St Ives Town Football Club has officially opened a new community cafe at their Quattro-Tech Westwood Road ground.

The catering facility was funded through a grant the club received from the Mick George Community Fund.  The grant enabled the club to transform a previous structure of concrete beams and uprights into a functional and welcoming café.

Works started towards the end of last season and the project, inclusive of the interior fit-out, has been completed on time ahead of the 2024-25 campaign and welcomed its first customers at the Arsenal Legends charity match last weekend.

Ives Chairman Paul Reason said “We are delighted with the new café at the ground.  It provides a great space to offer catering and hospitality to teams using our pitch together with families and supporters.  I would also like to thank Gary Clarke for his excellent work overseeing the project and with the café already proving popular I have every confidence that it will be a success”.

St Ives Town Football Club is looking forward to welcoming a team of Arsenal Legends for a charity match on Sunday 7 July.

The match is billed as St Ives Legends v Arsenal Legends and is taking place to raise funds for Cambridgeshire based charity, Sports Connections Foundation (SCF).  The charity was established in 2010 with the aim of using the power of sport to inspire, empower, educate and transform the lives of children and young people.

Heading up the Arsenal team will be Nigel Winterburn who made over 400 appearances for the Gunners and won League, FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners Cup medals whilst he played under George Graham.

The first signing George Graham made when he was manager of Arsenal was Perry Groves, and he looks set to feature along with the likes of David Hillier and Ian Selley.

The Ives team will feature players who have been part of the club in recent years, and hopes are high that Conor Washington who was a prolfiic goalscorer for the club will be be at the game.  Washington transferred from the club into league football when he signed for Newport.  He is currently at Derby County but has made several international caps with Northern Ireland.

Aside from the football, there is a whole host of other activities such as football competitions including a crossbar challenge, bouncy castles, a question and answer session featuring Nigel Winterburn and an auction.

Ives Chairman Paul Reason said “This promises to be a fantastic day.  We are raising money for a really worthwhile charity and I urge lots of people to come out and support it.  As well as the football, there is fun for all the family and the club is incredibly grateful to the Arsenal Legends team for sending many household names and we are looking forward to a great occasion.”

ADMISSION DETAILS

The match takes place at St Ives Quattro-Tech Westwood Road ground and gates open at 11am when all the off the field activities begin.  The match itself kicks off at 3:00pm.  Admission is pay on the day and prices are £5.00 for Adults and £3.00 for concessions. Please note that no tickets are being sold in advance for this match. It is pay on the day.

TIMETABLE OF EVENTS

Doors open at 11:00am.

11:00am – 2:00pm: Football competitions, activities & refreshments

2:00pm: Teams warm-up

3:00pm: Kick-off

3:45pm: Half-Time/Crossbar Challenge. More details on how to take part in the crossbar challenge will be announced on the day.

5:30pm: Ives Director of Public Relations, Andy Dunn hosts a question and answer session with Nigel Winterburn and Conor Washington. Details of how you can take part in this will be announced on the day.

6:00pm: Your chance to bid for souvenir memorabilia from the day.

*Please note that the information above inclusive of timings is subject to change. Please keep revisiting this page for any updates between now and the event.

SPORTS CONNECTIONS FOUNDATION

The match will be raising money for local charity, Sports Connections Foundation. To find out more about the charity, visit their website. The link is HERE. There will be opportunities to donate to the charity on the day of the match itself.

MATCHDAY HOSPITALITY

The club is selling a hospitality package for the game. The cost is £60.00 per person and this includes entry to the match, 3 course lunch served at 1:30pm, drink before and after the game, wine with meal plus a chance to name your man of the match and photo opportunity with the recipient. For more details, please contact Paul Reason: paul@rcostings.co.uk

MATCHDAY CAR PARKING

The main club car park will be closed. Other parking will be available at the adjoining leisure centre and surrounding area.

MATCHDAY PROGRAMMES

The club is selling programmes for the game. These are priced at £2.00 and will be available to purchase inside the ground.

REFRESHMENTS

There will be several refreshment outlets available inside the ground which will be open throughout the day. These include a barbeque.

WHO’S PLAYING??

