Pitching In Volunteer of the Month- Gabriel Meytanis, Enfield Town

Enfield Town director Gabriel Meytanis has proved former chairman Roger Reed right decades ahead of schedule.

The 24-year-old’s obsession with Town started when he was 16, the same year Copa90 released a video showcasing the North London club’s thriving young supporter base.

In one clip Reed states: “They’re the future of the club. Two or three of these youngsters in 20 or 30 years’ time will be board members and will be taking the club onto the next level.”

Fast forward to December 2021 and Meytanis was elected Enfield Town director, becoming one of the youngest in non-league football, and has now been named January’s Pitching In Isthmian League Volunteer of the Month.

The Oxford-educated German teacher has maturity beyond his years but admits his role often leads to greater heartbreak. A prime example came last season when Enfield were stunned 3-2 in the Pitching In Isthmian League Premier Division play-off semi-final against Hornchurch, having led 2-1 with four minutes to play.

Meytanis said: “It hurt more being exposed to the work that everyone puts into the club.

Beforehand, I think I took for granted the amount of effort, time and dedication that goes into running a club like ours.

Obviously when you lose it’s not nice, but that play-off was especially tough because the people behind the scenes are the first people you look at around the ground. The full-time whistle went and I was looking at the stewards, my mates, the people involved day-to-day thinking, oh my god, did we really come that close? Did we really put a year’s worth of work in?”

Meytanis has taken on most of the media responsibilities at Town, including the matchday programme, website and social accounts.
Town’s Instagram has seen a 50% increase in followers since Meytanis was appointed but he also brings a fresh perspective to more serious matters too.

“I know that there were issues at other clubs at the start of this season and last season with anti-social behaviour,” said Meytanis.

I felt it was important we didn’t tar one group with the same brush, which I felt would have been extremely dangerous. You will get and we have had one or two incidents but I think we’ve taken a sensible approach.

We’ve spoken to the individuals directly and I felt it was really important, especially as a club which is still recruiting younger people, to not alienate a big portion of the fan base. I think a lot of my fellow directors shared that sentiment as well.

I felt my voice being heard and I’m glad that at a club like Town that has been possible."

Gabriel is one of a valued band of volunteers at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium and opportunities across the league for potential newcomers are now available to search for on a Volunteer Hub launched by league partners Pitching In.

Nonetheless, his youth often befuddles fellow non-league directors, with the next youngest Enfield Town board member, chairman Paul Reed, almost a quarter of a century his senior.

Meytanis said:

“You don’t tend to get many directors under the age of 35, let alone 25. So I have gone into boardrooms and got a couple of looks like maybe I’m accompanying one of the other Town directors.

But it’s always nice once you get talking to other board members and people who are in charge of other clubs, because at the end of the day it’s non-league football and we all have the best interests of our clubs at heart.”

Find volunteering opportunities at your local club by visiting https://pitchinginvolunteers.co.uk/

By Alec McQuarrie

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