AFC Henley started out in 1974 as Henley Boys & Girls Football Club. We are based at our own Reading Road Sports Ground opposite Tesco’s, which we lease from Henley Town Council. We are an independent FA-affiliated club with our own management structure and financial controls. Surpluses are ploughed back into benefits for our 250 members. Playing standards are improving. Several members attend football academies at Oxford, Reading, Wycombe and Southampton.
Following our recent name change, all teams from U15 upwards now play as AFC Henley. All teams below U15 play as AFC Henley Boys (or Girls as appropriate).
In 2003 our Chairman, John Hooper, received the Pinsent-Redgrave award for services to sport in the town. In 2004 he was further honoured in Leichlingen, Henley’s twin town in Germany, for his contribution to sport in their community. In 2004 the Club gained the FA’s highest level of recognition, the Community Charter Standard. Only three clubs in Oxfordshire have gained this award for excellence.
Our FA Community Charter was renewed for a further three years in January 2008. For this we needed to show that we were properly constituted, had sound financial controls and, in particular, a Welfare Officer, who would have all Club personnel cleared under FA Child Protection rules. We also had to demonstrate policies for schools’ links, the disabled, ethnic minorities and girls, and also establish a relationship with adult clubs to facilitate onward progression. Charter status guarantees us continuous support from the OFA, priority access to funding for major projects, discounted FA coaching courses and awards of cash or equipment for one-off initiatives.
The Club abides by FA guidelines: Football Association Child Protection and Best Practice Guidelines. We are staffed by volunteers, many having attended FA coaching courses to qualify at FA Levels 1, 2 and 3. Our aim is at least one FA-qualified coach per age group. Our Director of Coaching Development is UEFA A-Licence, Level 4, who is paid as an external professional. All volunteers have CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) clearance and must attend First Aid courses and FA Child Protection seminars. The Club and its volunteers are covered by an FA-recommended public liability insurance policy.
We are group members of the Henley-Leichlingen and Henley & Falaise Twinning Associations. We established links with Leichlingen in Germany more than 20 years ago. We also have a long-standing relationship with Nijmegen in Holland. Annual exchanges take place with teams from both Leichlingen and Nijmegen. In 2004, a team visited Falaise, in northern France, to play in a tournament organised as part of their celebration of 30 years’ twinning with Henley.
We run after-school clubs, where requested. We also allow schools and Henley College to use our ground for sporting events. We run an annual schools’ tournament as our contribution to the Henley Youth Festival and a 6-a-side tournament at Henley’s annual Round Table May Fair.
We are grateful for financial assistance from the OFA, Henley Educational Charity, Henley Town Council and other local businesses. This has enabled us to buy equipment for each squad. £5000 was recently invested in new shirts and a club logo. Many of our coaches and senior teams have been provided with tracksuits. Individual squads are sponsored by the Henley Standard, Stuart Turner, Arborplant, NOP, Rotary of Henley Bridge, Invesco Perpetual and CIS.
Off the field the club is working hard to improve the facilities for players, parents, supporters and community groups, including those with learning difficulties and the disabled. The club is signing a new 25 year lease with Henley Town Council in 2010 for its clubhouse and grass pitches adjacent to Tesco. Other youth football teams, local schools and groups will be able to use the pitches during the week. We have also secured the lease on an additional 11-a-side pitch in the village of Harpsden, just outside Henley, which is also being signed in 2010..
The club has a clubhouse, but it is separated from the pitches by Tesco’s busy access road. We have planning permission for a new pavilion on the grass, which will provide children’s toilets, storage, catering facilities and access for the disabled. Subject to funding, the Club aims to have this facility open in 2011. We have the opportunity to apply for:
We have raised around £13,000 from Rotary of Henley Bridge, The Midnight Matinee and Invesco Perpetual, but we will need a further £40,000. Local fund-raising has begun in earnest. We are seeking contributions from Henley’s business community. If you are interested in supporting us financially, please contact:
Trevor Howell
H: 01491 578850
M: 07711 845956
email: trevor.howell@lineone.net