Month: August 2020

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Five sign league forms…

Five more Town players have been registered on Isthmian League forms for the 20-21 season:

Josh Urquhart

Defender Josh made ten Town appearances towards the end of the truncated 19-20 season, having moved to the QEII Stadium from Billericay Town.  Manager Andy Leese said “We’re delighted to have re-signed Josh.  He came in and made a huge impact last year.  He’s a winner, as he’s shown throughout his career, and it’s great to get him committed.  He’s a good character around the place as well”.

Percy Kiangabeni

23 year-old Percy has returned to Town – he has featured as a trialist in a number of per-season friendlies – and this will be his second spell at the club, having made 33 appearances (one goal) under Bradley Quinton. His positional versatility and commitment made him a popular figure with supporters during his time in a white shirt, and he subsequently represented Concord Rangers, St Albans City, Hendon and Hertford Town. Andy said “Bringing Percy back to the club was a no-brainer, to be honest. He is a talented player who also brings character to the group. He loves it here and has settled in really quickly. I am sure we can get the best out of him this season”.

Adam Pepera

Central defender Adam has had experience with clubs including Harrow Borough, Hayes & Yeading United, Hendon, Farnborough, Chesham United and Northwood. He was most recently with Hanwell Town. Andy: “Adam has impressed us in pre-season. He’s an experienced defender who I know well. He’ll bring welcome leadership qualities to the squad, and it’s good to get someone like him on board”.

Malcolm Podier and Patrick Akwasi

Finally, Andy has confirmed that defender Malcolm Podier and midfielder Patrick Akwasi have signed for Town with a view to initially going out on loan. Malcolm appeared for Welwyn Garden City U23s recently. “Malcolm and Patrick have both caught the eye in pre-season, signed for us, and will go out on loan in order to get the game time they need” said Andy. “They want to be at the club but understand that they have work to do to be ready for first team consideration. Head of Football Operations Graham Dodd will be making a number of arrangements like these whilst we also look at our U18 group to see who might be able to step into the first team environment.

Andy concluded “the squad is nearly there in terms of who we want to sign, with possibly one or two other decisions yet to be made. We should have everyone back and available this week, and we’ll be settling down with more detailed work on the training ground as we look forward to competitive action against Lewes on 19th September”.

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Society Members’ Zoom meeting – 3 Sept

The next Enfield Town Supporters Society meeting will be held on Thursday 3rd September 2020 at 7.30pm via a Zoom link. The agenda will broadly cover:

  • latest developments at the club;
  • Covid-19 precautions and a return to football; and
  • The latest on-field news from Andy Leese and the management team.

Members can ask questions in advance of the meeting via the online “Ask The Board” facility: https://etfc.london/information/ask-the-board Please insert “QUESTION FOR 3 SEPT MEETING” in the subject field. An e-link for joining the meeting will be sent to members in time for the meeting.

The last members’ Zoom meeting was a great success and we had plenty of positive feedback. Please join us if you can!

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Lewes first up for Town

The 2020-21 provisional Isthmian League fixture list has been drawn up, subject to the ongoing public health situation.

Town’s opening fixture is scheduled to be at home to Lewes on Saturday 19th September. A full list of subsequent fixtures appears below. These will be reproduced elsewhere on the website during the course of the next week or so.

In the meantime, you can check the very latest announcements on the Isthmian League’s website here: https://www.isthmian.co.uk/its-fixture-release-day-63280

ENFIELD TOWN – ISTHMIAN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Sat Sep 19 Lewes H
Tue Sep 22/ Wed Sep 23 FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round
Sat Sep 26 Merstham A
Tue Sep 29 Bishops Stortford A
Sat Oct 3 Kingstonian H
Tue Oct 6 Horsham A
Sat Oct 10 Leatherhead H
Sat Oct 17 Corinthian-Casuals A
Tue Oct 20 Margate H
Sat Oct 24 Carshalton Athletic A
Sat Oct 31 FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round
Tue Nov 3 Brightlingsea Regent H
Sat Nov 7 Cray Wanderers H
Sat Nov 14 Cheshunt A
Tue Nov 17 Hornchurch A
Sat Nov 21 Bognor Regis Town H
Sat Nov 28 Worthing H
Sat Dec 5 Folkestone Invicta A
Sat Dec 12 East Thurrock United H
Sat Dec 19 Wingate & Finchley A
Sat Dec 26 Haringey Borough A
Mon Dec 28 Potters Bar Town H
Sat Jan 2 Bowers & Pitsea A
Sat Jan 9 Horsham H
Sat Jan 16 Carshalton Athletic H
Sat Jan 23 Brightlingsea Regent A
Sat Jan 30 Cheshunt H
Sat Feb 6 Cray Wanderers A
Sat Feb 13 Hornchurch H
Sat Feb 20 Bognor Regis Town A
Sat Feb 27 Lewes A
Tue Mar 2 Bishops Stortford H
Sat Mar 6 Merstham H
Sat Mar 13 Kingstonian A
Sat Mar 20 Folkestone Invicta H
Sat Mar 27 Worthing A
Sat Apr 3 Margate A
Mon Apr 5 Haringey Borough H
Sat Apr 10 Leatherhead A
Sat Apr 17 Corinthian-Casuals H
Sat Apr 24 East Thurrock United A
Sat May 1 Wingate & Finchley H
Mon May 3 Potters Bar Town A
Sat May 8 Bowers & Pitsea H

