Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Wow! Day Nine already but only two clubs covered. Lawrence Oates comes t o mind “I may be some time,” before I finish all the 92! Well after the “fun” at Camberley yesterday it is on to more mundane things like planning the weeks and with no game for FC Deportivo Galicia this midweek, a home game next week against our friends from Rising Ballers Kensington I have no excuse for not cracking through the clubs!

…but I have not finished with Liverpool as I got a request NOT to forget the ladies and I remembered that in another world Liverpool Stamps has always supported me.

In fact, Liverpool as a city and as a club has been close to The Shirt project going back to 2008 when the ex Liverpool and AS Roma player and Norwegian international was one of the very first to support Bjorn! Bj says, “John Arne heard about the vision and trip for “The shirt – forget me not” and signed the Liverpool FC in Kragero/Norway 24 hours before he took the flight- and signed for Roma. This individual signing is from last summer, the summer of 2008.”

Mot Rasisme – Against Racism

…and moving on I recently spotlighted Stanchion Books and their Classic Liverpool Shirts

Obviously, please do not forget what we are all trying to achieve and consider supporting FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK

Well, one week done and probably another twelve to go. One of the highlights was a Twitter from Mick Harford at Luton inviting me there for a coffee and chat. Mick is a great supporter of Prostate Cancer UK and an inspiration to many …including me! Another highlight was meeting Andy Phillips who is a HUGE Charlton fan but has a very interesting way of watching football. He chooses a cup competition, attends a first round game and then goes all the way to the final by watching the winning team of each round! Now that IS random! Respect.

By absolute chance he was in Liverpool for the Liverpool FC v Fulham game in the League Cup and was kind enough to allow me to use a huge number of photos he took at the ground and in the club museum. I am DREADFUL with a camera and in awe of people who can take a great photo. Arise Sir Bobby and Sir Keith …and Arise twice Sir Russ who is ALSO a poet! Russ, check these murals. Class!

What a fantastic gallery. Thanks, kind sir and I hope you enjoyed your trip. My bet? Fulham in the final. Klopp will be 100% focused on the Premier League. Thanks also for the offer to help me re your beloved Charlton. As a Gillingham fan we have had some great games with you over the years and who can ever forget Sir Keith?

The rest of the gallery is HERE – thanks again, Andy

So, it’s Saturday which can only mean FOOTBALL. Today I am off to Bagshot FC who play in Camberley, Surrey where they groundshare with hosts, Camberley Town FC. I have been a few times before. I remember it is a LONG walk to the nearest station but there is a good chippy nearby so I may just abuse my body!

Who are Bagshot FC? Well, according to their website

The football club was established in 1906, and for many of the early years the team played in the local Ascot and Woking district leagues. In that period the club played matches at Pennyhill Park and Connaught Park in the village. (See team photo from 1953-54.)

In the late 1970s the club were permanently based at the Pennyhill Park ground, College Ride.
In 1982 the club were promoted to the Surrey Intermediate League, and each year won successive promotions. The club won the Senior Division championship in 1986-87 and were then promoted to the Surrey Premier League (later to become the Surrey Elite League). The club were also Surrey County cup semi finalists in 1985 and 1986.

After more successful seasons in the Surrey Intermediate League the club then moved to the Berks and Bucks league, with the highlight winning the Maidenhead Norfolkian cup in 2007 before leaving for the Aldershot & District League.

After winning Division Two in 2005–06 they were promoted to Division One, which they won in 2008–09, earning promotion to the Senior Division. They subsequently won the Senior Division and the Surrey Intermediate Cup in 2011–12, before going on to win both the Senior Division and Senior Division Cup double in both 2012–13 and 2013–14, along with the Aldershot Cup.

After winning the Senior Division again in 2015–16, they were promoted to Division One of the Combined Counties League for the first time in the club history. This is all due to the hard work and time that the Wickens family have put into the club over the last 40 years.

More recently, the FA have announced that Bagshot have avoided relegation from the Combined Counties Division One after finishing second bottom in the 2022/23 season.

When the 2023/24 league allocations were announced the FA included Bagshot as being relegated to step 7 along with bottom placed CB Hounslow. This was despite previously announcing that only the bottom placed club would be relegated. Bagshot will now retain their place in Combined Counties Division One, which has increased in size to 22 teams. This season has not been any easier and as I write, they have only one two league games and lost seven out of the last eight. The beauty of football is that the ONLY thing that matters is what happens today!

