 1974 as Henley Boys & Girls Football Club and is currently based at the sports ground at Jubilee Park, opposite Tesco, leased from Henley Town Council. We are an independent, FA-affiliated, amateur, not-for-profit grassroots club with our own management structure and financial controls. Surpluses are ploughed back into benefits for our c.600 members.

In 2022/23 we will be fielding 30 teams in the East Berks Football Alliance League and the Berkshire County Girls Football League. We run a thriving Mini-Soccer Centre on Saturday mornings for up to 100 children from age 3-8, Midweek Mini/Junior Soccer Centres and Player Development Centres. Whilst all age groups up to U18 offer mixed boy/girl football, there is the opportunity to train and play girls-only football if preferred.

Our priorities are to provide excellent coaching, to invest continuously in developing a good quality playing surface and, through our close links with Reading Football Club, to provide outstanding footballing opportunities for all ages and abilities.

Recognition/Awards
In partnership with Henley Town Football Club and Henley YMCA we won Oxfordshire FA's Community Club of the year in 2009 and 2012 and were short-listed in 2016. More recently, as a standalone junior club, we were voted Oxfordshire FA's Grassroots Club of the Year 2021.

In 2003 our then Chairman, John Hooper (now Life President), received the Pinsent-Redgrave award for services to sport in the town. In 2004 he was honoured in Leichlingen, Henley’s twin town in Germany, for his contribution to sport in their community, and In 2010 he was awarded the Town Medal in Henley for his long-term commitment to AFC Henley. He is now the club's Life President and gives many hours of his time maintaining our Jubilee Park pitches. in 2018 the current Chairman, Trevor Howell, was Oxfordshire Football Association's Volunteer of the Year.

Child Protection
The Club abides by the 'Football Association Child Protection and Best Practice Guidelines' and implements the 'FA Respect Campaign'.

Coaches/Helpers
AFCH is staffed by 70+ volunteers, many having attended FA coaching courses to qualify at FA Levels 1 - 4. We are obliged under our Charter to have at least one FA-qualified coach per team with up-to-date First Aid and Child Safeguarding certificates. All volunteers who regularly supervise players have had police criminal record checks (CRC). The Club and its volunteers are also protected by the FA's public liability insurance policy.

European Links
We are corporate members of the Henley Falaise Leichlingen Twinning Association. We established links with Leichlingen in Germany more than 30 years ago and exchanges take place every year.

AFC Henley in the Community
We run midweek coaching sessions, holiday football camps and football parties under the umbrella of AFC Henley in the Community. We also allow local schools, colleges and charities to use our ground for sporting events and PE.

Financial Backing
We are grateful for the financial assistance we receive from the Football Foundation, South Oxfordshire District Council, Henley Town Council and local businesses. This has enabled us to renew club kit and equipment as needed. Locally, we are indebted to Invesco, Stuart Turner, D.Catlin (builder), Henley Round Table, Pachangas restaurant, Marks Sattin, Node4, Drifters Coffee House and Chill Out Fred for their generous contributions.

Facilities
Off the field, the club is working hard to improve the facilities for players, parents, supporters and community groups, including those with learning difficulties. .

The club has a 25 year lease with Henley Town Council for its current clubhouse and grass pitches at Jubilee Park. Local schools and groups are able to use the pitches for occasional needs, e.g. sports days or PE. A new clubhouse and full-sized all-weather 3G pitch are to be built in the next two years, subject to final consent and designs. These will be situated on Jubilee Park itself, together with additional parking spaces.

We also have a 15-year lease from The John Hodges Trust for Harpsden Hall on a full-sized 11-a-side grass pitch in the village of Harpsden, just outside Henley, which is reserved for our older age groups. We completed an internal refurbishment of the small pavilion at the ground in 2015, providing changing rooms, toilets, showers and a referee's room. The £51,000 cost was funded by the Football Foundation, South Oxfordshire District Council, Henley Town Council, the John Hodges Trust , Invesco and Henley Lions. We also have a Service Level Agreement with the YMCA covering exclusive use of their 11v11 pitch during the playing season. All three grounds are maintained by Elite Turf Solutions throughout the years, ensuring that we have some of the best playing surfaces in the league.