I think it is now an appropriate time to give all involved at Stockton Town a brief update on the Clubs position as it appears that the restrictions around the Club’s activities may be slowly starting to lift.
To our supporters can I say thank you for your incredible support of the Club with the purchase of early bird season cards, we have currently sold over 200 and last seasons comparable figure for the whole season was 145. That is a tremendous boost to the whole Club to know the community is prepared to support at this difficult moment for us all and I’m hopeful that our player retention and recruitment gives you all something to look forward to. We do not have any guidance at the moment of when next season may be able to start but please be assured once we know we’ll keep you informed.
The Club Shop has proved to be a huge success since it was re-launched at the start of April and has allowed us to take the Season Card sales that we have and also allowed us to launch our Club Monthly Draw that is already proving to be very popular.
You may be aware that the Government has recently relaxed the restrictions around playing football and The FA have followed up on this with guidance on a limited return to football training. During the last few days the Club has worked through this guidance so that we can Risk Asses this with regards to our facility, player and coach safety. We have decided after consulting with all of our Managers and Coaches that we will not be returning to training until at least the 1st week of July. We will look at the situation again towards the end of June and once again consult with all before making and decisions.
The Club will not be re-starting our community sessions in the immediate future but will review at the end of June and be hopeful of starting again in early July.
These have not been easy decisions but given the circumstances and our wish to ensure all within our community stay safe and well, staying away from football for another month seems the sensible decision.
The Government guidance on opening our social facilities states that the earliest this could happen would be the 4th July. It is anticipated this will be on a limited basis to start with and with social distancing measures in place. Nearer the time we will review the guidance at the time and hopefully be in a position to put measures in place to allow us to open in some capacity.
To all of our junior players, do not worry about next season, the Club is in the process of registering your teams for the new season and we will be prepared to welcome you back as soon as it is safe to do so.
Finally thank you to all of you for your support of our Club and your patience during this difficult period.