…and what happened? We were a goal down in 30 seconds! Much of the first 45 minutes we were under the hammer but turned things round for an honourable 2-2 draw. Honourable but I think neither team would be happy. Bagshot obviously smelled blood and the away side would have looked at the stats and thought, “Three points.” As I say, the beauty of football is that history will recall the 2-2 draw and both clubs will have to wait until the next match for a three points’ haul. Good luck to both.

Nice facilities and good people at Bagshot – why we love non league.

Obviously, please do not forget what we are all trying to achieve and consider supporting FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK

I mentioned yesterday the randomness of football, the chance encounters with a “good guy”, the coffee with a man who has supported Longdale Phoenix Rovers in the Mid Ipswich Methodist League every season for 51 years. He is the guy who was ball boy, player, coach, manager, chairman and has clocked up 2,432 games and only missed one game in 1973 when he was in intensive care! He talks fondly of a run of two games in the FA Trophy and sighs that they were only 111 games from Wembley! Random, casual or call it what you like. I first met people like Mike Turner, Lawrence Dagnal and Dean Grimshawe when cycling around the UK in 2010. We are all still in contact. Fabulous.

So, today it is an enormous pleasure to introduce you to two INCREDIBLE football fans as I go back to Liverpool Football Club. Let’s start with Football Cartoons Everyone who knows me knows that I love football and art. Sadly my playing days are behind me and sadly I have never been able to draw as much as a line. For that reason I love people like Gillingham Legends, Papilios Creative, Football Art Online and others who share their passion for art and football. Remember that Simon Ellinas has even “captured me” … twice (below)

Yes, here we have a HUGE Liverpool fan, who shares his passion for art with his passion for his club. Remember football is so much part of the City of Liverpool and Merseyside. I worked there in the 1970s when the city was pretty much on its knees. Our office was in the Cotton Exchange on Bixteth Street and my territory was out of the centre, through Toxteth and Speke and onto Widnes. I got “promoted” to Manchester and its leafy suburbs 18 months later. I was a kid straight out of university and at the quarterly sales meeting the Chairman said, “Congratulations to Steve. In 13 years we have never had a salesperson on that territory that has ever hit target. He deserves Stockport and Wilmslow!” Little did I know. So, I learned a bit about Liverpool humour and its passion for football. I remember a rugby game at Alt Park, Huyton where the ref and both teams had to walk the length of the park to clear it off broken glass, stones, bottles etc. When we had done it once, the ref made us do it again…. and we found another bagful of debris. Interesting days! I went back in 2010 as I cycled to the grounds and was given a tremendous welcome at Liverpool, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Since then Klopp has arrived and done a magnificent job! My money is on him taking the Premier League again this season. Good luck …oh, and yes, Everton to stay up!

..and how could I not mention the Kop around the Dock…..absolutely UNIQUE in English football.


PS Here’s more from Football Cartoons , FB page and please do not forget what we are all trying to achieve and consider supporting FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK

John Knight (left) and Mike Hayes (right) of Coys Cars

One of the things that I have ALWAYS loved about football is the sheer randomness of everything. When I did my physical cycle tour back in 2010 I met literally hundreds of people. Why are they involved? Why do they live in Plymouth but support Sunderland or vice versa. Generally when I arrived at a club I had NO idea what sort of welcome I would get. Some were fantastic (Boro, Bolton Wanderers, Bristol Rovers, Derby County and the two Nottingham Clubs) some were “disappointing” and one or two (Leeds United, Burton Albion) were bad. No rhyme, no reason. I guess it was a bit like the accommodations I stayed at. Some were fantastic (Glossop North End, Bolton Wanderers, Norwich City) others best forgotten about!
Birmingham was not a highlight! the view out was better than the view into the room!

So, today, I was tidying up a trip to the North West when Gareth Thomas. a Twitter follower said, “Hi. Can I help you with Shrewsbury Town? Absolutely love to get involved in the project.” So, welcome to the next 91 clubs, Gareth. I asked him a few questions about his love for football and here comes the copmplete randomness of it ….. he supports Uprising FC? Who? Read on, Macduff. It’s a crazy story and reminds me of how I got involved with Bjorn, “So, you are a Brit who lives in Spain, on holiday in Sweden and you are reading my blog in Norwegian. You can work with me!” If you don’t know the whole story just flip through this site to learn about the Bold, Bald, Brave Man from the North!

