ll parts of Cambridge United have come together to welcome our neighbours at the Cambridge Central Mosque in Mill Road.  We have provided a number of gift packs in time for Ramadan which begins on Monday April 12th and continues until the 12th May. 

Cambridge Fans United have been working with Fans for Diversity a national project orgainsed by the Football Supporters' Association and Kick It Out.  Fans for Diversity aims are to celebrate diversity in football to ensure all fans feel safe and welcome at the game, regardless of; age, disability, gender, race, faith, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. CFU were able to be one of the supporter groups taking part in the national project celebrating Ramadan through our contacts at Fans For Diversity https://thefsa.org.uk/our-work/fans-for-diversity/

The gifts included food items that can be used throughout the period, club calendars and footballs which were provided by the Cambridge United Community Trust. 

Cambridge United is a football club, it is also a community football club.  It is really important that we build closer relationships with everyone locally. Football provides a unique opportunity to do this.  Both football clubs and Mosques during the past year have been responsible for so much good work throughout their communities. We should be working  and building on these foundations  together. 

Nather Al-Khatib CambsFA Board Director (IAG) said " It is a great opportunity to be engaging with the local community during Ramadan by Cambridge United and Fans for Diversity. I hope we can build on these positive steps to engage more communities in such a diverse city. Football is a great platform to bring people from all backgrounds together, and can be used to inspire the next generation." 

Anwar Uddin from Fans for Diversity said " I think it's brilliant the club are working with the Fans for Diversity campaign to engage with the whole city. The Muslim community celebrate Ramadan this month and for the club to acknowledge and support that is testament to their work on inclusion. The club has a great history and a terrific fanbase and it's important as many people in the city have an opportunity to be part of that and support their local football club".

Shahida Rahman Trustee, Cambridge Central Mosque- Cambridge Central Mosque were delighted to welcome everyone involved in the project celebrating diversity in football.  On behalf of the Mosque I would like to thank those involved for the generous Ramadan packs that were presented to us. We hope to continue and expand our relationship with Cambridge United Football Club and our local community, for projects that will benefit the youth, both boys and girls in the future.

The Cambridge Central Mosque was opened to the public on in 2019. With its emphasis on sustainability and high reliance on green energy, the mosque is Europe's first eco-mosque. In addition to the mosque's dedicated areas (ablution, teaching, children's area, morgue), there is a café, teaching area and meeting rooms for use by the local Muslim and non-Muslim communities. It can accommodate up to 1000 worshippers.

Take care, be loud, be Proud and be United.
 
Please contact me via dave.matthew-jones@cambridge-united.co.uk or follow what is happening 
via the 

www.facebook.com/CambridgeUnitedFootballClub facebook site
www.cambridgefansunited.org website or via twitter SLO@CambridgeUTD

CFU are working hard at helping the football club become more diverse and inclusive. We want our football club to be at the Centre of the community in the city of Cambridge. We live in a multi-cultural city and want the Abbey Stadium to be welcoming place for everyone.

As a supporters trust we have recently set up and established a new community relationship on behalf of the football club, by approaching and welcoming to the club our neighbours at the Cambridge Central Mosque in Mill Road. Through Cambridge Fans United’s contacts with Fans for Diversity, a national project organized by the Football Supporters' Association and Kick it out, we were able to lead the way, along with Charlton Athletic ,in being one of the only EFL clubs to provide a number of gift packs in time for Ramadan, which begins on Monday April 12th and continues until the 12th May. The gifts included food items that can be used throughout the period, and some gifts from the football club, including club calendars and footballs which were provided by the Cambridge United Community Trust.

One thing the pandemic has taught us is that we need to look out for one another. It is really important that we build closer relationships with everyone locally. Football provides a unique opportunity.It can unite people from all backgrounds. Both football clubs and Mosques during the past year have been responsible for doing so much good work throughout their communities. We should be working together and building on these foundations ,supporting one another.

Shahida Rahman Trustee, Cambridge Central Mosque said; ‘’ We’re delighted to welcome everyone involved in the project celebrating diversity in football. On behalf of the Mosque I would like to thank those involved for the generous Ramadan packs that were presented to us. We hope to continue and expand our relationship with Cambridge United Football Club and our local community, for projects that will benefit the youth, both boys and girls in the future’’.

