⚽ Cornwall Football: How Plymouth Argyle’s Project 35 is tackling poverty in Cornwall
Plus: Fixtures announced for 2023/24 Western League campaign, while Liskeard and St Dennis will kick-off the new SWPL season on August 4
Good afternoon, readers!
The start of the 2023/24 campaign is just over a month away, and we have exciting plans to take our Cornish football coverage to the next level as soon as it all gets under way again.
We’ll be increasing our local football coverage next season and doubling the number of posts per week from two to four, and you’ll be able to access it all through our brand-new paid subscription service.
The service begins in late July, ahead of the 2023/24 season, but we’re inviting you to pledge a subscription now to help us gauge initial interest. Rest assured, you won’t be billed until we officially start the service in July.
A handful of you have signed up already and we’re really grateful for your support. Without it, we simply won’t be able to continue providing this coverage.
For more information, read the below: ⬇️
⬇️ In today’s newsletter ⬇️
📰 Today’s news briefing
💚 How Plymouth Argyle’s Project 35 is working with Ginsters to tackle poverty in Cornwall
🆚 Fixtures announced for 2023/24 Western League campaign
🆚 Liskeard and St Dennis to kick-off 2023/24 SWPL season
Enjoy. 〓〓
📰 Today’s news briefing
New managerial team: Penzance have announced Ashley Waters as their new first-team manager. Waters, who will be assisted at Penlee Park by head coach Matt James and director of football Craig Nicholls, succeeds former co-managers Adrian Ferrell and John McCallum, who left the club in May.
Duo join Seagulls: Mousehole’s preparations for their maiden Southern League campaign have continued with the signings of winger Tim Nixon from Falmouth Town and defender Josh Storey from Helston Athletic. Nixon, who won Town’s players’ player of the year award last season, became Jake Ash’s first summer signing at the weekend before former Blues skipper Storey’s move was announced on Wednesday.
Triple signing: St Blazey have further strengthened their squad ahead of their Western League bow with the signings of CJ Pritchard, Scott Piper and Jacob Smale. Pritchard, a striker, scored seven goals in 15 games for Dobwalls last season, while midfielder Piper scooped Bude Town’s manager’s, players’ and supporters’ player of the year awards last term. Attacking wide player Smale, meanwhile, scored 22 goals for Wadebridge Town and won the Bridgers’ players’ player of the year award.
Trophy time: Falmouth Town under-18s finally got their hands on their Kernow Youth Football League winners’ medals on Wednesday — six weeks after the end of their season. Town beat St Blazey 3-0 in their final game of the season on May 13 to clinch the title, and the team, led by manager Dave Turner, received the trophy and their individual medals at Bickland Park this week.
💚 How Plymouth Argyle’s Project 35 is working with Ginsters to tackle poverty in Cornwall
By Colin Bradbury
Project 35, Argyle’s award-winning social impact project in partnership with Ginsters, is reaching a special milestone as it celebrates 12 months of delivery. It has already made big strides towards its goal of tackling poverty in Devon and Cornwall.
Project 35, so named because 35 percent of children in some wards of Plymouth are reported to be living in poverty, is a joint project between Ginsters, Plymouth Argyle, and Argyle Community Trust. Its work led to Argyle recently being named EFL Sky Bet League One Community Club of the season, and Project 35 being named Best Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme at last month’s Football Business Awards.
Food poverty has been a particular focus, with Argyle Community Trust working with food redistribution charity FareShare South West at their distribution warehouse in Plymouth which serves organisations across Devon and Cornwall. Every week of the season, volunteers have been taking surplus food to churches and community groups in Cornwall – as far west as Penzance – for distribution to families in need.
The volunteers – called ‘Pledge 35’ volunteers – have been key to this.
Dan Hart, Head of Community Engagement at Argyle Community Trust, explains that the volunteers, Argyle fans and community members from across the South West, commit to giving 35 hours to voluntary projects.
He says: “Project 35 on its own isn’t big enough to solve the problem. A lot of it is about using the power of the badge to get supporters involved in the food support network – organisations that rely mostly on volunteers and don’t have that broad appeal. Some of that has resulted in food being supplied to charities, churches and other organisations in Cornwall.
