Author: Mike Birchall

by Mike Birchall

CHRISTMAS CUP 2020

The annual SK Ballers Charity Christmas Cup took place on Monday 21st December, with 11 teams taking part to raise money for MIND on a cold, damp winter evening. Here’s how it went…

GROUP A

At the halfway point of Group A, it was apparent that qualification for the semi finals was going to come down to 4 of the 6 teams, as Holland FC and Phantom Brailians failed to pick up a point from their first three games. The McMuffin Men and Sale Madrid had taken early control of the group, with McMuffin Men beating RNE Albion Blue 1-0 in the opening game, and Sale Madrid beating Stroke Titty 3-0 in their second game. RNE remained in contention with a 1-0 win that effectively ended Stroke’s hopes, before McMuffin Men ran out surprisingly comfortable 3-0 winners over Sale to take a firm grip on the group and confirm their qualification. The second qualification spot came down to RNE and Sale, and Sale clinched their spot in the semis with a 3-1 win. All McMuffin Men had to do to top the group was avoid defeat in their final game with Stroke, and they just about did it as they played out a 1-1 draw.

Qualifiers:

1st: The McMuffin Men

2nd: Sale Madrid

GROUP B

Group B never seemed as straightforward, despite Buttner Ballers getting off to a flyer with a 4-0 win over Workies Bogs in the opening game. RNE Albion Purples took control with a pair of 1-0 wins, against Blue Riz and Ballers, before Blue Riz pulled off a surprise, beating fellow Tuesday league side and current Champions Deportivo La Corona 1-0 to keep themselves in the running. Workies Bogs were out after they lost their third game, 2-0 to RNE, while Ballers got back in contention with a 2-0 win over Blue Riz, which dented their chances of progressing. Deportivo found some form to shock RNE with a 2-1 win to give themselves a chance of making the semis, but they ended as they were beaten 1-0 by Ballers in the final game which saw Ballers top the group on goal difference.

Qualifiers:

1st: Buttner Ballers

2nd RNE Albion Purples

SEMI-FINALS & FINAL

Having kept things tight throughout most of their group games, it was no surprise that RNE Albion Purples were involved in a tight semi final against Group A winners The McMuffin Men. Having gone through the group stages unbeaten, McMuffin Men stumbled in their first knockout game, as RNE ran out 1-0 winners. Sale Madrid and Buttner Ballers are fairly familiar with each other, having faced off in the Monday league on a couple of occasions. Both of those full length games have resulted in draws, so we expected this to be tight, but Buttner Ballers adapted to the shorter format of the game to pick up a 2-0 win.

So to the final and it was Ballers who started the better and went 1-0 up as they attempted to reverse the result from the group stages against Purples, but they couldn’t see it out as Albion hit back to level things up and take the final to penalites. In the shootout it was Albion who held their nerve as two misses from Buttner Ballers handed them a 2-1 victory and the Christmas Cup trophy.

WINNERS: RNE ALBION PURPLES

Obviously the tournament is secondary to the money raised for charity, and we’re pleased to announce that the tournament cleared £340.18 which will be donated to MIND at the end of what has been a very difficult year for many, many people.

Many thanks to all teams who took part, and congratulations to RNE Albion Purples on their win.

A very Merry Christmas to all of our current, former and (hopefully) future customers, and here’s to brigher days ahead in 2021!

by Mike Birchall

ORDER YOUR TEAM SHIRTS THROUGH US!

If you’ve seen those teams in their glorious Ballers ‘sponsored’ shirts and wondered what you have to do to get them, there’s two ways. Firstly, be with us long enough that you become due a set from us, or order them through us!

We’ve got plenty of styles for you to choose from, and we make no money from these shirts. We literally charge what it costs for us to buy the shirts and get them printed.

The price of each shirt includes your team badge (which our print company will design for you to sign off if you don’t already have one) and SK Ballers branding

Joma Combi Shirts

£14.50

Long sleeved shirts are available in the Combi style in green, yellow, navy, black or royal, if goalkeepers want a long sleeved shirt in a different colour.

Joma Championship VII Shirts

£19.50

Joma Winner III Shirts

£19.25

Joma Europa V Shirts

£27

Joma Pisa II Shirts

£20

Joma Tiger VI Shirts

£30

For ALL shirts (regardless of style), you can add a number for £5, or a name AND number for £9.50.

If you want to order shirts from us, all orders need paying for before we place the order. The turn around on a set of shirts from time of order at the minute is approx 3 weeks.

