Margate Youth FC welcomed to Priestfield
Gillingham FC proudly welcomed Margate Youth FC as the first group of ball boys to enjoy the Priestfield experience courtesy of the club’s partnership with the Kent Youth League.
Gillingham FC unveiled a new partnership with the Kent Youth League during pre-season, announcing intentions to help support the grass roots game in the county by working alongside Kent’s largest youth league.
As part of the partnership, Gillingham FC are welcoming seven teams from within the league to be ball boys at Priestfield, alongside awarding tickets to games to clubs who demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship and advocacy of The FA’s Respect programme throughout the season.
Selected by the Kent Youth League, Margate Youth FC attended Saturday’s 2-0 win against Wigan Athletic and proudly supported the team as they continued their fantastic start to the season.
Margate Youth FC Coach, Salim Usman, revealed how inspiring the team found their day out at MEMS Priestfield Stadium.
“The Gillingham visit was a great success in a number of respects. It was a great idea of the Kent Youth League and Gillingham and one which was followed up in a very professional and positive way by all those involved up at Gillingham.”
“The boys enjoyed watching the Gillingham team warm up and appreciated their cheerful waves at them. It really was a wonderful experience for my boys.”
Usman added; “As well as seeing a top class game, the boys were exposed to a completely new world of sporting activity at that level. This has made an impact on most of them by giving them something to aspire to.”
“The visit was therefore a very effective motivational tool. It was much more than just a day out. And I can assure you that as their coach and manager I will make full use of what they saw in future coaching sessions and when I give them individual advice.”
The Gills also supported the Kent Youth League on Sunday as Tom Hadler popped into present certificates at the league’s pre-season Under 13 tournament which involved 16 teams from across the county.
Kent Youth League Chief Executive, Ken Brooke expressed his delight at how the partnership with Gills is going.
“We are delighted to be part of this exciting project with Gillingham FC. Tom did a fantastic job making presentations to the winning team and players at our tournament and was a great ambassador for the club and for the football profession.”
“Tom excelled in making himself known to the Management Committee and everything we asked him to do he did without any fuss or bother. We were all very impressed.”
Brooke added, “We also had the Margate team who were ball boys on Saturday at the game. The boys loved the experience and once again the hard work that went into sorting this out by Gillingham.”
If you’d like to learn more about Gillingham’s partnership with the Kent Youth League please click here.
You can visit the Kent Youth League website by clicking here.