As a supporters organization it is hoped, on behalf of the football club and Community Trust, that we can help by building on these positive steps to engage more communities in such a diverse city and to engage more with our local communities, spreading the word about our football club and giving the football club a more visual presence within the city through building relationships with people.

We were recently asked by many fans if we could ask the club about the possibility of the club being able to have another successful pilot scheme game for the last home game of the season versus Grimsby. We have chatted with Ian Mather at length . While the club would love to welcome fans back with open arms the decision is ultimately out of their hand., The government are not allowing fans into stadiums in any capacity until the 17TH May at the earliest. Hopefully with restrictions slowly being eased, and if the number of cases of the virus remain low ,we can resume some normality soon, fingers crossed we will be watching the U’s in League 1 and the abbey will be rocking once more!.

CFU will continue to talk with the football club and assist them in whatever capacity is needed to ensure that we can get fans back in the Abbey at the earliest opportunity. Please keep supporting the U’s and getting behind the team with buying your ifollow match passes.

Finally,on behalf of our members, CFU would like to offer our deepest sympathy to the Royal Family on the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke was a keen sportsman and it should never be forgotten that his Award Scheme reached out to and included disability groups long before anyone ever mentioned the words inclusion or diversity. He understood that everyone’s challenges are different and that we can all experience achievement, meaningfully. Despite his illustrious position, he understood that everyone can and should be valued for what they offer. I am sure that he would have approved of what we are trying to do.

RIP, Sir.

CFU serving our fans and the community

Ben Phillips Andrew Stephen

After nearly nine months of planning and waiting for them to be installed, having been delayed due to recent covid restrictions, it was great to see the new Scoreboards installed and operating in time for the match against Forest Green Rovers. It was the first time in nearly thirty years that the Abbey Stadium had had a working scoreboard. Not just one working scoreboard, but this time two - at either end of the ground. One above the disabled stand at the North End and one on the face of the Control Box, adjacent to the South Stand.

It was very much a learning exercise for our newly installed scoreboard operators. When the installers left having fitted them, the boards were still in test mode and we didn’t receive the operating instructions until the Friday afternoon before the match.  This meant everything had to be re-programmed and re-designed to get them working.
It was a magnificent achievement by everyone involved to get them ready in time for kick off. 

However, during the past few weeks a lot more programming has been completed. We have been trying to get the correct fonts and backgrounds ready for today’s match along with organising adverts and visuals to fit the screens.
It may take a little while to get everything working 100 per cent to our satisfaction but with each match, we will see our knowledge grow and improvements and additions will be made as we go along.

One thing we have been told is that in future the clock is not allowed to show more than forty-five minutes for each half. It is probably a good idea because I was a nervous wreck waiting for the final whistle to be blown.

The Scoreboards were organised and paid for by the CUFCLottery. We need to also to thank A R Aspinall & Son for paying for the clocks on them.This has been one of several projects undertaken by the group over the past year during the pandemic. The purchase of the tractor used by the ground team on non-matchdays to prepare the pitch, the provision of the grass seed and the additional hand driers which will be available for use when crowds return.

The CUFCLottery is helping to improve the supporters experience and there are still many projects that still require to be done.  Join the CUFCLottery and help us complete them. You can also win money yourself in the weekly draws.

Entry costs just £2 per week.

The website is https://www.cufclottery.co.uk/ to join or find out more about the lottery.

Please contact me via dave.matthew-jones@cambridge-united.co.uk or follow what is happening 

via the www.facebook.com/CambridgeUnitedFootballClub facebook site

www.cambridgefansunited.org website​ or now via twitter SLO@CambridgeUTD

Thank you for your continued support of the CUFC Lottery.

CUFC Lottery 'Accumulator' Results (09 April 2021) - this weeks winning 'Accumulator' numbers are (6349)
-there were no winners of the weekly 'Accumulator' this week, meaning next weeks 'Accumulator' will be £1600.

