As announced previously on the club website and through social media, Joe Croker has taken over as Chairman of Crowborough Athletic Football Club, following the resignation of Clive Maynard. Joe has already recruited a new Executive Committee, proposed and elected by club members in an Extraordinary General Meeting, and work has begun in earnest to address the challenges of the current situation following the Covid-19 outbreak, and to plan for the secure future of The Crows.
Joe is a well-known figure in local football, having guided Tunbridge Wells to their first ever Wembley appearance in the FA Vase Final in 2013 in his role as Chairman (where they were narrowly beaten by 2-1 by Spennymoor Town) and more recently for his work at Rusthall, which saw the Rustics promoted from Division 1 of the Southern Counties East to the Premier in 2017 for the first time in their history, along with overseeing terrific improvements to the pitch and stadium at Jockey Farm. In between times, Joe served a season on the Executive Committee at The Crows, so he is returning to a club he knows well and has a tremendous affection for.
We asked Joe how he felt about returning to The Crows, what he sees as the key challenges, and what plans are afoot to secure the future of the club at such a difficult time.
“Knowing the club as well as I do, and having enjoyed watching the First team play regularly over the last few seasons, it was an easy decision to put myself forward for the role as Chairman when the call came. There are some great people here, with a “can do” attitude, and if I can mix that collective enthusiasm with my own experience in non-league football at this level, then we hopefully have a bright future, from the First team right down to our youngest juniors. We want to compete at all levels, right through the club, and we’ll be making sure that everything is in place to make that happen”
“I think the challenges are always the same for clubs at this level – making sure realistic finances are in place to pay the bills and making sure that we have robust governance right throughout the club. We need to pull together, at all levels and on all fronts, with everyone clear on what’s expected of them and everyone prepared to speak openly and honestly about anything they feel could be better – we’ve had some really good debates already!”
“The club is in reasonable health and we have a good base to build from, but there’s lots of work to do, given all the uncertainty ahead. We still have significant outgoings, with virtually no income for obvious reasons, and we need to work closely with people of Crowborough, Crowborough Town Council, all our sponsors, our supporters, our Coaches, our players and our parents to make sure that we have explored every avenue so that we can survive the current crisis and take the club forward. We need to plan and be pro-active and I’m very keen to get all those conversations underway as soon as possible, either under the current rules on social distancing or through the magic of the internet – I’d like to meet people in person and shake some hands but that’s not going to be possible for a while yet”
“We’re keen to get playing again too, not only because that’s why we’re all here but because we know the stresses and strains that everyone has been under recently, and we are slowly managing to get all our teams out on to the training pitch again, closely adhering to guidance from the government and the FA. We feel that this will benefit everyone’s mental health and longer-term resilience, even if the start date for the season remains uncertain”
“So, if you are a key supporter of The Crows in the broadest sense, we should talk! I’d love to hear from you. This is a great club with a long history and a strong presence in the community, and we need the community to work with us to get us through this tricky period, and make sure that The Crows can look forward to another successful 125 years, though I’m not sure I’ll still be the Chairman then! ”

If you have any suggestions or questions regarding Crowborough Athletic Football Club, or you feel you can help with fundraising or sponsorship, or you simply want to know when the next game is or how you can join one of our teams, please contact one of the following people;

Chairman - Joe Croker - CAFCchairman@outlook.com
Club Secretary – Iona Walsh – CAFCSec@outlook.com 07585 705320
Press & Media – Mark Matthews – CAFCMedia@outlook.com 07896 412824
Club Welfare Officer – Stuart Dixon – CAFCSafeguarding@outlook.com 07557 107445

All press and media enquiries should be sent to Mark Matthews – CAFCMedia@outlook.com 07896 412824 in the first instance please.

Website ; www.crowboroughathletic.com
Twitter ; @CrowboroughAFC
Insta ; crowborough_athleticfc
LinkedIn ; https://www.linkedin.com/in/crowborough-athletic-fc-396a171b0/