Dear Parents & Guardians,

📷On behalf of all at St Joseph’s Football Club I would like to extend a warm welcome to both new and returning players for the 2022/2023 season. We are delighted with the number of young players that have returned to football action in recent weeks, with numbers healthy across all age groups from U6 to U15 and the club currently cater for more than 300 children from the local community. This would not be possible without the work and dedication of our coaches, managers, committee members and volunteers who give freely of their time week after week for the benefit of your children. A massive thanks to them for all their efforts.

We are always looking for more help and have several volunteer gaps across our age groups. It is very important that we have a good coach to player ratio, both for the safety and the development of the children. This is particularly important for the younger age groups who need more focused attention. Please reach out to your child’s team coaches or any committee member to see how you can help.

For the season ahead, we will continue to use the ClubZap app which has proved to be a very valuable addition in the last couple of years (https://clubzap.com/download). The app is used for club and team communications, player and member registrations and for making online payments.

Registration: It is important that all children are fully registered with the club. No child will be allowed play in the league until they have completed the on-line registration and payment. This is a league requirement and not within the control of the club. If your child is not yet registered please reach out to the team coach.

Training Fees: The approach to collection of training fees will continue as per the last few seasons where we utilised an online payment system. Payment can be paid up front in one lump sum, or in two staged payments as follows:

The fees for the older age groups also incorporates referee fees. For every age group, this payment approach represents a saving to all households relative to the previous cash collection approach at each training session. Training fee payments to be made on-line through ClubZap App (via the Club Shop) or through the club website (https://sjfc.ie/products). St Joseph’s FC do not own any of our training or playing facilities and must pay rental costs for the use of all astro and grass pitch facilities. These fees have steadily risen over the last number of years and currently cost the club approx €1,000 per week. The collection of the training fee helps cover these costs and is vital for the continuing financial viability of the club.

Final word goes to our 300+ players who represent the club so well each week. I would like to wish them the very best for the season ahead. I hope they have fun, make friends, stay fit & healthy, and continue to develop a love for the game. Hopefully we can also match some of the success we saw last year.

As always, should you have any questions, concerns or issues that you wish to raise feel free to contact any member of the committee. Contact details are available on the St Joseph’s FC website (www.sjfc.ie).

Many thanks,

Stephen Flynn (Club Chairperson)