CUFC Lottery 'Main Draw' Results (09 April 2021) - this weeks winning 'Main Draw' numbers are (1635)
-there were no winners of the 'Main Draw' jackpot this week.
-next weeks 'Main Draw' jackpot will be £300.00.

As the 'Main Draw' jackpot was not won this week
-there are 0 Lottery members matching the first pair
-there is 1 CUFC Lottery member matching the second pair winning £10.00

If you are a winner of either the 'Accumulator' or 'Main Draw' you will be notified individually by email.

Yours sincerely,
the CUFC Lottery Team,
https://www.cufclottery.co.uk

“If you want to go fast ,go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.
 
The first time I went to a game in Morecambe, in 2007, I confess that I was much more interested in the town’s fortunate connection with Eric Morecambe and with its superbly restored Art Deco seafront hotel. It seemed to be full of derelict buildings, vague memories of a prosperous past and a very impressive and seriously underused railway station.
 
Since then, Morecambe has undergone a bit of a revival, the club has moved to a new ground and has become established in the Football League. Several years under long serving former centre half Jim Bentley made them notoriously hard to beat, if not much fun to watch. We have come a long way too, since Charles Ademeno and Courtney Pitt terrorised defences in the Conference. Sadly, we weren’t able to be there to enjoy our 5 nil win at Morecambe earlier this season, a result which looks even more impressive , given Morecambe’s excellent results since then. They are challenging for promotion like us and, like us, must be looking forward to the season’s climax.
It's a shame that Kevin Ellison has moved on, although he clearly enjoyed scoring against Morecambe a few weeks ago. He is a real character and had some hilarious banter with Habbin North over the years. Two years ago the impressively bald Ellison told us that he was desperate for a haircut. “And plastic surgery”, some unkind Habbinite shouted back. Football needs characters like him but there aren’t so many about.

We can anticipate a much tougher game at home. No doubt the Shrimps will have worked out that record goalscorer Paul Mullin and midfield wizard Wes Hoolahan are a threat to any defence. Kyle Knoyle, Jack Iredale and Hiram Boateng are in wonderful form. Who isn’t?! United produced some scintillating football in the first half at Carlisle and we could have been 3 up by the interval. We have a side which never gives up, as scoring right at the end of each half clearly shows. We are top of the league on merit. It is no fluke. No opponents will be taken for granted but, at the top of our game, we are more than a match for any team, however much money they have spent. We haven’t seen Harrison on the rampage for a while. I suspect the Friday will be his day.
 
Andrew Stephen.

You will have seen the opportunity to have a photograph from your seat for you to remind you of the feeling of being at the Abbey.

CFU are offering an enhanced version with 360° view, Audiotrak and Smellivision.

360° view will allow you to:

• Watch the traffic jam on Newmarket Road,
• See what the cows are doing on Coldham’s Common,
• Have occasional blanks as people pass by:
  • Latecomers
  • Leave early to beat the rush at the bar at half time
  • Leave early to beat the rush at the end
  • Food break
  • Toilet break
  • The “I’m not putting up with any more of this rubbish” people.

Audiotrak allows you to hear the sounds from your seat:

• That family whose kids are always wanting more to eat then leave most of the food behind,
• The toddler crying at their first ever match that wants to go home
• The bloke behind who is always moaning about the players not being as good as those from the past,
• Occasional soundbites from Johnno/Doug or the away commentary team,
• The tinny sound from headphones of someone listening to the radio,
• The person to the left who always shouts out what the manager should be doing,
• The group of girls who keep talking about anything but football,
• The group of youths to the right who keep trying to start a chant but stop at the swear words because their parents are there.

Smellivision gives you the smells:

• Bacon and onions from the food outlets,
• Strong perfume mix from the group of girls,
• B.O. of the person 2 rows in front who is wearing his lucky “never been washed” shirt,
• Depending on the wind direction either the manure from the allotments or the indescribable smell of the NRE urinals.

 
All this can be delivered to your very own inbox for only £9.99 (+ P & P of £29.99)

Thank you for your continued support of the CUFC Lottery.

CUFC Lottery 'Accumulator' Results (26 March 2021) - this weeks winning 'Accumulator' numbers are (5071)
-there were no winners of the weekly 'Accumulator' this week, meaning next weeks 'Accumulator' will be £1500.