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Walthamstow v Town (29th August) – spectator entry

We have been informed by Walthamstow FC that this match is open to spectators, with a 300 ground capacity in place at Wadham Lodge Sports Ground, Kitchener Road, Walthamstow E17 4JP.

The match is not all-ticket, and there is no segregation, but tickets are available in advance via https://www.walthamstowfc.com/product/ticket-v-enfield-town-friendly/ to ease speed of entry.

  • Adults: £5
  • Concessions: £3 (students, unemployed, armed forces (active and veterans), pensioners, NHS staff).

Tickets (ie order acknowledgments) should be printed or downloaded to a mobile device. Tickets can also be purchased on the day via card or cash, however Walthamstow’s strong preference is for all supporters to purchase tickets online in advance.

As part of Covid-19 safety improvements, and in line with other Essex Senior League clubs’ precautions, ticketholders are encouraged to download “evePASS”, an electronic track and trace system for attendees. evePASS provides easy and secure check-ins upon arrival at Essex Senior League grounds (you only need register once) and check in can be done using a mobile device, with no pen or paper required. Your data is encrypted, secure and protected against misuse. 

For more information please go to:
https://evepass.app/#download-app where you can register with evePASS, download the app and obtain information on how to use QR Codes. If it is not possible for you to use evePASS for any reason, Walthamstow FC are requesting that you kindly have with you piece of paper with your name, phone number and e-mail address on it for alternative track and trace purposes.

Kick off at Wadham Lodge is at 3pm.

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Chesham go-ahead and Members’ meeting…

Thanks to a terrific response to the club’s appeal for stewards to volunteer for action on Tuesday 8th September and good progress made to develop the Covid-19 precautions required to be in place for the match, the club can confirm that the home friendly match against Chesham United (Tuesday 8th September, 7.45pm) will take place with a limited number of spectators. Further details of the on-the-night arrangements will be issued in the next few days.

The club’s initial announcement about the fixture can be found here: https://etfc.london/possible-spectator-admission-trial-for-chesham-unied-home-friendly-tuesday-8th-september and a full appraisal of the effectiveness of the arrangements for this match will be undertaken in order to hopefully pave the way for opening turnstiles for subsequent home matches.

Separately, and prior to the Chesham match, the next Enfield Town Supporters Society meeting will be held on Thursday 3rd September 2020 at 7.30pm via a Zoom link. The agenda will broadly cover:

  • latest developments at the club;
  • Covid-19 precautions and a return to football; and
  • The latest on-field news from Andy Leese and the management team.

There will be the opportunity to ask questions in advance of the meeting. This option will be available shortly and an e-link for joining the meeting will also be sent to members in advance.

The last Zoom members meeting was a great success and we had plenty of positive feedback. Please join us if you can!

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Enfield Town FC Covid Risk Assessment Published

The club has published its Covid risk assessment documentation, in line with DCMS, FA and Isthmian League guidance. You can find the documentation [HERE]

This risk assessment is a living document, which will be subject to regular review. It will be referred to regularly as the club takes steps to open its gates for spectators in an incremental way.

The club will be developing a Covid/ETFC frequently asked questions page in due course. In the meantime, any questions should be addressed via the Ask The Board facility at https://etfc.london/information/ask-the-board.

An article on the initial proposals for the potential opening of gates, with a strictly limited capacity, for the Enfield Town v Chesham United friendly on 8th September was issued on 21st August – including a form to express an interest in essential stewarding, which can be found at https://etfc.london/possible-spectator-admission-trial-for-chesham-unied-home-friendly-tuesday-8th-september. Please help if you can!

