Today marks one year since the Alsager Football Group put on its first match. Every Friday at 7pm the group hosts a football match at Alsager Sports Hub, which is open to the local community and its surrounding areas.
The Alsager Football Group grew a lot in the past year, with up to 28 attending each week, from areas including Alsager, Audley, Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent.
Reflecting its identity as an open group, the Alsager Football Group has welcomed players as young as 15 and as old as 70, including club players with years of experience and those getting back into football after spending years away from the pitch.
The group was founded when its organiser, Samuel Johnson, saw the need for an inclusive football group that anyone who enjoyed playing the sport could get involved with.
He said: “I actually started the Alsager Football Group after trying to get some extra people for another group I play with, because we were short on players that night. I put a message on the ‘What’s going on in Alsager’ Facebook group and was surprised that so many were interested.
“It made me see the need for a community football group that wasn’t exclusive and that people didn’t need to commit to every week.
“We started off playing a six-a-side game, but we’ve grown so much that sometimes we’ll play 11-a-side. And when our numbers are at their highest, we’ll even do two seven-a-side games.
“Setting up the group has been a rewarding experience and it’s allowed me to meet some great people and play the sport I’m so passionate in my own town.”
Anyone interested in joining the Alsager Football Group should email alsagerfootballgroup@gmail.com or contact the group on Facebook.
Alsager News 