CUFC Lottery 'Main Draw' Results (26 March 2021) - this weeks winning 'Main Draw' numbers are (8627)
-there were no winners of the 'Main Draw' jackpot this week.
-next weeks 'Main Draw' jackpot will be £300.00.

As the 'Main Draw' jackpot was not won this week
-there are 2 CUFC Lottery members matching the first pair winning £10.00 each
-there are 3 CUFC Lottery members matching the second pair winning £10.00 each

If you are a winner of either the 'Accumulator' or 'Main Draw' you will be notified individually by email.

Yours sincerely,
the CUFC Lottery Team,
https://www.cufclottery.co.uk

When I first became Fans Elected Director (FED) following a vote by members of CFU I was given two additional roles by the club. The first was inherited from Colin Proctor and was to assist Ian and Mick with work around the Abbey Stadium. The second was the role of Supporters Liaison Officer (SLO). The roles of SLO and FED are both about representing and assisting all supporters. Within my remit is the following line: “The main aims of the Fans’ Elected Director are to represent CFU and all supporters’ interests.”  
 
To carry out all these roles I have no budget. I have to beg, borrow and re-use whatever I can, whenever I can. Thankfully, both CFU and CUFC Lottery (organised by members of CFU) have been able to help with finance, assistance and advice to ensure that the projects have been completed where possible. These projects have been done on behalf of all supporters and not just Trust members. Both home and away supporters have benefitted from the changes made around the ground[DM1] [DM2] . 
 
During recent years when I have spoken to or worked with politicians, national groups and other club representatives I have done so with the premise that the supporters trust works for everyone and is representative of everyone involved with the football club. I am a firm believer that issues change at a National Level and at that is where to find the most amount of help.  
 
Since the pandemic started the welfare of all supporters has been at the forefront of my thoughts. With the support of CFU we were firstly able to create the “You are Never Alone” programme last year which signposts supporters to national organisations and then “Abbey Chat” which is about listening. We have built a team of volunteers to assist with this. Now at a National Level the Football Supporters Association (FSA) has started #Terracetalk which is based on the above and recognises our concerns at a National Level.  It also going to be a long-term campaign capturing the work being down by supporter groups across the country. 
 
Diversity is another area where work has already commenced and, through my contacts at the FSA, we have been able to commence work with Anwar (Fans for Diversity) on making our club more diverse.  Communities are changing everywhere and football clubs need to change with them. Clubs cannot any longer rely just on the traditional groups to build their supporter base.  Unless clubs change with the times then they will no longer be the local football club and the fan base will shrink and become smaller with each generation. We need to welcome all groups and individuals and we must make sure that everyone is welcomed and feels comfortable. 
 
While talking about coming to the match we need to re-build the links that will see existing supporters come back when lockdown allows. It will be over a year before many will have been able to start coming again. Football is a social event that sees many supporters come to matches especially to meet and mix with families and friends. During the past year those links and support mechanisms have disappeared for many fans. Some will find other means to fulfil their social needs whilst many others will have lost the habit / routine of coming on match day. 
 
Preparing for the return of supporters to matches will require us to work on improving all areas of the matchday for all supporters. We need to aim for perfection everywhere if we can. The EFL has schemes such as “Family Excellence” and “The Away Supporter Experience” for us to use to improve upon and ensure everyone’s experience when dealing with the club is a good one, shared by everyone. 
 
Jock Stein once said "Without fans who pay at the turnstile, football is nothing. Sometimes we are inclined to forget that. The only chance of bringing them into stadiums is if they are entertained by what happens on the football field." however, nowadays for supporters it needs to be about far more than just what goes on the green area
 
Please contact me via dave.matthew-jones@cambridge-united.co.uk or follow what is happening 
via the www.facebook.com/CambridgeUnitedFootballClub facebook site
www.cambridgefansunited.org website​ or now via twitter SLO@CambridgeUTD

The Trust Board met on Monday 8th March 2021 via Zoom. Those present were
Andrew Stephen (Chairman), Dave Matthew-Jones, Margaret Pearson, Frank Pearson (Secretary), Paul Moffat, Colin Proctor, Robert Osbourn, Nigel Browne, Terry Wilby, Carl Badcock, Gina Heath, Alex Nix, Leanne Huff, Martin Chapman, Ben Phillips and Emma Smith.
 
