A volunteer-run football team celebrated a donation from a property development company which helped them get kitted out.
The donation of £1,500 to Bicester Town Colts U11s, given by Cala Homes Cotswolds, has allowed the team to purchase fresh home and away kits, training jackets, and a gazebo to keep spectators dry.
Reliant on financial and volunteer support from the community, the team plays in the Witney and District Youth Football League and is managed by Duncan Marshall.
Read more: Roads closed amid burst water pipe and severe flooding
The donation from Cala Homes Cotswolds will not only benefit existing players, but also help the club attract new talent and encourage children to socialise and exercise through football.
Mr Marshall said: “Bicester Town Colts is a volunteer-run community club, with teams starting from under eights.
“We take pride in nurturing talent and being an inclusive community hub for our players and their families.
“The new season is set to be a really exciting one as we continue to grow and move into nine-a-side competitions, but the club’s growth and activity simply wouldn’t be possible without funding and sponsorships from generous organisations such as Cala.
“We’re so grateful for their support.”
He added: “With the Lionesses’ victory in the summer and the upcoming World Cup, lots of children have shown an interest in getting involved in football and the children feel like professionals in their smart new Cala kits.
“It’s great to see the children wearing them with such pride.”
Around half of the Bicester Colts U11s team attend St Edburg’s primary school, located on Cala’s Kingsmere development and next year will likely progress to the new Whitelands Academy, also situated on the development.
Kingsmere offers a collection of two-bedroom apartments and two, three and four-bedroom homes.
Managing Director of Cala Cotswolds Andrew Dicker said: “From working with local schools to supporting sports teams like this, at Cala we always strive to engage with the communities in which we build to make a lasting, positive contribution to the area.
“We’re really looking forward to hearing how the team get on this season, kitted out in the new Cala branding.
“But the results aren’t really what’s important here, it’s about being part of developing young sporting talent and making a real difference to local families.”
Bicester Town Colts Football Club is a charter standard club with full affiliation to the Oxfordshire Football Association.
It runs teams from non-competitive five-year-olds through to 18-year-olds at youth level and on to men’s football.
For more information on community support from Cala Homes Cotswolds, head to https://www.cala.co.uk/social-value/
Read more from this author
This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.
Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1
A message from our Editor
Thank you for reading this story and supporting the Oxford Mail.
If you like what we do please consider getting a subscription for the Oxford Mail and in return we’ll give you unrestricted access with less adverts across our website from the latest news, investigations, features, and sport.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok for more.
You can also join the conversation in our Facebook groups: stay ahead of traffic alerts here, keep up to date with the latest from court here, share your favourite memories of Oxford here, get your daily dose of celebrity news here and take some time out with news that will make you smile.
If you’ve got a story for our reporters, send us your news here. You can also list an event for free here.