UPRISING FC – A club in Anguilla and how I became the club’s Media Officer

As the title suggests, this is the story of how I became the media officer for a football club based on the Caribbean Island of Anguilla despite me living near Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

Interviewing people from the world of football is my favourite thing to write about, and it sees me interviewing football players and coaches at all levels of the game around the world. It is indeed doing this that led me to being put into contact with a football enthusiast from Germany by the name of Pascal Panitzsch, who is a fountain of knowledge on all things regarding football in Anguilla and the Caribbean.

I have always enjoyed playing and watching football and started playing the game at 9 years old as a goalkeeper. From the age of 16 I played at a decent level for Shifnal Town FC in the West Midlands Regional League. Unfortunately, I sustained a broken wrist in my early 20’s which kept me out of the game for 18 months and whilst I did continue playing it was never to the same standard and I dropped down the levels, still enjoying my football though!

Approximately seven years ago, I started groundhopping around mainly the West Midlands, Mid Wales area’s and throughout my home county of Shropshire. Groundhopping is a brilliant hobby and is something that I wish I had started doing sooner than I did! I thoroughly enjoy my hobby which has also helped me to fulfil another hobby in my life – writing! 

As a child I can remember writing letters to our local newspaper in Shropshire and to the brilliant Roy of the Rovers magazine about lots of different football related issues.  My passion for writing about the beautiful game has stayed with me for my entire life! When I started groundhopping I soon started my own online football blog called – Gareth’s Football Travels. Initially I just used it to write about my groundhopping adventures, but I also quickly started writing about other football related topics too. These topics include and amongst others – various Football History pieces, Club Profiles, Programme Reviews, and interviews with my players and coaches from around the world.

During a conversation we had on twitter in September 2020, Pascal told me that he was (and still is) the secretary for Uprising FC in Anguilla. As we chatted, he informed me that the club were looking for a media officer and to my immense surprise and delight he asked me if I would fulfil the role. Now, it has always been a dream for me to work in some sort of capacity for a football club, but never did I think in my wildest dreams that an opportunity would come with a club based in the Caribbean and just a month short of my 40th birthday! I of course jumped at the chance and accepted Pascal’s and the club’s kind offer, I am still with the club today, enjoying my role very much too! The voluntary work I carry out for the club covers everything that you would expect any media officer to do at any football club around the world. This includes overseeing our social media platforms, conducting player interviews, and even constructing match reports due to the fact all games in Anguilla are streamed live on YouTube. 

I am about to embark on my first trip to Anguilla (along with two colleagues who like me are based in Europe, Pascal who I have previously mentioned, and Louis Jones, our commercial officer who is based in Lincolnshire), where I will get the opportunity to meet my colleagues and friends at my beloved club. In addition to this, I have also registered as a player for the duration of my stay and there is a chance that I might get some playing time!

I will be writing a book about my experiences in Anguilla and working for Uprising FC as well as talking about some of my other experiences in football over the years.

So, who are Uprising FC I hear you cry – well let me tell you!

Uprising FC were founded in 2015 and are a football club based in The Valley, the capital of the Caribbean Island of Anguilla. Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory and is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying to the east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and to the north of Saint Martin. The territory is made up from the main island of Anguilla together with several other smaller islands and cays and has a total land area of 35 square miles and a population of just over 15,200 people. Uprising FC play their games at the 1300 capacity Raymond E. Guishard Technical Centre (as do all the clubs in Anguilla), in the Pope Hill area of The Valley. The club competes in the Anguilla Football League, the only men’s football league on the island. 

The club’s name was chosen by the core group of players who helped to form the club in 2015. Being a new club, the players knew that they would be considered by other clubs to be underdogs, but they also knew that they had enough potential to rise above those who gave that opinion and to gain some victories.

Since those early days the club has progressed very well and in 2020 were crowned as the Anguilla FA Development League Champions, the first piece of silverware in the club’s short history. That inaugural title has seen the club progress even further and in the 2021 season we finished in an excellent 3rd position. The 2022 season saw our club finishing in 7^th place whilst 2023 saw us achieving a runners-up position in the Development League. 

We at Uprising FC are a very ambitious club and we are aiming to be the top club in Anguilla within the next few years. When you consider that several of our players at the club have already played for Anguilla at international level, the most recent lads being Javis Jones, Delani Francis, Defari Francis, and Jauron Gayle who are all still teenagers, then the future looks very bright indeed!

