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Bradford Team’s Record Breaking Success
A Relay-sponsored community football team has achieved what is thought to be an unprecedented feat in the game, having been promoted as champions of their division four times in four successive years.
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Pictured above : Relay Recruitment Rovers and Steven Street with young supporters. Encouraging youngsters into sport is one of the team's main focuses and lies behind its hoped for move to Myra Shay.
Relay Recruitment Rovers of Bradford, rose from Division 4 in the Sunday Alliance League to a starting berth this season in Division 1b. They were presented with the champions’ trophy on June 5th and will play Division 1 football in the 07/08 campaign.
By anybody’s standards, the team’s statistics are incredible. Its four-year tenure in the Sunday Alliance has seen them play 84 matches, winning 72, drawing nine and losing just three. On the way, they have scored 391 times, making an average 4.7 goals per match, conceding just 18 this season.
Many players have been invited for trials at professional clubs. One recently joined Farsley Celtic, who now sit just three leagues below Leeds United.
The record breaking team was backed by Relay – stepping in when an original sponsor backed out - throughout its successful campaigns as part of the Fit for Business grass roots sports support scheme.
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Pictured : Relay Recruitment Rovers captain and centre back, Usman Sheik, with the team and Relay managing director, Steven Street, showing off some of the trophies from four successful seasons.
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Now the club is hoping for a move from its Canal Road ground to one of the pitches being made available by the Council at Myra Shay. The reason, apart from improved facilities, is that most of the senior players live locally and, vitally, so do the majority of youth team members who play there now.
Manager, Shamshir Shah, who was also the founder of the successful BD3 grass roots football project and has been offered scouting roles with Leeds United said: “We are all about community development and there is nothing like sport for instilling in kids the importance of hard work, discipline, team playing and responsibility. Put simply, sport keeps young people on the straight and narrow.
“From a pragmatic point of view, the team’s success is grounded in having a viable pool of emerging talent available to take the place of older players. It would be incredibly useful if we could assess youngsters as they play on training pitches adjacent to our own. Also, they are a marvellous bunch of supporters.”
A final decision on allocations is expected from the Council shortly.
Said Relay managing director, Steven Street: “This football team is more than just a pub side turning out on a weekend for a kick about. It is an integral part of its community and is doing much to engineer cohesion there and a sense of purpose in its young people.
“As such, we are proud to back it. Sport is a vital preparation for the world of work, promoting physical and mental health, dedication, strategic thinking and succession management - and Relay Recruitment Rovers instills all these in its younger members. This is as worthy of praise as the senior player’s unprecedented achievements on the pitch.”
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Pictured : Relay Recruitment Rovers captain and centre back, Usman Sheik, with team sponsor, Steven Street, and young supporters, showing off some of the trophies from four successful seasons.
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Relay Recruitment Rovers were presented with their trophy on 5th June at the ILP Club, Bradford by Sunday Alliance League Chairman, Nigel Bennett. All the teams from all of leagues attended the ceremony.
The Bradford Sunday Alliance Football League currently has 114 teams playing Sunday morning football. Some of the clubs have reached a high standard and also compete in the FA Sunday Cup
BD3 United was established in Jan 2006, following a successful extended schools football activity exercise up by BD3 4 All and Sports Action Zone. Run by volunteers from the BD3 community, the team includes qualified coaches, parents, young students, and players from successful local football team, Relay Recruitment Rovers.
Objectives are to:
• Advance the sporting opportunities of 6 – 17-year-olds
• in the BD3 and surrounding area.
• Promote out of school activities.
• Promote and protect the good health (mental and physical) of the participants.
• Provide coaching and competitive opportunities in football.
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