WEEKLY BULLETIN – 3RD JULY
Fixtures
Forget the World Cup real football is back! Hitchin Town return to action just 61 days after the play-off final when they travel to Eynesbury Rovers on Saturday 4th July in their first pre-season friendly.
Please note the game kicks off at 2.00pm. Admission prices are £8 for adults, £5 for concessions and £2 for under 16’s. Cash or card payments will be accepted and hot food and drinks are available.
On Tuesday7th July we welcome Barnet to Top Field kick-off 7.45pm. Please buy your tickets online. Online ticket prices are £15 for adults, £10 for concessions £5 for under 16’s and £3 for accompanied under 13’s. Over 80’s are free. Match day ticket office prices are £17 for adults, £12 for concessions, £6 for under 16’s and £4 for accompanied under 13’s.
You can also buy tickets online for the friendlies with Luton Town and Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday 11th July and Tuesday 14th July. We have already sold nearly 1,000 tickets for the Luton game so make sure you guarantee your ticket by buying online.
Manager’s Notes
Pre Season
We have now completed 4 pre season sessions as we head into our first two friendlies.
We travel to Eynesbury Rovers on Saturday who are a very strong Step 5 side and will pose the perfect challenge for us in our first game.
We then host League Two side Barnet FC on Tuesday and this will give us plenty of opportunity to work on our defensive shape/play. This friendly also gives our players the opportunity to play against professional players.
As it’s early on in pre season we will be going with a team for each half for both games, with the aim of every player being able to play 45 minutes in each match as we look to ease everyone back in after the off season.
We will also have our 6 new signings in both squads and it will be great to see them all in a Canaries shirt.
As well as the new signings we will have up to 6 trialists within the squad for Saturday. So be prepared to see Trialist A,B,C,D,E,F on the team sheet.
As always it will be great to see as many of you as possible at both games.
Academy Update
The Academy players are now all signed off, with everyone completing the course/progressing on to the next year.
We are now off until we start pre season in August.
If you would like to be part of the academy or for further information please use this link
Or email Michael.jones@wearescl.co.uk
Michael Jones
Cider and Cheese Festival – 3rd and 4th July
This popular festival is now upon us starting Friday 3rd July at 12.00pm. Hosted at The Canary Club, we are delighted to offer a selection of over 30 ciders plus cheese and nibbles all at attractive prices. Admission is FREE.
Just like Michael Jones, we have been able to retain many favourites as well as adding some exciting new talent. And don’t worry about the weather as we have seating both inside and out.
There is live music in the evenings on both days. What better way to get into the swing of pre-season or just escape from the World Cup! And don’t forget that all profits go towards ground improvements.
For more information check out our web page at: https://hitchintownfc.club/cider-and-cheese-festival/
Season Ticket Sales Update
These are progressing well. The chart below shows sales so far compared with total sales for the three previous seasons:
Still more sales are coming in every day, and with five weeks still to go before the season proper starts, we are only 3 short of the 2024/25 total and 14 short of last season’s total.
For all of you who purchased the Plastic Season Card option, all tickets that were purchased on or before Thursday 25th June have now been received and dispatched, and you should be receiving them any time between now and hopefully Tuesday in time for the Barnet game should you wish to attend.
Any that have been ordered since I will receive next week – card runs are weekly. If they have not arrived in time for the Barnet game you can still obtain entry – make yourself known to the staff outside the turnstiles able to check your record and make sure you get in.
If you haven’t bought yet, still plenty of time!
Chris Newbold
FA Youth Cup
In the extra preliminary round of the FA Youth Cup we have been drawn away to Newport Pagnell Town. The game is due to be played week commencing 31 August.
New Online Club Shop
We are delighted to announce that our new online club shop is now live. All of our Hope + Glory range including replica kit and fanwear will now be available from here: Hitchin Town FC – HOPE AND GLORY Official Store
A small amount of non Hope + Glory merchandise such as badges and books will continue to be available via our Kaizen online store.
This does not have any impact on the physical sales of items at the Top Field Club Shop or at Visit Hitchin – these continue in exactly the same way as last season.
Since the launch of our updated branding in 2021 and our new ranges of merchandise sales have gone from strength to strength with increases every single year. Whilst this is obviously hugely welcomed and a great source of income for the club, the demands it has placed on our volunteers has grown too. Huge thanks to Chris for all his efforts on this over the last few years. Last season alone we sold nearly 300 individual items online. To improve service to our supporters and reduce the demands on our volunteers we have therefore made the decision to switch to an online store operated by Hope + Glory. This will significantly improve turnaround time for orders placed online.
All orders placed via the previous store up to 30th June 2026 will still be fulfilled as per the previous processes and will be dispatched by the club. Any orders placed from 1st July 2026 will be taken directly by Hope + Glory and fulfilled by them from their warehouse in Rochdale.
We hope you find the new store to be more efficient and in the coming months we expect to review the range and look to add further items. You will also see on the new store that items only available online are clearly tagged. All other items are available to purchase in person at Top Field.
Paul Sprague
Congratulations Freddie
We would like to take a moment to congratulate Freddie Cardy one of our Media Team. Freddie started with us as a 15 year old Radio Commentator and chased his dream to University. From the moment he picked up the microphone we knew he was going to go far.
Freddie has been awarded a First Class Honours Degree at The University of Derby. Batchelor of Arts in Specialist Sports Journalism; earning College of Health and Humanities Prize for Best Journalism Student!
An incredible achievement for a student. We are all very proud of you Freddie. Well done and thank you. We look forward to seeing what you can achieve next.
Teachers v Celebrities
If you arent heading to Eynesbury Rovers then tomorrow at Top Field we have a Dan Gaze XI Teachers Team v The Sellebrity Soccer Celebs Team with a 3pm KO. Where possible please purchase your tickets here for quickest entry: https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/event/hit2627teaccm/teachers-v-celebrities-match
Walking Football Update
There is no walking football session this evening or next Friday.
Hitchin Town will be entering a team into the Maulden tournament on Saturday 11th July in Flitwick and the next walking football session will now be on Friday 17th July 2026 7-8pm at The Arena, Baldock.
Barry Swain
Community Update
Coaching Courses at The Arena
Summer Holiday Courses
The Arena, Baldock – Football Holiday Camps
We will be staging 5 weeks of football holiday camps at the Arena, Baldock over the School Summer holidays starting on Tuesday 27th July and finishing on Thursday 27th August. Each camp runs for 3 days Tuesday – Thursday over the period.
Preston Primary School – Multi-Activity Holiday Camps
We will also be staging 3 weeks of multi-activity holiday camps at Preston Primary School over the School Summer holidays starting on Tuesday 4th August to Thursday 20th August. Each camp runs for 3 days Tuesday – Thursday over the period.
Coaching in Schools
We continue to work in our local schools delivering coaching sessions at:
- Preston Junior Wraparound Care, Lunch Time Clubs and PPA
- Oughton Primary Lunch Time & After School Clubs and PE Lessons
- Icknield Infants After School Clubs and Morning Clubs
- St Mary’s Morning and After School Clubs, PE Lessons & PPA Cover
- Woolgrove Lunch Time Clubs
- Brandles PE Lessons
- Samuel Lucas After School Clubs everyday Monday – Friday (Excluding Thursday)
If there are any schools requiring support for their PE, PPA, After School and Breakfast Clubs please contact Josh Mollison on info@htcfc.co.uk
Mark Burke