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Possible spectator admission trial for Chesham Unied home friendly (Tuesday 8th September)

Possible spectator admission trial for Chesham United home friendly on Tuesday 8th September (7.45pm)

Earlier this week the government confirmed that non-league clubs at Step 3 and below could now consider opening their gates to supporters, and have amended their guidance to allow for the gradual return of spectators at matches involving clubs at Steps 3 and below in the pyramid.  This was followed by the FA and the Isthmian League issuing their own, more specific, revised guidelines for the phased and limited return of spectators.

Taking account of all available guidance in relation to Covid-19, the Enfield Town Board has since been working on viable options for enabling a phased reopening of the QEII Stadium, subject to comprehensive risk assessments being completed, including adequate track and trace arrangements.

Although many will welcome the return of spectators at the earliest opportunity, clubs at our level are permitted to work within a timeframe to ensure that risk identification and management is completed, and that necessary associated precautions and procedures are firmly in place.  Each ground – in our case the QEII Stadium – will be subject to its own unique set of circumstances.

The Board has decided that it would be feasible to allow a fixed number of spectators, with very limited facilities, into the QEII Stadium to watch the scheduled home friendly against Chesham United on 8th September on a trial basis.  The number of spectators allowed in would need to be restricted to 100.  Specific on-the-day facility and other limitations will be issued nearer the time.

There are, however, a number of significant hurdles to negotiate before this theoretical opening can become reality:

  1. There will need to be 20 stewards in place for this game.  The club are, therefore, appealing to supporters to put their names forward – via a form at https://etfc.london/expressing-an-interest-to-be-an-etfc-steward by 24th August if at all possible – in order to help the club stage this pilot open-to-the-public match.  Without sufficient stewarding, the match cannot take place.  Role allocations and training will be given in advance.
  • The match will be all ticket.  The phasing of application for tickets will be as follows:
  1. #GoToTown subscribers (where the package includes a season ticket)
  2. ETFC Supporters Society members
  3. Non-member season ticket holders

There will be no other phased ticket categories permissible for this game. All tickets will cost £6, except that one accompanied child can be admitted, with a ticket holder, for £1 upon request.  Accompanied children will need to be supervised. There will be a very limited number of away supporters, who will be ticketed separately, allowed in.  Tickets will be available online only, and applicants will be issued with a digital (quick response code) e-ticket which can be swiped at the gate on a mobile phone or be printed out for entry.  Details to follow.

  • The club will need to comply with all Covid-19 guidance, and in particular in relation to social distancing and any local restrictions that may be introduced. But all spectators nevertheless need to be fully aware that attendance at the match is entirely at their own risk. You must follow government guidelines and self-diagnose before travelling to the Stadium. If you are experiencing any symptoms which may be related to Covid-19, you should not travel and should follow NHS advice. At the Stadium you agree to respect others, abide with social distancing guidelines, and follow all advice given by ETFC stewards.  This will be a vital part of the trial as the club considers further easing of numbers for future matches.
  • The matchday experience at the QEII Stadium will not be as our supporters will remember!  Please take on board all advice before, during and after the match – assuming it goes ahead – as the club looks to do the right thing, incrementally, with the safety of all in mind.  For this pilot event it is likely that the main stand will be closed, while the smaller north stand will have limited, socially distanced, seating available.  Further announcements about changes to the way we will operate initially will be made in due course, but please bear with us as we develop our procedures in the light of experience!
  • The lessons learned from the staging of the Chesham match, hopefully with spectators, will be applied for future matches. Currently these are scheduled to be a home friendly against Welling United on 12th September and any confirmed competitive matches thereafter. Feedback will be made available to supporters as soon as is practicable. The signs are positive, but supporters should be ready for subsequent steps to be impacted.

Between now and our own trial, other clubs may make specific arrangements for entry to matches. If that is the case for any Town away games, the ETFC website and social media will refer to the specific arrangements that have been put in place as soon as possible.

The club need your help to make this happen!

ETFC Board

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Limited spectator entry for Grays Athletic v Enfield Town friendly – Saturday 22nd August (3pm)

We have been informed by Grays Athletic that there will be 30 first-come-first served tickets for away supporters available for the friendly match at Parkside, Aveley tomorrow (Saturday 22nd).

The tickets will cost £5 for adults and £1 for children aged 16 and under.

