Canterbury City Statement
On Sunday 19th September Canterbury City this statement
“The club this afternoon, 19 September 2021 have made the difficult decision to request withdrawal from the Southern Counties East Football League (SCEFL) due to financial reasons.
As a club we have worked hard over the last 14 years or so to have an independent hub in the City of Canterbury. A hub that would not only benefit the City, would provide a platform for young players to progress to a level where they have the opportunity to be paid to play football. Our ambition has always been to have a local club for local people.
This weekend we have been informed that we will need to wait 3 years for planning application to be submitted. We will not be able to sustain as a self sufficient entity the funds required over this period, therefore we are faced with the awful decision to submit this request.
We will continue to explore our options to be able to still have a Step 5 football team within the SCEFL set up. The reality is we will require funding to achieve this, without this we have no option other than offer to withdraw from the league.
We will issue a further detailed statement in the next couple of days. We would like to thank the board of SCEFL for their help and understanding of this delicate situation.”
Following the release of the above statement Canterbury City were contacted by a potential donor and are now working through the details of that in the hope of continuing their time with the SCEFL. They then were able to provide this update.
“The Club wish to provide an update on developments over the last 24 hours. We appreciate your patience, as much has been going on behind the scenes.
Yesterday following a generous donation we were able to contact SCEFL to give notice we believed we were in a position to withdraw our request to exit the League. The original decision to exit being a very difficult one that was not taken lightly. The League have been very understanding and following our request offered a 48 hour window to try and find a way to remain at Step 5. Negotiations have continued into this evening and indeed are ongoing but we are very pleased to confirm that we have secured our presence at Faversham Town for the rest of the season. Thank you to Paul Bennett, Chairman and all the committee for their understanding and help. Others have reached out too with offers of help. Grassroots football at its best!
We are hoping to minimise the disruption to the playing team, however we understand that from being paid, to potentially not leaves a decision to made. We are hopeful that Chris Woollcott (manager) will be able to retain the vast majority to help guide us as a club throughout the rest of this season.
We are not out of the woods yet and much remains to be done to secure our future for coming seasons which we must do to continue our quest to obtain planning permission for our own ground and ensure Canterbury City Council honour the promise they made over 20 years ago.
But for now the City of Canterbury has a senior football club representing them and what better way to show your support than to come and watch City v Erith Town at Faversham on Saturday 2nd October. Fixture details on our website.
We look forward to welcoming you and thank you for your continuing support.”