The following is an abbreviated version of the minutes of the meeting.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

1. Welcome and apologies

Everyone in attendance.
 

1. Minutes and Matters Arising

The minutes were accepted as read. Emma introduced herself.
                       

1. Reports

1.  Membership (Terry): Now 304 thus reversing decline. There are fans in Norway.
2. Treasurer (Paul): Both annual and February’s accounts have been sent to Trust Board members. February showed a profit of £2,472 and liquid assets of £121k. Year-end accounts need to be signed by Robert and Frank. Dave will add annual accounts to the CFU website.
3.   Coconuts (Nigel): We have been contacted by the Museum of Technology about a July event. More donations are being followed up by Andy Fox. Last year’s Hall of Fame dinner needs to be reorganised as tickets are already paid for. Pat Morgan is working on Andrew Bennett’s books.
   
4. Lottery (Nigel): The jackpot is now £1,300. There are 164 members. Hopefully the scoreboards will be up soon.
5. CUSP (Nigel): Andrew has had discussions with various people including James Mills. Andrew hopes the document he produced will make clear the differing roles. CFU remains independent of the CUFC Board.                                                
6.   SLO/FED: Debate led by Dave.

• He had already circulated details of the meetings he had attended during the last month:
  
• He had spoken to Andy’s Man Club.

• Had a positive meeting with Anwar Uddin (Fans for Diversity) concerning Diversity and Equality. He can provide additional resources and expertise. It will need responsibilities to be worked out between CUCT, CUFC and CFU. Perhaps a 3 to 5-year plan with long and short-term goals could be drawn up. The Club must respond to changes in society. Links with the Women’s Team could be improved. 
• CFU will have a clearer idea about our role once CUFC and CUCT respond and then we can prioritise.
• Other ideas: involve Disability teams; provide area for the old and vulnerable; set up Andy’s Man Club at the ground.
  
• Robert reminded us that post Covid everything will be different, and we need to take opportunities that change will give us.
• Dave and Paul have worked with FSA about how clubs report to their fans.

 
4.  AOB

• Ben said that plans to allow alcohol in NRE  continue.
• Ben proposed and it was agreed that all the money raised by membership since re-launch should be used to fund one or more of our new projects.

 

It looks unfortunately like it will still be a while before we can welcome the return of everyone at the abbey therefore we would like fans to contact us (cambridgefansunited@outlook.com), with your Block, row and seat number in the main stand and we will reply to you with a photo of the view from your seat.

There is still time to sign up for CFU and become a member. If you sign up currently, we are offering new members a discount in the club shop. We have over 300 members now and will be shortly hosting our first Player Q & A for CFU members. If you would like to find out membership details, please visit; www.cambridgefansunited.org

CFU has being proactive again in last couple of weeks in several ways. The Abbey ward area is the most deprived ward in the city of Cambridge, and we want to be able to help people who are our neighbours within proximity of the abbey stadium, as well as the wider community. We have recently set up two new relationships within the abbey ward area.

We visited the Cambridge Cyrenians Community Garden project, they provide work experience, therapeutic horticulture sessions and a supportive network to anyone who is rough sleeping or living in a hostel or who maybe vulnerable to homelessness. The site of the community project is based directly behind the south stand of the stadium on the whitehill road allotments. The community group relies a lot on donations and support from local people for the project to run annually. Members of the CUFC Lottery and CFU donated some much-needed funds to ensure the project could buy items needed to keep the allotment maintained.

We have also been in contact with Nicky Shepard the CEO for Abbey People, who is working closely with Barnwell Baptist church at providing an Abbey food hub in the ward. We have discussed how as a supporter trust we can offer support to the food hub and how to encourage fans to donate items and help. We have created a flyer for fans highlighting the details of when visits to the food hub can happen for donations and for those who maybe in need to use the hub.

