Welcome everyone to a new season of football at Ellerslie AFC.
After the disruptions of the last couple of years with Covid, FIFA Women’s World Cup and the new clubrooms development, we are hoping this coming season will be a chance to consolidate many of the improvements and initiatives the Club has been working through in recent times.
Our fantastic new clubroom facility will get its first full season of use. After hosting a number of Women’s National League matches towards the end of last season we look forward with anticipation to being able to provide our members and visiting teams the use of quality changing rooms prior to the games and a warm, friendly environment upstairs afterwards.
The Club grew to over 1700 playing members in 2023 and we are hopeful that this number will continue to grow in 2024. The challenge we have is to ensure we are providing a quality footballing experience and opportunities to everyone associated with the Club. To assist in this we have restructured the football department, adding additional capacity and refining existing roles. I am very pleased to welcome Hollie Leona into the new role of Girls Football Development Manager. Hollie will be focussed on continuing the growth of the female side of the Club as well as overseeing the female teams competing in the NZF Talent Development Programme. Her appointment also aligns with the Clubs commitment to the NRF Gender Equity Charter to ensure we are fostering an inclusive environment for girls and women at our Club.
I would like to give special thanks to all the volunteers that are crucial in assisting the Club to provide the services to our members. Without your help many of the teams would not make it onto the field each weekend so thank you for your support and I hope many of you will continue to be involved this season.
I look forward to another enjoyable, successful season of football at Michaels Ave and I hope to see many of you around the Club this year.
Kind regards
Fred de Jong
President
E: seniorcoaching@ellersliefootball.org.nz
M: 021 446 111