Off the pitch the club is also growing from strength to strength, and we have a group of hard working and committed club members, not just locally in Anguilla but in other countries around the world too. Including myself in Shropshire we also have our aforementioned Secretary Pascal, in Germany and the Lincolnshire based Coventry City supporter, Louis Jones as our club’s Commercial Officer. Louis is also the founder of the excellent family run business Surprise Shirts who are our kit sponsors. Meanwhile, the President of Uprising FC is Tre Gumbs. Tre is only in his mid-20’s and as well as being one of the founding members of the club he holds the quite unique position as being a Player/President and regularly plays for the team on the right of the defence or in midfield. In addition to this he is one of our players who has also previously represented Anguilla at international level. All of the club members, whatever their position maybe are all striving to develop and improve the club on a daily basis. 

Within the last 18 to 24 months, we have started selling official club merchandise which includes and amongst other things official shirts, training tops and pin badges. We have also a seen rapid growth on our social media platforms. This is great news for us as it means that more and more people around the world are getting to hear about us! 

As the saying goes – “Watch This Space”

For more information about Uprising FC please see below:

Website: www.uprisingfc.com

Twitter: @UprisingFC

You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram.

#oneclubonegoal

Words: Gareth Thomas

Now what you need to do is check their first team shirt: Oh, Peru! Oh, Rayo Vallecano! Oh, FC Deportivo Galicia! Did somebody say “sashes?”

So, from Gillingham, onwards to Anguilla and tomorrow it’s Liverpool. Oh the random nature of football.
….and please do not forget why we are doing this for Prostate Cancer and FC Deportivo Galicia

So, it’s down to business I guess and which is the first club? Well, it could not be anywhere else than Gillingham where I first fell in love with football. I attended my first match on 22nd February 1964 (see below) and my love has rarely waned. I have followed them from Thailand, Spain, India, Sweden, Norway and the USA over the years. In fact an “incident” at Doncaster Rovers a few seasons ago when the over-enthusiastic security did not want to let me in as I had a large backpack. He was not impressed with the fact that I had flown in from Oslo that day and struggled to believe that anybody would do a day trip to Doncaster just to watch a game. It was getting tetchy and I showed him TheShirt blog and some posts on FB about my travels. Sadly over-enthusiastic stewarding and ineffective stewarding have been two of the banes of my life over the past 60 years!

So, when I first visited the Theatre of Farce aka Priestfield Stadium in 1964 they had just got floodlights. I read they were the 89th of 92 clubs to do so. Although I did not really understand it, we got promoted that season from the Forth Division to the Third Division but were apparently unpopular because of our blanket defences. We were ahead of Mou! In fact, the manager a certain Freddie Cox threw a bucket of water over the fans who were complaining about the ultra defensive style. Mmmm.

Jim at Gillingham Legends kindly keeps me up to date with what is happening at the club so I thought that I could return the favour and showcase him here. You will also find him active on Facebook with all his new art.

Jim is a fantastic illustrator and has produced all kinds of memorabilia of Gillingham players. Here is a hardback book that initially sold out within days. He has also produced badges, images of the stadium and the “This Is Your Life” prints above. You can ask him for a print of your first game, promotion game, victory over Leeds United or whatever. Obviously the Wembley games against Manchester City and Wigan are popular …. for very different reasons! I thought the QPR match was interesting. 18 out 22 players played the reverse fixture 24 hours later!


I hope to come back to Gillingham on 22nd February 2024 and will ask Jim to do me a souvenir with the teams.

In the meantime, please consider supporting FC Deportivo Galicia and/or Prostate Cancer UK

Well, after introducing you to FC Deportivo Galicia and Prostate Cancer UK on days two and three, my final Day of Admin is to introduce you to the Sponsor for the 90 Day Tour. It is my good friends at The Worlds Most Expensive Link who have been supporters of the Shirt project since way back when!

It is a very interesting project that I encourage you to take a look at. I especially encourage you to look at their charity work and I am delighted that they recently made a donation to Prostate Cancer UK. Thanks, guys.

I will let them tell the story, ”

How It Works

• NO MONTHLY FEE! NO REGULAR PAYMENT! JUST OPTIONALLY TOP UP YOUR LINK WHEN YOU WANT!
• To add your link is a ONCE OFF payment and your link will stay on till at least December 31st 2026
• 30% (less VAT & PayPal Payment processing fees) of all income will be donated to charities selected by the participants.
  (Whenever a participant’s total is £10 or more we will make a payment directly to your chosen charity.)
• The site has been live and continuously promoting our participants’ websites since 2007

We are often asked how or why anyone would find this site?