CFU is working hard at reaching out to people within the community and helping others and will continue to try and make a difference for everyone!

United in Endeavour
Ben Phillips

Thank you for your continued support of the CUFC Lottery.

CUFC Lottery 'Accumulator' Results (19 March 2021) - this weeks winning 'Accumulator' numbers are (4081)
-there were no winners of the weekly 'Accumulator' this week, meaning next weeks 'Accumulator' will be £1450.

CUFC Lottery 'Main Draw' Results (19 March 2021) - this weeks winning 'Main Draw' numbers are (3286)
-there were no winners of the 'Main Draw' jackpot this week.
-next weeks 'Main Draw' jackpot will be £300.00.

As the 'Main Draw' jackpot was not won this week
-there are 2 CUFC Lottery members matching the first pair winning £10.00 each
-there are 2 CUFC Lottery members matching the second pair winning £10.00 each

If you are a winner of either the 'Accumulator' or 'Main Draw' you will be notified individually by email.

Yours sincerely,
the CUFC Lottery Team,
https://www.cufclottery.co.uk

As the nation begins to cautiously look forward to the easing of lockdown restrictions.  All sporting organisations are  tentatively preparing for the return of spectators to major sports events. With such unprecedented times, they are mindful that everyone’s experience of Covid-19 will have been different and each of us had been affected in different ways.

Everyone continues to play their part in preventing the spread of the virus, really need to hear your thoughts on the current situation and understand how you, the fans, feel about attending major sports events again in the future.

UKSport are specifically interested in your thoughts regarding attending major sports events in the UK – those which feature elite level athletes at the pinnacle of their sport.

The survey will take about five minutes. It is important to collect as much information and feedback as possible

If you have completed the survey. Thank you for taking part. Your answers will be very helpful for event planning and supporting our sport and the industry going forward.

The survey can be accessed here www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LPZYVL7

Last month we held our first #TerraceTalk panel event hosted by Anwar Uddin (FSA Fans for Diversity lead) and Chris Paouros (FSA National Council). It’s part of the wider #TerraceTalk campaign which is a supporter-led mental health campaign you can find out more about here.

Our thanks go to our panellists – check out the full video here

 There was nothing wrong with the performance, apart from throwing away the game”. Glenn Hoddle.

I don’t often agree with the eccentric Mr Hoddle. He certainly wasn’t very complimentary about us when we demolished his fancied Swindon Town team some years ago. His comments about disability place him somewhere alongside David Icke and other misguided saviours of mankind. For all that, he was a wonderful player in the days when Spurs played attractive and compelling football and his comment above could have been made about our last home game. There is not much between many of the teams in our league and most games are a battle. Despite that, we outplayed Scunthorpe and , on chances, should have won comfortably. Any long term football fan knows that sometimes things don’t go your way. Scunthorpe never looked like scoring but did. We all know that winning away when you don’t deserve it is one of the great pleasures of football. I love it when we win like that.

Do I think that our promotion push is over? Certainly not. A couple of poor results don’t ruin what is turning into a very good side. I am no tactician but I do know that our front two, effective as they are, are not blessed with blistering pace. I think we miss Hannant when he is injured or out of form. The thought of him and Dunk and , sometimes, a third pacy winger is one to bother any defence. Our forwards missed a few on Tuesday but they don’t often. Creating chances is a guarantee that we will win most matches. It is strange how pessimistic fans are. I wonder if they are gnashing their teeth at chequebook wonders FGR or primitive Newport. I imagine so. To say that we can’t play without Wes, the Boat or anyone else is insulting to the other players. We generally have a strong bench now and a couple of youngsters champing at the bit. I hope we see Worman and Simper soon but I am getting ahead of myself. The point is that the club are financially sound, we have a great manager and a team to be proud of. Apart from that, everything is awful. At least when we’re struggling , we can listen to Jonno and Doug coming up with new ways of saying that it’s not going well or endless variations thereof.