“Just after we started, we put out a call for Pledge 35 volunteers and got 135 sign-ups. Quite a few have contributed many more than the 35 hours, and some supporters are travelling from Cornwall to Plymouth to take part in the work.”
Project 35 has also linked with Argyle Community Trust’s very popular Soccer Roadshows, events that take place during school holidays. Dedicated Project 35 Roadshows were hosted offering free places to identified young people who may not normally have had the opportunity.
The Trust ran a special soccer roadshow in Ginsters’ hometown of Callington at the end of last year. This was the biggest Project 35-specific day so far and as well as the football, there was a big food element. The day was spiced up by the presence of Argyle mascot Pilgrim Pete and first team stars Danny Mayor and Macaulay Gillesphey, with all participants heading home with a new Argyle home shirt as a souvenir of the day.
The Trust also runs a Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme at several centres across Cornwall. Dan says: “The HAF programme is free and is aimed at young people from challenging backgrounds. We are working in underserved areas in Plymouth and Cornwall, and we use demographic data to identify areas where the highest proportion of kids and families face multiple barriers, to employment, for example, and are suffering from food poverty in general. It shows us where the likely need is.
“Kids, sign up via a code given to them by their school to confirm that they’re on Pupil Premium funding, so we know we’re targeting the right people.”
Modelled partly on Marcus Rashford’s initiative during Covid-19, participants are given daily lunches and food for the weekend, all supplied by Ginsters, who have pledged 100,000 items to this project. The idea for providing weekend food came from listening to the kids.
Dan says: “We found that the children were being fed during the week at these events and then were coming back saying the family were struggling to feed them at the weekend. So we looked at weekend hunger and Ginsters now provides a range of their products to fill that gap.”
Since the project started, 1,162 young people in Cornwall have received 3,600 items of Ginsters products, ranging from pasties and slices to sausage rolls.
Dan says: “We try and also enrich the programmes with some workshops – around nutrition, Ginsters chefs doing pasty-making workshops to give people a new skillset etc.”
As Project 35 moves into its second year, there are plans afoot to expand its reach. In May, the ‘Argyle in Aprons’ programme got under way with the aim of delivering adult food education programmes to promote sustainable and healthy cooking at home. Food education programmes for single dads are also in the pipeline.
Dan says: “Projects will be trialled in Plymouth, and successful programmes rolled out in Cornwall as well. We’re submitting our Year Two Project 35 development plan in the next month, and in the new season we’re looking to double the activities we deliver.
“We want to replicate programmes that have been successful in combatting wider poverty related issues in Plymouth in Cornwall so we’re servicing as many of our communities as possible.”
The key to all this is the support of Argyle’s long-term partners, Ginsters. Dan says simply: “Ginsters see this as a long-term project. They are committed to it.”
Ginsters Managing Director, Sam Mitchell added: “Supporting our local community is extremely important to us and we are proud to have been part of the creation of Project 35. Our team have been involved from the start, pledging more than 600 hours of volunteering time, on top of the food support we are able to provide. It means a lot to each of us to be able to contribute and see the impact personally.”
🆚 Fixtures announced for 2023/24 Western League campaign
By Matt Friday
The fixtures for the 2023/24 Western League Premier Division season have been revealed.
The campaign starts on Saturday, July 29 with last year’s South West Peninsula League Premier West champions St Blazey making their Western League bow at home to Les Phillips Cup runners-up Shepton Mallet. The Mallet’s cup final conquerors, Helston Athletic, are also at home on the opening day, with Wellington making the trip to Kellaway Park.
Mackenzie Brown will begin his reign as Saltash United manager with a trip to newly-promoted Oldland Abbotonians, while his replacements at Millbrook — former second team bosses Richard Washburn and Danny Medlin — start on home soil with Bridgwater United pitching up at Jenkins Park.
The remainder of the opening weekend from a Cornish perspective sees Andrew Westgarth’s Falmouth Town head to SWPL Premier East champions Brixham, while Dean Cardew’s Torpoint Athletic entertain Western League Division One play-off winners Nailsea & Tickenham.