• We will be promoting the website on our website and on other websites.
• We will be promoting it in emails we send out.
• We encourage all participants to link to www.theworldsmostexpensivelink.com from their website.
• The site is self-publicising in that the more people that participate the more people know about it.
• Every time someone else joins the site they will see your link till at least December 31st 2026.
• We send out a monthly newsletter by email to promote the site.
• When someone holds the number one spot we send them a printed certificate for them to display at their business.
• Commission payments are sent out monthly promoting the site.
• Charity payments raised are made in the name of www.theworldsmostexpensivelink.com

It is all bit of fun and an experiment but many people who participated early have already earned back their investment in commission which we pay out to encourage them to keep shouting about the site.

The World’s Most Expensive Link is easy to own.

It simply always goes to the highest bidder. Why not add your link now for as little as a £1?

If you are outbid at anytime and knocked off the top spot you can top up your link to get higher up or back on top.

Other people who want to support you are also able to top up a link.

For Example, if somebody put on a link and it was topped up by £1 per week, a second link added 1 year later would need to pay £53 to get above the first link.

Links don’t devalue over time but will get lower in the list if higher value links are added.

If your links falls from the top spot it will still get long term recognition on Hall of Fame

Your link is guaranteed to stay live until at least December 31st 2026.

Why not add your link now for as little as a £1?”

As you see, www.TheShirt2010.co.uk, www.ThisIsSpain.info, and www.GoWildMagazine.com are all supporters and this week I added FC Deportivo Galicia.

A couple of things to add, they have graciously offered to share the sponsorship with any other organisation who sponsors Prostate Cancer so please do feel to get involved with this project of you are a business looking to get exposure in the UK.

As I said yesterday, the first two days are spent letting you, my followers, know more about the tour.
Last night I presented FC Deportivo Galicia and today it is the turn of Prostate Cancer UK It is a cause close to my heart and you will have seen several other posts on this site about their initiatives. Locally they have worked with QPR and Brentford and Luton’s Mick Harford has been a longtime supporter of theirs. Perhaps their highest profile supporter is the fundraising machine who is the television presenter Jeff Stelling, MBE (above) whose love for Prostate Cancer awareness and Hartlepool United knows no bounds! Hopefully, I can catch up with Mick and Jeff on my tour. Here is a typical testimonial from Stephen Fry

The excellent Prostate Cancer website has full details but as an overview,

The support you need, your way

If you or your loved one are concerned about prostate cancer or a prostate problem, we’re here for you. Talk through any questions or concerns with our Specialist Nurses over the phone, email or our online chat provided by LiveChat. You can also speak to a volunteer or others going through similar experiences on our online community or via support groups.

Funding research that will stop men dying from prostate cancer

Over the last two decades we’ve funded and accelerated some of the biggest breakthroughs in prostate cancer care – from the use of multiparametric MRI to improve diagnosis, to the world’s first precision medicine for prostate cancer. But we have a lot of work still to do. Click below to hear about our past successes, current research, and what we need your help to fund next.

Read about our research

Risk checker

1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer. If you’re over 50, or you’re black, or your dad or brother had it, you’re at even higher risk.

Prostate cancer is not always life-threatening. But when it is, the earlier you catch it the more likely it is to be cured.

Answer three quick questions to check your risk.

Check your risk

Guys, I would encourage you to do two things, firstly check your risk and, secondly, consider whether you could consider a small donation to their research and support. Click here – every penny goes direct to Prostate Cancer UK.

(Versión en español abajo)

Maybe the next two days blogs are the most important, they are my “Whys.” When I did my 2010 Tour, I can tell you now there were many days when it would have been easier to give up. You may remember that I lost everything in my life in a storage centre fire. Further on I was left to die in a hit and run accident. The hospital stay and recuperation subsequently put a huge drain on my budget as the insurance refused to pay out. So, I needed a strong “Why?” “Why am I doing this?” The why was strong. I was supporting my friend, Bjorn Heidenstrom and I did not want to let him down. Simple.

This time “Why Number One” is my local football club, FC Deportivo Galicia and Leo Decabo kindly updated the club history for me. Why Number Two is Prostate Cancer UK and I will comment on this tomorrow on Tuktuk Day Three. If you would like to support the club please click here and the money goes DIRECT to FC Deportivo Galicia

I started following the team back in 2017 and since then we have enjoyed nice runs in the FA Vase as well as stability and progress in the Combined Counties League. We survived Covid and last season I did not miss a single game home or away. Twelve buses there and back to Farnborough during the tube strike was not a highlight! Seeing players like Victor, Amar and Matty O develop was. Anton’s goals and the commitment of players like Sam, Alejandro and Milkwood (Dylan Thomas!) made the buses, rain and train stations all part of the days out!

