2022/23 CUAFC Presidents
Our presidents for this year are Ben Adam and Neve Mayes! Read about their reflection on the achievements and progress of CUAFC in the last year, as well as their aspirations for the future of the club.
Alumni Officers: Hi both, great to have you as our presidents this year. Would you be able to summarise the achievements/successes in the club in the last year (e.g. league position, cups, varsity matches etc)?
Neve Mayes: Last year was a success for CUAFC. Having been promoted in the previous BUCS season to Midlands Tier 1, the women’s Blues found themselves in a competitive league. The team secured important wins against the University of Worcester and the University of Birmingham to ensure a fourth-placed finish in the league, and so will compete in Midlands Tier 1 again this year. The Blues narrowly lost to Oxford in a hard-fought Varsity match, losing out on penalties. The Eagles also finished fourth in the Cambridgeshire Women’s Football League, with wins against Leverington Sports Ladies and Newmarket Town’s Development Team. They enjoyed a substantial run in the cup, reaching the fourth round and comfortably won their Varsity match, with a 2-0 victory against the Dark Blues.
Ben Adam: The Blues had a successful league season, clinching the Midlands 2B title and promotion with a game to spare. Highlights were big away wins at UEA and Warwick which bookended a dominant stretch either side of Christmas. The Blues also made it to the cup semi-final, where they lost to Nottingham Trent. Varsity was a bitterly disappointing 1-0 loss to Oxford, despite playing better football for the majority of the game.
The Falcs’ season was almost the reverse of the Blues’ - a sluggish start in the league meant avoiding relegation was always going to be an uphill battle. However, a good run of form in February meant Varsity came at the perfect time, and a dominant 3-1 victory brought the trophy back to Cambridge.
Alumni Officers: Very interesting to hear your perspective of the past season from a competitive point of view. Can you share your thoughts on the progress and developments the club made outside of that - for instance in community outreach and participcation across the university?
Neve: The club has strengthened its community outreach efforts. We created the new Committee position of Outreach Officer, and have already had a very successful PowerHouseGames with Power2Inspire. We have seen an upsurge in interest and participation in women’s football, in the wake of the Lionesses’ victory at the Euros. The Merlins, the women’s Development team, set up last year continues to bridge the gap between college and university football, so that there is a clear pathway for development within the club. I am excited to see women’s football within the university develop and grow even further over the coming year.
Ben: Despite the results, Varsity was a huge success this year, with over 2100 fans at the Abbey stadium in Cambridge. The college leagues thrived in the first year back after COVID, and the club took steps to increase its community outreach footprint in the Cambridge area. The club Alumni event in January was also a really nice occasion, with good football and a great dinner at Churchill college.
Alumni Officers: Enough about the past - tell us and our alumni about what you are most keen to achieve in the coming year?
Neve: I hope to foster a more inclusive and cohesive club atmosphere. We have recently merged the social media accounts of the men’s and women’s sides, which I think is an important step in bringing the club together. On the women’s side I hope to bring all three teams - Blues, Eagles and Merlins - together, developing relationships both on and off the pitch. I hope to establish even stronger relationships with our alumni network and continue to develop our community outreach efforts.
Ben: Obviously, we are keen to make this year’s Varsity match - the first in London in 5 years - a huge success. On top of that, we are working hard to do more outreach and community work than ever before, in conjunction with local schools and charities like Power2Inspire. Successful campaigns on the pitch for all teams wouldn’t go amiss either!
Alumni Officers: Those are some great aims for the year and we will be really interested in seeing how they turn out. Last but not least, and we know it is a hard question to answer, but if you look back at your time in the club after your presidency, what legacy would you like to leave?
Neve: I hope that I will have made an impact during my time at the club and hope to have built on the previous President’s efforts to make CUAFC a very welcoming and successful club. I am hoping to set up a women’s futsal team, which I think will offer another way for students to get engaged with football at university and should be great fun!
Ben: I think coming out of the pandemic the club has a chance to establish itself as one of the biggest clubs in Cambridge, in all facets. From our participation levels at a college level, to our community work, to the stature of our Varsity matches and of course our results on the pitch - football is the biggest sport in the world and CUAFC should represent and reflect that within the university.
Alumni Officers: Thanks so much for taking the time you two - we wish you all the best for what’s coming ahead!