The season is due to end on Saturday, April 20, 2024, with the new promotion play-offs for teams finishing between second and fifth due to take place the following week. The Les Phillips Cup final is set to bring the curtain down on the season once again, although an exact date is yet to be determined.
Opening fixtures
Saturday, July 29
Brixham v Falmouth Town
Helston Athletic v Wellington
Millbrook v Bridgwater United
Oldland Abbotonians v Saltash United
St Blazey v Shepton Mallet
Torpoint Athletic v Nailsea & Tickenham
Tuesday, August 1
Buckland Athletic v Torpoint Athletic
Falmouth Town v St Blazey
Saltash United v Helston Athletic
Festive fixtures
Boxing Day (Tuesday, December 26)
Falmouth Town v Helston Athletic
Saltash United v St Blazey
Torpoint Athletic v Millbrook
Good Friday (Friday, March 29, 2024)
Helston Athletic v Falmouth Town
Millbrook v Torpoint Athletic
St Blazey v Saltash United
📰 Sponsor this newsletter
Are you a business interested in supporting the Cornwall Football newsletter through sponsorship or advertising?
Drop us a message on: info@cornwallsportsmedia.co.uk and let’s talk.
🆚 Liskeard and St Dennis to kick-off 2023/24 SWPL season
By Matt Friday
The 2023/24 South West Peninsula League Premier West fixtures have also been revealed.
The campaign starts on Friday, August 4 with last year’s third-placed side Liskeard Athletic, now led by Darren Gilbert, welcoming St Dennis to Lux Park. The majority of the league get going a day later with Dane Bunney’s Bodmin Town entertaining Bude Town on Saturday, while Dean Southcott begins life as Callington Town boss with a trip to Camelford.
Chris Knight will begin his third spell in charge of St Austell with a home game against currently managerless Penzance, Rob Carey’s Mullion welcome Steve Flack’s Sticker to Clifden Parc, while Paul Rowe takes his Wadebridge Town side to Pennygillam to face Launceston.
Rounding off the opening weekend is a clash between Ben Washam’s Dobwalls and Devon outfit Holsworthy, who have been transferred over from the SWPL Premier East. Newly-promoted Truro City reserves, who won the St Piran League West last term, and Newquay requested the weekend off while last year’s runners-up Wendron United have been left out as they could be in FA Cup action.
The season is due to end on Saturday, April 27, 2024, with the Walter C Parson League Cup final due to take place nine days later on Monday, May 6, and the Champions Bowl match between the winners of the SWPL’s east and west divisions set to be held on Saturday, May 11.
Opening fixtures
Friday, August 4
Liskeard Athletic v St Dennis
Saturday, August 5
Bodmin v Bude Town
Camelford v Callington Town
Dobwalls v Holsworthy
Launceston v Wadebridge Town
Mullion v Sticker
St Austell v Penzance
Tuesday, August 8
Bude Town v Callington Town
Launceston v Liskeard Athletic
Penzance v Mullion
Wednesday, August 9
Bodmin Town v Camelford
Sticker v St Austell
Wadebridge Town v Dobwalls
Friday, August 11
Callington Town v Wadebridge Town
Saturday, August 12
Bude Town v Wendron United
Camelford v Dobwalls
Holsworthy v Bodmin Town
Mullion v St Austell
Festive fixtures
Boxing Day (Tuesday, December 26)
Bodmin Town v Wadebridge Town
Bude Town v Holsworthy
Callington Town v Launceston
Dobwalls v Liskeard Athletic
Mullion v Wendron United
Newquay v St Austell
Penzance v Truro City reserves
Sticker v St Dennis
Good Friday (Friday, March 29, 2024)
Holsworthy v Bude Town
Launceston v Callington Town
St Austell v Newquay
St Dennis v Sticker
Truro City reserves v Penzance
Wadebridge Town v Bodmin Town
Wendron United v Mullion
Easter Saturday (Saturday, March 30, 2024)
Liskeard Athletic v Dobwalls
See you next time!
Follow us on Twitter: @sportscornwall
Follow us on Facebook: @cornwallsportsmedia
Follow us on Instagram: @cornwallsportsmedia
Visit our website: cornwallsportsmedia.co.uk