If you’ve got any questions about any of the above, or want to place an order, get in touch.

by Mike Birchall

WOODLEY LEAGUES RETURN!

We’ve been given the all clear to restart the leagues at Stockport Sports Village in Woodley from Wednesday 9th September!

With 6-a-side leagues running on a Wednesday and Thursday evening, here’s the information you need if you are looking to get involved.

WEDNESDAY LEAGUE

40 minute games

Kick off times between 7pm and 9.15pm (kick off time requests can be made if there’s any issues with playing at certain times)

£5 per player, per game

SPACES AVAILABLE FOR NEW TEAMS!

THURSDAY LEAGUE

35 minute games

Kick off times between 7pm and 8.20pm

£30 per team, per game

NEW SEASON STARTS 17TH SEPTEMBER

Post lockdown, the main change to the running of the leagues is that all payments are now taken at pitch side, rather than in the building. This makes it easier for everyone. Normal social discancing measures must be observed.

For more details or to register your team, head to the homepage and fill in a ‘Join A League’ form!

by Mike Birchall

SK BALLERS PROMOTIONAL VIDEO!

Covid might have come along to slow down the Ballers momentum, but work continues on the very first, in house Ballers promotional video.

Pre-lockdown, Delph & Safety were subject to the first batch of filming, with player interviews and match footage taken on the night by Viaduct Video. So far the 60 second clip below was the initial teaser of the footage that we got on the night.

Recently we were finally able to film part 2, as long standing Team Tom gave us some of their musings before getting involved in a highly entertaining game against fellow Ballers veterans Inter Your Sister.

Part 3 will hopefully follow in the coming weeks, with the full Ballers promotional video hopefully ready to be unleashed by October. As well as the full promotional video, we’ll also be turning the footage into three full team profile videos, which will become a regular thing as time goes on.

The team for the third profile video will be confirmed in the near future…

by Mike Birchall

NEW REDDISH LEAGUES STARTING SOON

A thoroughly successful first week out of lockdown is out of the way, and we have new leagues starting up in the next few weeks for anyone looking to sign up a new team or bring an old team out of retirement…

NEW SUNDAY LEAGUE STARTS 9TH AUGUST

Our biggest league night starts another new season in early August, and with pitch space almost limitless we can always find space for new teams to expand the league.

We have numerous options to incorporate teams in the first couple of weeks of the season, so if you miss the start date don’t let it stop you getting in touch to see what we can do.

Earliest games kick off at 4.30pm with latest games starting at 8.30pm, but if you struggle for later or earlier games we will do what we cna to accommodate any requirements.

NEW WEDNESDAY LEAGUE STARTS 19TH AUGUST

A bit more time to gather the troops for this one! Our Wednesday evening league is ideal for those teams who would like a fixed later kick off time each week. Our Wednesday league is one division with all games kicking off at 9pm every week, and we currently have ONE SPACE AVAILABLE for a lucky new team. We can squeeze a ‘pre-season’ friendly in on Wednesday 12th for teams who want to limber up ahead of the start of the new campaign.

All league games are 50 minutes long, priced at £5 per player, per game.

Head to the homepage, fill in a ‘Join A League’ form and we’ll be in touch to talk you through how everything works.

by Mike Birchall

COVID 19 SAFETY MEASURES

We are back! It’s been an unusual time, and we hope everyone has stayed safe during the lockdown. With the Ballers leagues returning this week, there are a few little changes we’ve had to make to ensure the safety of our staff and customers

1. Firstly, we can’t use bibs, so we could really do with teams coming up with team colours that all the players either already own or can get hold of before their first game. If two teams who are playing each other give me the same colour choice I will just tell one of them to wear anything else! The sooner you can decide your colour and let me know, the better. If you’ve always had a colour, remind me what it is and make sure all lads wear those correct colours.

2. There is a one way system in place at the club to get to and from the pitch. The way in is through the gate just to the right of the building, rather than going past reception. Please stick to the one way system.

3. We will be doing everything we can (including taking payments) outside (weather permitting). Please ensure you are following the 1m+ ruling on social distancing when you are off the pitch.

4. Please get to us nice and early so we’ve got plenty of time to take payments before your game. If all 3 pitches are being used please do not go onto the pitch until the previous games have finished. All spectators should stay on the path and not step foot on the pitch. Substitutes should place themselves behind their goal, and we want the referees to be the only people in the areas between the pitches.

