The historic Barnes Football Club are hosting a community day event on Sunday.
In a statement, the club informed that the event will be held at Barnes Community Association premises (Rose House, Barnes High Street, SW13 9LD) between 10am-4pm.
Entry will be free and there will be a bake sale, a tombola as well as club merchandise being on sale.
Membership packages until the end of the 2024/25 season will also be available for attendees for £30 which will include free reserved seats for all home games at Quintin Hogg Riverside Pitches.
Club Secretary Julie Burgess said: “We just want to get more people from the area to get back involved with Barnes Football Club.”
This will be the second such event that the club will hold, Burgess said they have also held sponsored walks and community Christmas dinners in order to restore Barnes within the community.
The community day also aims to recruit more players for trials which aim to take place in August in time for the start of the new season in September.
The club plans to expand its youth development setup as well as starting a women’s team in Barnes.
Burgess said: “People were equally excited to hear about a women’s team because there aren’t many at grassroots level.
“We tried to set up a women’s team last year but only 10 women signed up, so we’re hoping this time we can reach out and get more to join as some of the women that have signed up will be there on Sunday.”
The club also wishes to start a second under-14s team, as well as getting another under-16s team underway.
Barnes Football Club was established in 1862 and were the first team to ever win an FA Cup tie in 1871 when they beat the Civil Service F.C team 2-0.
Burgess’ Grandfather Leslie Prescott Kilsby took over the club in 1926 and ran it until 1972.
In 2021, Burgess alongside her cousin Jan Kilsby with volunteer assistance were able to revive the club thanks to a GoFundMe page that was supported by Sport England and Barclays.
They were able to secure £4,937 that allowed the club to enter the Surrey County FA with their first season back being the 2022/23 season with their first match being a 7-0 thrashing of West Fulham FC in a pre-season friendly.
Burgess said that the club wants to have local organisations and volunteers to become involved with Barnes allowing the clubto become a community project again.
Burgess said: “We want to give kids somewhere safe to play football as their parents cannot afford it, it’s just extortionate.
“We want to try and get a sponsor for our free football careers project.
Last year, one of the local hotels sponsored us and it was really helpful because it allowed us to focus on giving the children free football lessons.
“The community has always been important for us and we need the support of the community to get back on board.”
If there are any businesses that would wish to get involved with the event and support Barnes Football Club, then please contact Julie at [email protected].
Featured Image Credit and Image Credit: Julie Burgess of Barnes Football Credit
