Starting the first sports club at the Crewe campus has been quite the journey. After getting the Crewe Men’s Football club approved in late September last year, there was a wave of buzz from the regular students that played weekly on our campus pitch. The month of October had seen many club members gear up to the organised training sessions ahead of the awaited first cross-campus match.
Despite a competitive 6-7 loss against the Buckingham campus, this opportunity made many of the regular members eager to play together in a local competitive league. Training sessions from this point forward became much more position-focused and tailored to each player’s abilities.
Most members went on holiday after their first year’s exams. Even though the club took a break then, we very much stayed active on social media reaching out to the next cohort of medics coming to the Crewe campus. We have encouraged the new 1st Year’s to attend the bubble football fresher events to fire up some excitement for the sport. In addition, the club announced the local Crewe Cumberland 6-a-side Sunday League which the club squad will start to play in early February.
The month of February has been quite eventful for the club. The Strava Brit Challenge of covering 2022 miles in 1 month was kicked off. Crewe Football ended up being the most active UoB sports club in the first week of the challenge as a number of our members were eager to participate for good cause. On the other hand, the club had a strong start in the 6-a-side league with the first 2 matches ending in decisive 0-5 (A) and 4-0 (H) wins.
The Crewe Fresher’s Fair that took place on 16th of February was fruitful as more students expressed their interest to be a part of and represent the club. At this point, we are looking into organising internal 5-a-side tournaments to set the playing levels. The club executives had a chance to speak with Crewe FC assistant coach Steven and explore options of providing the club with more professional training sessions and looking into organising an 11-a-side friendly. All of this ongoing collaborative work with Steven is proving to be valuable as the club gears up to the awaited rematch against the Buckingham campus next term!
We actively encourage anyone who is interested in football, regardless of playing experience, to pop down to the campus pitch on a Saturday afternoon and join us for a session. For any additional information, do not hesitate to contact me on 2010485@buckingham.ac.uk and follow the club action on Instagram @uob.crewe.fc
Ahmad Ali