OUR HISTORY

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Our History (versión en español abajo)

The founding and birth of FC Deportivo Galicia in London came about due to a shared understanding and sentiment by a group of Galician migrants who came to the United Kingdom in the 60s.
The political and economic situation surrounding Spain at the time was so difficult that families found themselves making the choice to settle in an unknown country in the hope of a better and more prosperous future. The most trying thing for these families was the constant nostalgic battle on a day to day basis remembering and missing the land that gave them life, the territory they belonged to.
During the 60’s it was west London that saw the majority of Galician migrants settle down and it was in 1968 that a small group of those migrants saw an opportunity, through football, to help each other and somehow share the longing they felt for Spain.

The club was originally formed under the name ‘Centro Gallego de Londres’ however a few years later it joined forces with another Spanish team called ‘Deportivo’ (a club that was formed in honour and in memory of FC Deportivo in a foreign country) and so came the creation of ‘FC Deportivo Galicia de Londres’. The name, perceptibly capturing not only the essence of the ‘Real Club Deportivo La Coruna’ but also the spirit and heart of the whole of Galicia.
Until 1995 the team played in the ‘Harlseden Sunday League’ and progressed continually and consistently which saw them slowly catapulted into first division for the 1991-1992 season.
This would become the most successful and fruitful era in the clubs history so much so that in the 1993-94 season the team won every competition it took part in. The club did not only win the treble, first division, Premier Cup and the Challenge Cup but they also accomplished the Roundwood indoor football tournament.
The second team that was formed in in the 1991-92 season was also successful during this period winning trophies such as the Dwyer Cup.
The club decided to take the next logical step in progression and move up a level as a result of achieving all they could within their reach.

For the 1995-96 season the team began playing in the Middlesex County league on Saturdays.
In this first year the first team won the second division league and were consequently awarded Intermediate Status by the London FA.

The club continued to prosper until reaching the first division in the 1997-98 season. It is at this point when for the first time there are signs of instability in the club as there is a clear high turnover in coaches without managing to fulfil the clubs potential and never achieving the level expected of them.

As the 2006-07 season drew to an end the club found itself having to make a tough decision of dissolving the club. The toughest moment in our history by far. Two long standing players, Leo Decabo and Jose M Andon, refused to give up on the club that had given so much purpose, life and soul to individuals throughout the years making a mark on the history of Galicians in London and so decided to take charge with the sole purpose of reviving the club and ensuring London was not left without a Spanish club.
The club is recognized, not only Spain but in Europe, for deservedly being dubbed as one of the best Spanish amateur teams in a foreign country. The club has shown strength and belief whilst proving why they should be feared by others by claiming international trophies in Germany, France and Belgium.

PRESENT TIME

Thursday 25th April 2013 proved to be a very significant day for the club as it received one of the most prestigious and important accreditation on behalf of the English Football Federation, the honour of being recognized as a ‘FA Charter Standard Club’. This award and recognition is the result of sheer hard work, determination consistency and team work on behalf of all key parts and members that form part of FC Deportivo Galicia de Londres, players, management, admin and supporters.
The majority of players that are now part of the team are in fact sons and grandsons of those who were once part of the original team.
As the team of Centro Gallego de Londres, Centro supports and provides some sponsorship to the team.
Unfortunately this contribution is not near enough to what a team at this position and of this standard needs in order to keep developing.
This is why we are the only team within our category in which the players and coaches finance the club themselves with monthly payments and season inductions.

FUTURE

Short Term
The main objective at the moment and the most pressing is attaining sponsors for next season that are willing to help the club economically.

We have delved into the world of social networking and have a website www.fcdeportivogalicia.com (over 1,000,000 hits since August 2012!!) a Twitter account @FCDGalicia and a Facebook Page, FC Deportivo Galicia – London. We decided to take this step as a way of building on our reputation and most importantly gaining exposure which may help with acquiring much needed sponsors.

Medium Term

Due to the economic crisis that Spain and the rest of Europe is currently suffering, there has been high interest on behalf of young players who have been forced to migrate in search of a better future and who are interested in signing up with the club.

The club is renowned for its helpful, caring and supportive nature, always carrying a ‘family’ essence with it. We ensure that we help these young players as much as we can regarding their move to a foreign country as we understand what a trying time this can be.

We help them with the language, culture and to generally incorporate and integrate themselves as comfortably and easily as possible into London life.

Long Term

Having earned the accreditation of the ‘FA Charter Standard Club’ on behalf of the English Football Association, the aim long term would be to form sub-categories and possibly land a collaboration and agreement with a Spanish club to allow our players to take trials with teams in Spain.