And so Walsall, who I remember from their Fellowes Park days . They remain the Saddlers, a profession once common in that part of Birmingham apparently. Now its all motorways and IKEA but the accents and traditions have not changed. I have a bit of a soft spot for them. Alan Buckley was one of the most cultured players I have ever seen at any level. Mr Entertainment, alias Richard Money, managed there and Dave Serella, another seriously good player, I knew from my schooldays. They are a bit of a sleeping giant who seem to draw a lot of their matches this season. Like most opponents, they will be tough to beat but its time to get back on track now. Earlier this season we were being told that we only played well on I Follow. This Saturday we will and capricious Fortune will smile on us once again!
 
Andrew Stephen

MINUTES OF CFU TRUST BOARD ZOOM MEETING on MONDAY 8th FEBRUARY 2021
 
The Trust Board met on Monday 8th February 2021 via Zoom. Those present were:
 Andrew Stephen (Chairman), Dave Matthew-Jones, Margaret Pearson, Frank Pearson (Secretary), Paul Moffat, Colin Proctor, Nigel Browne, Terry Wilby, Carl Badcock, , Gina Heath, Alex Nix, Leanne Huff  Martin Chapman, Ben Phillips and Stuart Baker(guest).
 
The following is an abbreviated version of the minutes of the meeting.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Welcome and apologies
Apologies were received from Robert Osbourn .
 
Minutes and Matters Arising

The minutes were accepted as read. We still have no Publicity officer.
 

Reports

• Membership (Terry) : 250 compared with 262 (2020)
• Treasurer (Paul) :  The accounts have been circulated. Certain information still required for Annual Accounts 

• Coconuts (Nigel): Nigel is researching CUFC’s first years in the Football League. Finished article will be available for Amber News
• Lottery (Nigel): The jackpot stands at over £1000. Relaunch will coincide with the setting up of scoreboards
• CUSP (Nigel): Positive meeting with club, helped by being top of the league. No news of progress of working together with CFU
• SLO/FED (Dave): February is LGBT month. FSA issues are health care of supporters at a national level and how much a club should report to supporters

 
Diversity (Ben)

 Ben introduced Stuart Baker who has worked to promote mental health in various groups through Squeeze Football. Discussion and brainstorming followed to introduce CUFC to students, NHS staff at Addenbrookes, Cambridge City Council, homeless charities, the Mosque and local football teams.
 
Ben: A new membership scheme has been announced today. (8 new members tonight.)

• Carl: 60 welfare calls were made. 10 were not answered
• Carl: There have been issues with social media and gambling tags. The club and EFL are aware
•   Terry: We must find our Unique Selling Point – eg meeting players after games
•  Alex: Certain alcohol proposals have been submitted to the police
• Ben: More 10% discount ideas are needed
  
• 
  

 Date of next meeting:  8th March 2021  by Zoom at 7pm.

Thank you for your continued support of the CUFC Lottery.

CUFC Lottery 'Accumulator' Results (05 March 2021) - this weeks winning 'Accumulator' numbers are (8425)
-there were no winners of the weekly 'Accumulator' this week, meaning next weeks 'Accumulator' will be £1350.

CUFC Lottery 'Main Draw' Results (05 March 2021) - this weeks winning 'Main Draw' numbers are (2910)
-there were no winners of the 'Main Draw' jackpot this week.
-next weeks 'Main Draw' jackpot will be £300.00.

As the 'Main Draw' jackpot was not won this week
-there is 1 CUFC Lottery member matching the first pair winning £10.00
-there are 0 Lottery members matching the second pair

If you are a winner of either the 'Accumulator' or 'Main Draw' you will be notified individually by email.

Yours sincerely,
the CUFC Lottery Team,
https://www.cufclottery.co.uk

The EFL are currently supporting Level Playing Field’s Weeks of Action which takes place from Saturday 27 February – Sunday 14 March. The annual initiative promotes the importance of access and inclusion for disabled fans across all sports.

EFL Clubs, Disabled Supporters Associations (DSAs) and fans will join together to showcase the good work taking place across the League to support fans with disabilities.

This year’s Weeks of Action will help to raise awareness of the importance of live sport for people with disabilities – both as participants and spectators.

