IT’S been a season of ups and downs for Tullibody St Serf’s FC as they reflect on their first 18 months as a team.
The club was founded by Derek Robertson in January 2023 and he has since gone on to recruit a full team and join a league.
Tullibody compete in the Stirling and District Amateur League and have had mixed success during their games.
However, it has not been easy, with Andrew Cook, men’s coach for one of the Tullibody teams, reporting a challenge to find players.
He said: “Amateur Scottish football is dying a death at the moment and it’s a massive struggle for all the teams across Forth Valley to attract players.
“This league has a lot of history and it used to have a pyramid of four leagues but now it’s only one league.
“Last year, 12 teams competed and then it dropped to 10 and now it looks like there’s only going to be 10.
“We’re looking to attract players from Alloa and Clackmannanshire to bolster what we’ve got and make a good run in this season.”
During their maiden season in the amateur leagues, Tullibody finished second bottom in the league.
Andrew Cook serves as coach for Tullibody St Serf's. (Image: Tullibody St Serf's)
Staff at the club remain optimistic about the upcoming season, providing they can draw players to the club.
“It was a tricky season,” Cook said.
“We were playing teams that had been playing together for years.
“We brought in players and we were building a squad from scratch. We’re feeling much more hopeful about this season.”
Despite this, there are plenty of positives surrounding Tullibody one year on – with the club establishing three teams.
Tullibody have formed a Saturday men’s, a Sunday men’s and a women’s team, each drawing in a sizeable support and player count.
The Sunday team is set to start their first season next month in Airdrie, while the women’s team is still recruiting members.
Tullibody has aspirations of playing their women’s side in the official women’s football pyramid for the 2025/26 season.
As part of the club’s recruitment drive, they hold an open training session at the Tullibody Civic Centre every Thursday evening.
The club has also managed to secure sizable sponsorships this year, as part of their ongoing plan to remain financially sustainable.
Two major companies – Cyberhawk and Uniquest – have pledged their support to the club, helping them fight rising costs which can hinder amateur football teams around the country.
Cook added: “We’ve had significant sponsorship this year from national companies which is quite big for us.
“Amateur football teams usually get sponsorship from local businesses, takeaways, pubs or a handyman.
“We’ve gone further afield and this year we’ve got two kit sponsors – Cyberhawk and Uniquest – we want this to be a sustainable football team and these sponsors will help us do that.
“We want to make this as accessible as possible and be financially sustainable so we’re not charging people to play football.”
Anybody interested in heading along to the open session can contact Cook on andrewcook@tullibodystsfc.co.uk.
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