Curious Fact About The Club

Francis Cagigao, who has played for Arsenal and Barcelona B was player and a coach of FC Deportivo Galicia en Londres before taking his fundamental steps into the world of professional football.

Francis is recognized worldwide as one of the best and most talented scouts on the continent and has undoubtedly been a key figure to some of the best football choices in recent times such as the signing of Cesc Fabregas, Cazorla and Monreal for Arsenal.

And now the Spanish version

El nacimiento del Deportivo Galicia de Londres vino impulsado por un sentimiento compartido por un grupo de emigrantes gallegos que emigraron en los años 60 al Reino Unido.

La situación tanto política como económica que atravesaba España por aquellos tiempos hizo que muchas familias decidieran emigrar en busca de un futuro mejor. Para todas esas familias lo más difícil era combatir esa morriña que tenían de la tierra que los vio nacer.

La zona Oeste de Londres fue durante esos años donde la gran mayoría de emigrantes gallegos decidió asentarse. En el año 1968 un pequeño grupo de esos emigrantes vieron una oportunidad única en el fútbol de ayudarse entre sí y de alguna manera combatir la morriña que tenían de España.

El club fue inicialmente creado bajo el nombre de Centro Gallego de Londres. Unos años después de su creación se unió con otro equipo español llamado Deportivo (equipo el cual se fundó como recuerdo en el extranjero del Real Club Deportivo La Coruña) y se formó el FC Deportivo Galicia de Londres. El nombre, evidentemente, capturando no sólo la esencia del Real Club Deportivo La Coruña sino también de todo Galicia.

Hasta el año 1995 el equipo milito en la liga, “Harlesden Sunday League”, dónde continuamente fue progresando hasta llegar a la Primera División en la temporada 1991-92.

Esta es la época más exitosa en la historia del club ya que en la temporada 1993-94 el equipo ganó todas las competiciones en la que participo. No sólo ganó el triplete; Primera División, Premier Cup y la Challenge Cup sino que también gano el torneo Roundwood de fútbol sala. El segundo equipó que se formó en la temporada 1991-92 también fue exitoso durante esta época ganando trofeos como la Dwyer Cup.

El club decidió progresar y subir de categoría al lograr conseguir todos los títulos a su alcance. Para la temporada 1995-96 el equipo empezó a jugar los sábados en la Middlesex County League. Este primer año vio al primer equipo ganar la segunda división y adquirir el status intermediario por la London FA.

El club siguió progresando hasta llegar a la Premier División en la temporada 1997-98. Es aquí cuando surge algo de inestabilidad en club, ya que llegaron a pasar un gran número de entrenadores pero el club nunca llego alcanzar el nivel que se esperaba.

A finales de la temporada 2006-07 el club pasó por sus peores momentos y estuvo muy cerca de desaparecer. Dos jugadores veteranos, Leo Decabo y José M Andón, decidieron llevar las riendas del club y así asegurar que Londres no se quedase sin equipo español.

El club es reconocido, no solo en el Reino Unido, sino también en Europa como uno de los mejores equipos españoles amateurs fuera de España. Llegó a conquistar varios trofeos internacionales en Francia, Alemania y Bélgica.

Actualidad
El jueves 25 de abril del 2013 el club recibió una de las más importantes y prestigiosas acreditaciones por parte de la Federación Inglesa de Fútbol, el honor de ser un “FA Charter Standard Club”. Este reconocimiento es premio al trabajo continuo y bien realizado por parte del club durante muchos años tanto en lo deportivo como en la gestión y dirección del club.

Muchos de los jugadores que ahora formamos parte del club somos hijos y nietos de aquellas personas que en su día formaron el club.

Al ser equipo del Centro Gallego de Londres, la Xunta de Galicia subvenciona al equipo. Desafortunadamente esta subvención no llega ni a la mitad del importe necesario para llevar a un equipo a este nivel. Por esto, somos el único equipo en nuestra categoría donde los propios jugadores y entrenadores financiamos al club mediante pagos mensuales y la ficha inicial al principio de cada temporada.

Futuro
-Corto Plazo-

El objetivo primordial a corto plazo es conseguir sponsors para la próxima temporada que puedan ayudar al club económicamente. Estamos intentando dar a conocer al club a través de las redes sociales y tenemos a disposición para todo el mundo una página web del club www.clubwebsite.co.uk/fcdeportivogalicia , una cuenta de Twitter @FCDGalicia y una página de Facebook FC Deportivo Galicia

-Medio Plazo-
El objetivo a medio plazo es intentar formar un equipo reserva para la próxima temporada. Debido al problema económico que afecta en estos momentos a toda Europa y especialmente a España hemos tenido un gran interés por parte de jóvenes españoles, forzados a emigrar en busca de trabajo, en fichar por el club.