The Arsenal team will include a number of household names from yesteryear. These include:

Nigel Winterburn

A player who was signed by George Graham in 1987 from Wimbledon where he had been part of a squad that had a meteoric rise to the top flight of English football. After signing for the Gunners, he settled into his left back berth and went on to make over 400 appearances for the club and during his time with Arsenal, he won 3 league titles, 2 FA Cups, 1 x League Cup, and a European Cup Winners Cup medal. He also has 2 caps for England.

Lee Harper

A goalkeeper who was signed by Arsenal from non-league football in 1994. As a third choice keeper he saw his appearances limited and made the move to QPR and later Northampton Town making over 200 apperances for both clubs.

Perry Groves

A player who was first signing George Graham made as Arsenal manager. Arriving at Highbury from Colchester United as a left winger, he became a favourite among fans of the Gunners and went on to make over 150 apperances, winning the title twice and the league cup during his time at the club.

Omer Riza

A player who started his career as a youth with Arsenal and made his first team debut in November 1998 in a league cup tie against Derby County. After a year at the Gunners, he had a spell with West Ham before playing for various other clubs including fellow Cambridgeshire non-league side, Histon for who he made over 50 appearances.

Chris Whyte

A central defender who made over 90 appearances for Arsenal from the late 70’s to the mid 80’s. Playing under Terry Neil, he featured in an Arsenal defensive quartet that included David O’Leary. He gained four England Under 21 caps and after a spell in America, he went onto make his name at various other clubs including West Brom, Birmingham and Leeds United for whom he made over 100 appearances.

Jeremie Aliadiere

A striker who signed for Arsenal at the age of 16. He made a number of appearances in the Premier League for the Gunners, most notably in season 2003-04 when Arsenal won the league title. He then went on to make over 70 appearances for Middlesbrough before returning to French football.

Ian Selley

A midfielder who joined Arsenal in 1990 as a trainee. He made his first team debut at the age of 18. He made over 40 appearances for Arsenal most notably in the 1993/94 season where he collected a medal in the European Cup Winners Cup to go alongside an FA Cup and League Cup winners medal from the previous season.

David Hillier

A midfielder who joined Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1984. He then went on to progress through the Youth and Reserve Team at Highbury before making his debut in a league cup tie in 1990, that was the first of 143 appearances that he made for the Gunners. A former England Under 21 International.

Paolo Vernazza

A player who started his career at Arsenal, but ultimately played only a handful of games for the first team but was in the 1999 Charity Shield squad. He was later transferred to Watford where he made almost 100 appearances.

The Ives Team…..

Whilst we hope Conor Washington will be at the game, he will sadly not feature in the match. However, we are scheduled to welcome back the likes of Niall Conroy, Jamie Alsop, Jordan Lambert, Jimmy Dean and Junior McDougald who plays a lead role at Sports Connections Foundation.

A reminder….

Please check back to this page for updated information between now and the event on Sunday 7 July 2024.

The FA have today published provisional league allocations for the 2024/25 season.

In the PitchingIN Southern League Premier Division Central, St Ives Town will be joined by a mix of clubs who have been promoted or relegated into a division which will consist of 22 teams.

At the end of last season, Long Eaton United, Berkhamsted and Hitchin Town were relegated whilst Nuneaton Borough resigned from the league midway through the campaign. Gaining promotion were Needham Market and Leamington. As part of the provisional allocations, Mickleover have moved laterally to the Northern Premier League.

This means that there are seven teams replacing them for the 2024/25 season. Relegated from the National League North to Southern League Premier Division Central are Banbury United who join Bishop’s Stortford who were also relegated from the same division. Making an immediate return to the division are Bedford Town who were promoted via the play-offs. Also joining the division courtesy of promotion are Biggleswade Town, Harborough Town, Lowestoft Town and Spalding United.

The full provisional line-up is:

AFC Sudbury
AFC Telford United
Alvechurch
Banbury United
Barwell
Bedford Town
Biggleswade Town
Bishop’s Stortford
Bromsgrove Sporting
Coalville Town
Halesowen Town
Harborough Town
Kettering Town
Leiston
Lowestoft Town
Redditch United
Royston Town
Spalding United
St Ives Town
Stamford
Stourbridge
Stratford Town