Tag: David Dent

Supporters Club Meeting with David Dent

On Friday 21st February in the Blue Diamond Social Club, Shildon AFC Chairman David Dent, Director Alan Boddy & New Academy Director Darren Tait, will address fans on the current situation on and off the field as well as providing an insight into what will be required should the club gain automatic promotion from the Northern League.

Anyone interest in going along, whether a current supporters club member or just interested in learning about the future plans for the club are requested to arrive by 6:50 for a 7pm start.

The supporters club meeting will be held immediately after.

 

SHILDON AFC SUPPORTERS CLUB MEETING | Friday 13th April from 7pm

The next meeting of the Shildon AFC Supporters Club will take place in the clubhouse on Friday 13th April @ 7 pm with special guest Shildon AFC Chairman David Dent.

The Supporters Club will also be a presenting a cheque to the Cystic Fibrosis Charity from the Charity Cricket game played against Glaxo Sports & Social Club.

After the meeting there will be a Race Night hosted by Honest Wilf.

All existing members and anybody wishing to join are very welcome to come along.

Message from the Shildon AFC Chairman

Saturday 9 December 2017 represents a momentous day for the Club with our new Stand being open for the first time. I’m delighted with it and I think it sends a clear statement that this Club is moving forward on and off the pitch. We are nearly there in terms of funding having secured a headline sponsor, Identity Consult, who have kindly agreed to sponsor the stand for 3 years. We now just need that final push on Seats for Life so if any of you wish to make a donation please contact either myself or Martyn Tweddle. What better Christmas present! The target is £5k between now and Christmas.

With progress comes change and regrettably, the old stand is no longer available for spectators to use it on match days to watch games. We secured a grant from the Football Foundation on the basis that the existing stand was a Health and Safety risk. We have therefore taken the decision to mothball the stand so please take note of the signs and don’t use it.

This is just the start of our journey to be the best we can be. I have commissioned Architects to develop plans for our new Community Clubhouse which represents a massive part of the strategy to be self-sufficient. I want the Clubhouse to be our major sponsor in the fullness of time! Subject to a business plan we hope to submit a Planning Application in the Spring and start work in the close season.

On the field, we have enjoyed a fantastic FA Cup run and I will never forget the scenes in Banbury’s Clubhouse after the game. I felt so proud to be your Chairman! We are well placed in the League and Dan and his Management team are on board with our target of achieving promotion by the end of next season at the latest. We welcome Matty Waters to the Club, Dominic Curl has signed a long-term contract and we are close to bringing another quality addition to the squad. These players know our ambitions and have joined Shildon AFC to help us progress up the Leagues!

Attendances have improved which I’m delighted with and we just need to kick on with this. I want to make coming to Dean Street a really enjoyable experience, that’s why we are investing in our infrastructure so please spread the word! Bring a friend or two!!

The Club wouldn’t exist without Volunteers and that’s why I’m hosting a Christmas Party after the game against Dunston. It’s an opportunity for me and Di to say thank you. We can’t pay our Volunteers but we can offer them a Volunteer package and an invitation to the Christmas Party is just one of the benefits on offer. I will be unveiling what the package is all about before the end of the season and what roles we need fulfilling around the Club. If anyone is interested in Volunteering then please feel free to have a word with me.

That’s about it other than to wish you all a happy Christmas and let’s see what the New Year brings to our very special Club. These are exciting times to be a Shildon supporter.

Three-year plan to be unveiled

The blueprint for the future of Durham Challenge Cup winners, Shildon Football Club will be presented in an open public meeting at Elm Road Club next weekend.

The meeting will take place at 10.30am on Saturday 10th May and a special invitation is extended to all Shildon supporters and to all of the club’s sponsors.

Shildon AFC Director, David Dent, whose company founded the Shildon AFC Development Centre, will outline the football club’s ambitions for the next three years.

Mr Dent will speak about where the club is now, the obstacles it must overcome to achieve continued success, the Board of Directors’ vision for the future, how it means to achieve that vision and what that means for the wider Shildon community.

Speaking about the presentation Mr Dent said: “This has been a tremendously successful season for the football club. We came third in the Northern League Division One behind two clubs that have invested heavily in recent years and of course we won the Durham FA Challenge Cup for the first time in 41 years in front of a crowd of over 1,000 spectators on Good Friday.