El club ayuda a estos jóvenes no solo en lo deportivo pero también en aprender inglés e integrarse en las diferentes culturas de la capital Londinense.

-Largo Plazo-
Tras conseguir la acreditación por parte de la Federación Inglesa de fútbol de “FA Charter Standard Club” el objetivo a largo plazo es formar categorías inferiores e intentar conseguir un convenio con algún club español para mandar a nuestros mejores jugadores a hacer pruebas con equipos en España.

Dato Curioso sobre el Club

Francis Cagigao ex jugador entre otros del Arsenal y FC Barcelona B y actualmente ojeador del Arsenal en toda Europa fue jugador y entrenador de nuestro club antes de dar los pasos al fútbol profesional.

Francis es conocido mundialmente como uno de los mejores ojeadores en el continente y ha sido pieza fundamental en fichajes como los de Cesc Fabregas, Cazorla y Monreal al Arsenal.

Well, that’s it. It’s Day One!

Today is the day I set off on a 90 day digital tuktuk journey to the 92 clubs in England and Wales and dozens of non league clubs too!

Obviously, I set off from my beloved FC Deportivo Galicia (DGL) after their game against Langley in the Combined Counties League. Step 6 – only nine levels down from the Manchester Uniteds and West Hams of this world. Ooops, must not forget Arsenal as I have generously been sponsored by Rogelio Loureda and Richard Atkinson to visit their stadium. (More of that anon)



The game itself. Well, sadly we showed the visitors too much respect and two disappointing individual mistakes gave them a 2-0. Their midfield general was dictating play. We brought 4 subs on and quickly took the offensive. 10 minutes left is there a miracle? Maybe and then our captain, Matty Orobio, smacked an unstoppable direct free kick into the net 1-2. Terrific freekick but sadly the clock ran out and the visitors had plundered all three points.

The beauty of football? We go again. Next week it is our friends at Bagshot. I need to confirm but expect it will be played at Camberley. Grass on a hill. Let the battle begin.

It has been a busy few days of preparation and at this stage I really want to thank all those who have already helped to even get me started. Obviously Bobby Power and Keith Nicol in Spain who were among the first to know, my local MP, Seema Malhotra, Leo and Martin Decabo at DGL together with management, fans, volunteers and players, Ed Cagigao who was the person who first introduced me to DGL, the media and football divisions of Prostate Cancer UK and those who immediately put sponsorship money on the table. It’s a tiny amount towards the target so far but you don’t know how important it is from a motivational perspective. As Disney taught us, “Every great journey starts with a single step.” You guys pushed me over the starting line….the most difficult step.

So, I will be doing a daily update here in the blog and you will also find me on Facebook, Twitter , Instagram and LinkedIn l profess no knowledge of IG so I might be slow on there!

It all reminds me very much of Bjørn Heidenstrøm’s journey from Norway to South Africa back in 2009. I will never forget his first words, “So you are a Brit who lives in Spain, on holiday in Sweden and you are reading my blog in Norwegian. You can work with me!” If you don’t know the whole story just flip through this site to learn about the Bold, Bald, Brave Man from the North!

Until tomorrow
Thanks everybody
Steve

It was a pleasure to meet Jim Stewart, the publisher of Football Weekends at the recent Stanchion Books book fair in London. I had been aware of the site and the magazine for some time but had never seen a physical copy of the magazine.

I was hugely impressed both by the quality of the writing and the breadth of experiences. In the latest magazine there were in depth guides to Notts County and Newry City, interesting articles about the Barcelona penyas and Italy and much, much more. To be honest what caught my eye was a report by David Powell from Stockholm which is a city I know well and from where I have recently returned. I read it with interest and was genuinely impressed. He saw two games in one weekend _ Hammarby and Djurgarden. The descriptions of the game were interesting and entertaining but I was equally keen to read what he said about Stockholm. It was accurate and fair.

The A4 high-quality gloss magazine is now up to almost 100 editions and a quick scan showed that they have covered pretty much every European country (particularly strong Germany, Spain, Italy) and thirty other countries throughout the world.

The website is equally professional and you can both subscribe and obtain back issues.
I wish Jim and his team continued success.