In order to register for an away ticket, Town supporters should email webteam@etfc.london as soon as possible, with ‘GRAYS TICKET APPLICATION’ in the message subject field.  It may not be possible to accommodate all applications, which will be strictly monitored and limited to one ticket per personal application only.  Please make sure you include your name and which price band you are applying for.

If you are successful in terms of being one of the first thirty applications, you will be notified and you will then be asked to report to Match Secretary John Dolan outside the main turnstiles on the day to collect your ticket and pay for it in cash (only) at the turnstile.

Please note that there is an earlier match on at the stadium which is due to finish by 2.15pm and entrance to the ground will not be permitted before this. John will be available from 2.15 onwards. We have been told that the tea bar will be open for refreshments, and supporters attending have been asked to be patient, and take directions from stewards.

Town supporters who attend the match will do so at their own risk.

Following this announcement, please note there will be a separate, wider announcement about the way Enfield Town FC proposes to run a trial match as part of an incremental way of allowing spectators back into matches at the QEII Stadium.

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Further background information on tomorrow’s friendly at Parkside from the Grays Athletic website:

“As most supporters are aware following the government announcement on Tuesday night and the FA guidance issued yesterday, the gradual return of spectators to non-league football at step 3 and below has commenced. This means that our supporters will have their first opportunity to watch The Blues since March.

“The maximum attendance that we are allowed to have at this stage of the return is 200 and the club has to hold a successful fixture under these rules to enable us to move to stage 2 for our friendlies, league and cup games in September.

“Therefore, we have to monitor spectator numbers very closely at these two friendlies to ensure that the club do not breach any rules and just as importantly we need to adhere to all aspects of the risk assessment plan that has been put together by ourselves in consultation with Aveley FC”.

Sustain The Game campaign

Enfield Town FC is fully committed to the Football Supporters’ Association’s Sustain The Game campaign, which has launched today with the backing of fans’ groups from across the country as well as senior politicians and football pundits such as Jamie Carragher. The campaign highlights the urgent need for action to secure the very existence of many clubs, particularly in the current climate.

Sustain The Game principles:

  1. Protect our clubs – football clubs are community assets and an important expression of individual and local identity, they deserve legal protection and urgent support to secure their future;
  2. Transparency – everyone has a right to know who owns their club, and how clubs and the authorities operate. Owners are custodians of clubs on behalf of all of us;
  3. Financial controls – fans want rules with real teeth which are independently enforced, clubs and leagues can’t be left to regulate themselves;
  4. Strengthen the pyramid – football as a whole is wealthy, but we need a smarter and fairer use of the money in the game to encourage sustainability; and
  5. Supporter engagement – fans are the lifeblood of the game, they need a voice in their clubs and on all issues that affect them and their communities.

You can read more about the FSA’s campaign here: https://thefsa.org.uk/news/fan-groups-politicians-and-pundits-call-for-urgent-action-to-protect-the-very-existence-of-clubs/

Arkwright moves on – HELP REQUIRED!

Town’s long serving Merchandise Messiah Dave Hicks will be relinquishing his role as club shop proprietor after over thirty years’ service with Town and, previously, Enfield FC.

Dave said “It’s with a heavy heart that I have decided that, primarily due to the pressure of other commitments, I will be moving away from the running of the club shop.  It’s been great keeping supporters up to speed with all our latest souvenirs and other products for so long, and I’ll still of course be around the place to keep up the friendships that have been developed over the decades. Thanks one and all for your loyal and devoted custom!”

Chairman Paul Reed said “on behalf of everyone at the club I’d like to thank Dave for all the countless hours of hard work he’s put in, literally from day one at Brimsdown in 2001.  He will be an incredibly hard act to follow.  Many, many thanks Dave!”

Not least as Dave’s helpers Pat and Sheila are also standing down, the club are seeking expressions of interest in running the shop. If you can help, please get in touch via webteam@etfc.london with your details and a brief note on what you could bring to the role and how you would approach it.

The broad range of duties includes:
*  stock management;
*  matchday shop sales;
*  liaison with supporters on demand for, and design of specific products*  supplier liaison;
*  handling online orders; and
*  financial management.

A flexible and personable approach is required, on matchdays in particular when the shop is always very busy and requests can be very varied!  This is a pivotal voluntary role within the club, and the revenue generated from sales is crucial in the battle to balance the books each year. Dave will be available to help with successor arrangements.

Please help if you can! webteam@etfc.london