“We see this success as the first of many trophies we want to bring to the club, including the league title, which Shildon has not won since the 1930s.

“On Saturday 10th May, I will outline our vision for the future of the club and we want to reach out and engage with the entire Shildon community. Football is a sport like no other. It has the ability to bring entire communities closer together and we hope in the coming years to make Dean Street a place that all of Shildon will be proud to visit to support their local club.

“Shildon Football Club is not just the team that plays in the Northern League top flight; we now have sides at every age group from under six to under 18 together with a Reserve side.

“The community will play a vital part in the future development of the club and we look forward to seeing as many people as possible at Elm Road Club on Saturday 10th May. I am confident the public will be as excited as we are about the club’s future plans.”

The presentation will be immediately followed by the Shildon AFC Supporters Club’s next meeting. Anyone who wishes to remain behind is welcome to join proceedings, and to join the Supporters Club should they wish.

There will also be an opportunity at the meeting to sign up to a regular electronic newsletter from the football club.

Development Centre partners Foundation of Light

Shildon AFC Development Centre, founded by Sunderland-based IDENTITYCONSULT, is delighted to announce that it has entered into a partnership agreement with the Foundation of Light – the registered charity of Sunderland AFC.

The Foundation of Light was established in 2001 by former club Chairman, Sir Bob Murray CBE, and uses the power of football to involve, educate and inspire more than 42,000 young people and their families across the North East each year.

Last year, at the same time as Shildon AFC Development Centre – which provides football coaching to Shildon’s youngsters from the ages of 5-16 years – was being founded by Shildon-born IDENTITYCONSULT Managing Director, David Dent, the Foundation of Light – in partnership with local housing agency livin – was opening an area office in the South Durham town.

With both the Development Centre and the Foundation of Light sharing many aspirations for the town’s young people, and the Foundation and Identity working together on the exciting Beacon of Light development in Sunderland, the organisations have agreed to pool resources in order to provide a variety of football and vocational courses, delivered by highly trained and experienced coaches and tutors.

The partnership means that Shildon AFC Development Centre will have access to the Foundation of Light’s professional FA qualified Sunderland AFC coaches, while the town’s youngsters and their families will also gain access to the Foundation’s state-of-the-art facilities at their Church Street offices.

Meantime, Foundation of Light intends to refer its young people on to Shildon AFC Development Centre courses and on to its junior teams, which should give more local people access to the Sunderland AFC Academy player pathway as well as access to a range of educational and personal development opportunities.

The Foundation of Light will be offering a ‘girls only’ youth club as part of the local offer for young people within Shildon. Plans are also being drawn up under the partnership to implement a local Soccer Kicks youth initiative which will provide additional evening youth opportunities and access to national Soccer Kicks tournaments.

The Foundation will be providing access to Family First Aid and Wider Family Learning Courses (Family Learning Through Football Coaching), which will help players and parents to improve both their footballing and general life skills.

The partnership will also see the establishment of a Back on Track programme, which involves working with local NEET young people (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), aged between 16-19, to achieve a Level 1 Certificate in Work-skills in order to provide them with access to the employment market.

In addition, the Foundation of Light and Shildon AFC Development Centre will be co-hosting Coaches Clinics. The organisations are also planning to host mini tournaments and community celebrations which will see Sunderland AFC mascots, Samson & Delilah visiting the town, and many play resources and Sunderland AFC-related prizes being made available.

David Dent spoke with enthusiasm about the partnership: “We are really excited about the partnership we have entered into with the Foundation. Our head office is within Sunderland and we are currently supporting the Foundation professionally within the city, but the partnership arrangement in Shildon provides us with a fantastic opportunity to make a tremendous difference to the young people in the town in which I was brought up, and I am sure it will act as a catalyst for the future growth of our Development Centre, underpinning the excellent work that the Foundation have commenced within the area. In combining our resources and networks we will I am sure achieve so much more.”

Foundation of Light Chief Executive, Lesley Spuhler said: “We have a very good track record of engaging communities and providing opportunities that can change people’s lives. Through working with Identity Consult and David we will be able to enhance our work and make an even bigger impact on the region.”