Meet the Presidents 2024/25
To briefly introduce ourselves, we are Lara, Ross and Jake and we are writing to you as the new Co-Presidents of CUAFC for the upcoming 2024/25 season. The season ahead holds a remarkable array of exciting opportunities for the growth of the club; we feel grateful to represent such a fantastic and vibrant cohort of footballers. This season the club will see more football than ever before, with the entry of the Eagles (Women’s second team) and the Kestrels (Men’s third team) into BUCS leagues.
Regarding the Kestrels, this switch has necessitated a much larger contingent of players at this year’s pre-season, as we drew extensively on the talent-heavy pool of early applicants to ensure strong competition for the team. This was followed by our trials, from which we hope to unearth more of Cambridge’s hidden footballers. We generally continuously recruit high-performing players from the college league (CUAFL) into the Kestrels, from which standing they have the opportunity to impress the Blues’ and Falcons’ (men’s second team) coaches. The larger squad required for the Kestrels is a response to the much more demanding fixture list that BUCS will propose compared to the Kestrels’ prior friendly-oriented existence. We expect this switch to lead to future Varsity success!
We are also excited to be bringing in new managers for both the Falcons and the Kestrels. After the success and dedication of student coaches for these teams last season, the Kestrels will again be led by a student volunteer. The Falcons are introducing a new external manager, who combines a wealth of experience and ambition, with an already evident commitment to the club. The Blues remain under the watchful eye of Tom Blatch, who is heading into his sixth year with the club, having previously managed the Falcons too. We are confident in the ability of this coaching team to drive the club forward with enthusiasm and to achieve success in both the leagues and Varsity!
On the women’s side, the entry of the Eagles team into BUCS brings new opportunities to strengthen our program and grow as a cohesive unit. The synergy between our Blues and Eagles coaching team continues to strengthen performance for both teams. This integration has made for a preseason full of high-energy, competitive sessions. We are eager to see the Blues and the Eagles push for long cup runs this season, with the Blues seeking to build off their incredible momentum over the past 2 years and make another final appearance. The Merlin’s will continue their development through friendly fixtures as they prepare for their second ever Varsity match in the spring. The Women’s Blues had a large turnover this year, with several club legends seeing their final year for the team last season. This high turnover will make for a dynamic trials period, with returning players, preseason attendees, and talented college players vying for spots across all three teams.
Following the success of the 2024 Varsity matches, including the inaugural Women’s third team match in which our own Merlins won convincingly, we are excited to get underway planning the 2024/25 fixtures alongside the Oxford Presidents. Building on the steady groundwork developed over the few years by our predecessors, we hope to make this season’s matches just as spectacular an event as last season’s! We aim to provide a date for the matches as soon as possible; for now, please work off the provisional timings of mid-February for the reserves – Falcons, Eagles, Kestrels and Merlins – and early March for both Blues teams!
This year’s committee holds 32 people across both sides of the club, including a variety of positions which help make CUAFC tick. Within this newsletter you will hear from the men’s and women’s captains, as well as our alumni officers. We do hope you enjoy the newsletter and would be delighted to hear from you in due course.
Kind regards,
Lara, Ross & Jake
Men’s Presidents: President.cuafc@gmail.com
Women’s Presidents: Womens.president.cuafc@gmail.com.