Tony Taylor, Level Playing Field Chair, said: “Our Weeks of Action will showcase that attending a football game is more than simply watching a game. It is about connecting with your community and socialising, providing a positive attitude leading to better physical and mental health. With no supporters in attendance, we know this year’s campaign will look and feel very different. But this pandemic will ease eventually. When it does, we want disabled people to return to live sport in the knowledge that it is safe and accessible for all.”

For more information about Level Playing Field, visit: www.levelplayingfield.org.uk

The Cambridge United Community Trust has delivered a range of disability programmes over the past few years and has continued to do so during the past year wherever possible.    You can find out more about the range of sessions taking place by visiting the Trust website https://www.cuctrust.co.uk/inclusion/disability-sport/

CUCT engage those that might not feel included in mainstream sports sessions and reduce the barriers for those with disabilities to play sport. With the aim of increasing sports participation for all and covers a wide range of disabilities with the simple aim of getting more people involved in sport.

They also deliver football sessions to classes in special schools around Cambridgeshire

Please email communitytrust@cambridge-united.co.uk for more information on any of these opportunities, or to explore how you or your company could help support their work, please contact Sam Gomarsall, Community Trust Manager at sam.gomarsall@cambridge-united.co.uk

For more information on any of these sessions please contact Phil Mullen at phil.mullen@cambridge-united.co.uk
Further details and booking information on our current sessions can be found here https://officialsoccerschools.co.uk/cambridgeunited/cambridge-united-courses.html

A second 16 years plus PanDisability football session on Saturdays from 14:30 until 15:30 or a new Down’s Syndrome zoom on Sunday’s from 15:30 until 16:30 are not shown in the information below

We should be delighted at how much better run the club is now. And yet, the social media experts are never satisfied. Last Tuesday we lost a pretty even game to a decent Cheltenham side. They took their only chance and we missed ours. The windy conditions suited their robust, more physical style better than us and won the points. Even the best teams lose but some of our so-called fans seem to think that we have a divine right to win matches. Football isn’t like that. Some of those same fans have been on Liam O’Neill’s back since he got here, just as they were with Joe Pigott. His goal at Port Vale will no doubt silence some of them for now. What good, I wonder, do they think their constant whingeing do the club?

Finally, we welcome Scunthorpe United tonight. I have always enjoyed going there and remember crowing in the Berkley Hotel after Tom Youngs’ volley, which stuck in the stanchion, won us the points. I would love to have been there this season for our five nil win, and suspect that the home fixture will be much closer. Win or lose, however, this has been our best season for years, even though we are only top of the league!

My Favourite Jonnoisms I first met Mark Johnson and his girlfriend at what was then called Field Mill towards the end of the nineties. As a long term resident of Nottingham I saw a lot of Cambridge games there, most of which were hard fought and most of which we lost, including that one. I had my oldest son with me on that occasion and he was very impressed with Mark’s book which described all of the league grounds in England. Paul was less impressed with the away end at Mansfield, although it was a bit of a novelty watch ing the game standing in the Gents. No doubt the ground would have been described as basic in Mark’s book. Indeed it was. The weather there is always wintry at best but Away games have an appeal of their own.

Had I been able to see into the future, I would have known that the redoubtable Mr Johnson would become the voice of what Covid has made the I Follow season. Arguments rage about whether United do better on television than in front of a 10 crowd…though standing on the Habbin is my favoured option…but I have become used to a few commentary words and phrases which have been used more than once.

Here is a bit of a list. Where possible I have provided a translation.

Summoned to the Headmaster’s study= Booked
Bowls it out in an instant
Capricious wind=Difficult playing conditions
They can see blood in the water= Going for a win
Tranche of signings=A lot
Smuggled it out=Cleared
Into the mix=Into the box
Late of this Parish=former player
Momentarily=This doesn’t mean in a moment.
Betwixt and Between
So to do
Sees him off=kicks him
In a different Postcode=Not close
Perfunctory Culturedly=A new verb Real Estate=Space
Pencils out= Bookings time
Emphaticness=New noun
Eschews
Pick the lock=Break down the defence
Doing his pieces=Getting cross
Minimum thereof.

We are all grateful for entertaining commentary when we can’t go to games.

Anyone who thinks that it’s easy has never tried it. I take my hat off to you chaps!

Andrew