Hastings United chief: We can be proud of achievements in tough year

Another word – unprecedented – has been used a lot in 2020, a year ravaged by the rise of Covid-19.

We have been through two national lockdowns and Hastings as a town last weekend was put into Tier 4. This tier change shows us all we are not out the woods yet when it comes to this virus, so it’s only right to continue to look after one another, follow government guidelines and remain safe.

In 2020 we watched Hastings United soar to crowds of 1,200 before Covid-19, and since then we have been consistently selling out our maximum of 400, with the smaller crowds proving louder than ever to make up the noise our large crowds made in the 2019-20 season.

In the past year while we unfortunately did not receive promotion because of a null and void decision, the town should be proud that their senior men’s team have recorded just ONE loss in league football in the calendar year – what a great job by Chris Agutter, his staff and players across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons so far.

We have rapidly increased our Hastings United Academy, welcoming more local children to our club, doubling the size of our teams and also offering free football every Saturday morning for three to seven-year-olds in our pre-academy sessions.

I would like to thank the academy coaches for their hard work in continuously changing and challenging circumstances, their professionalism and commitment to the children in our community is unrivalled.

Another thing to be proud of is the return and the immediate success of our women’s team.

To see crowds between 150 and 300 watch our women’s team at The TGS Pilot Field shows the power of women’s football.

I was very proud that Hastings United competed in the Women’s FA Cup this season and are on course for silverware in the 2020/21 season.

This year we unveiled the Steve Smith Stand, raised £4,500 for St Michael’s Hospice, offered free school meals and continued to partner with Surviving The Streets to support the homeless and less fortunate in our community and across East Sussex.

We have submitted the Tilekiln Football Park planning application, a facility that Hastings as a town can be proud of, with the support of East Sussex College Group, local grassroots teams that play at Tilekiln and some incredible comments in support on the application online. This project gives our town not only the sporting facilities we severely lack but will create more local jobs, increase our town’s educational offering and hopefully increase sporting participation across all ages and genders, giving our future generations the facilities they deserve.

Even with the positives above, 2020 has been such a tough year for everyone and that cannot be ignored.

At this time I would like to on behalf of the Board of Directors thank the staff, sponsors, coaching team, players, volunteers and the ever increasing size of local supporters for everything you do. Hastings is a special town and I am proud to represent your club. Have a wonderful Christmas in unconventional circumstances and let’s stick together for a brighter 2021.