Towners team up with Spurs to launch kids side

Enfield Town have teamed up with their local authority and Premier League Spurs to ensure a group of young people with learning difficulties can enjoy playing football.

The Ryman Premier’s Towners are working in partnership with Enfield Children and Young Persons Services and the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation to put out a new team in the Middlesex Pan Disability League.

Coached by two club volunteers and playing under the club's banner - James Spink and Julian Mason – the group train at Enfield Playing Fields and officials at the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium are now seeking a sponsor to support the initiative over the coming years after successfully obtaining a small grant from the Middlesex Football Association to assist with the initial cost of kit and equipment.

Enfield Town chairman Paul Reed said: "We are delighted to have these young people as members of our club. The fact that we enabling them to practice and play the sport we all love despite their difficulties gives us great satisfaction and fits completely with our desire to be a Club for everyone in Enfield."

The club’s on-going efforts in the community were recognised at the end of October when a group of loyal volunteers attended a civic reception to reward them for the hard work they’ve put in supporting the local community.

Enfield Council have an initiative designed to encourage voluntary work known as the 100 Hours Scheme and, in line with other organisations in their borough, the club participated. Those who complete or exceed a hundred hours of volunteering within a twelve-month period are invited to an annual reception in recognition of their hard work and support for their community.

The Towners volunteers recognised - Dave and Gilli Farenden, Mary Archer, Neil Butterfield, Eric Allan, Andy Brown, Richard Gregory, Dave Hicks, Pat Betts and Sheila West - also received a certificate and a limited edition pin badge.

Andy Brown, Enfield Town FC volunteers co-ordinator, said: "It was good to be recognised by the Council in this way. There are a number of people at the club who put in a lot of hours and they all deserve the highest praise and recognition for what they do.

"The club are always looking out for new volunteers for various one-off and ongoing tasks, and I would like to think that some new people will come forward to help the club following this initiative."

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