We’ve all see then recent changes to the lockdown rules for Greater Manchester, so there are no guarantees that we are back forever. Now that we are back to normal, we want to do our part to make sure we can stay that way. Please help us with this!

by Mike Birchall

TUESDAY LONGIES LADDER LEAGUES!

Here’s something new…

As we don’t know how much longer it will be before we can get back to full contact football, there is no point in setting up any more standard Longies Leagues, so here’s one that can run until we get the ok to start up again.

LADDER LEAGUE – How it will work!

  • Games kick off at 8pm every Tuesday, from 7th July
  • Maximum of 6 teams per week (first 6 to register play on the first week and have first ‘dibs’ on the second week, but new teams can join if spaces come up)
  • Each team will play 5x 8 minute games (2 mins between games = 1 hour total)
  • Pitch 1 is the top of the ladder, pitch 3 is bottom
  • If you win your game, you move up the ladder, lose and you drop down. Win on pitch 1 and stay at the top of the ladder, lose on pitch 3, stay bottom!
  • Win the final game of the 6 on the top pitch, and you win that week’s tournament!
  • All 6 teams will get points from 6-1 depending on where they end the night (winners get 6 points, losers of the last game on the bottom pitch get 1)
  • In the event of drawn games, the team that scores first is declared the winner. We have plans for deciding winners of games that finish 0-0…
  • Teams who lost their previous game will kick off, giving them that very slight advantage
  • To increase the pace and intensity of the shorter game, the time for each team to get their shot off is reduced to 5 seconds from first touch. If you fail to do that, the ball is returned to your opposition.
  • All other rules remain as per the standard Longies rules
  • We will play until the lockdown allows full contact football again, then the team with the most points will be the LONGIES LADDER LEAGUE WINNERS!

The league will start next week as long as we have 6 teams ready to go. Get in touch to reserve your place.

by Mike Birchall

ALL YOUR LOCKDOWN LONGIES OPTIONS!

Right, we’ve successfully trialed a full Sunday evening of socially responsible lockdown Longies, and have come up with a full programme of nights and options for the foreseeable future. Some of this may still be subject to change, but for the time being here is what we have to offer.

LEAGUES

For the time being, the only 3-a-side Longies Leagues we will be running will be on a Sunday, starting this weekend (14th June). We are offering up leagues at three separate times of the evening:

League One: 40 minute games at 4.30pm and 5.15pm

League Two: 40 minute games at 6pm and 6.45pm

League Three: 40 minute games at 7.30pm and 8.15pm

CASUAL BOOKINGS / FRIENDLIES

Casual bookings are classed as groups of 6 making a booking and taking a slot on a pitch and having a game between themselves.

Friendlies are groups of three contacting us and asking us to match them up with a game against another group of three.

All bookings come with a referee who will help to ensure social distancing is maintained, as well as ensuring the rules of the game are enforced as normal! The times these bookings can be made are as follows:

Monday: 8pm and 8.45pm

Tuesday: 8pm and 8.45pm

Wednesday: 9pm

Sunday: Whatever time slots are available between league games (we will try and keep some slots free at most of the available times)

PLAYING RULES

LONGIES PLAYING RULES
Click the link to be directed to the Playing Rules page

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

LONGIES REGULATIONS
Click the link to be directed to the Regulations page

If you want to book in for any of the above, head to the homepage and complete a ‘Join A League’ form, call or text 07809252658, email [email protected], or get in touch via any of our social media pages.

by Mike Birchall

LONGIES REGULATIONS

If you are taking us up on our offer to house games of Longies over the coming weeks or months, please pay attention to below regulations.

1. We have no plans to open up the building as we can’t ensure cleanliness standards can be met while we’re onsite. If anyone needs to use the toilet let one of us know and we’ll open the building, but we’ll only be using the disabled toilet near the front door.

2. There is a clearly marked one way system for gaining access to, and leaving the pitch. While off the pitch please ensure you are remaining in lines with social distancing rules.

3. We won’t be selling any drinks, so bring your own!

4. Payments will be contactless only, and made somewhere between the building and the pitch (we won’t be hard to find!). Any issues with that, please let us know.

5. We will need all teams to be with us at least 10 minutes before kick off to allow time for payment, and to get games kicked off on time as we are on a fairly tight schedule. To aid with social distancing rules we want to ensure that all people leave the pitch after their game before anyone goes on for theirs.

6. Added to the above, we don’t want anyone on the pitch who is not involved in a game. That means no spectators on the playing surface at any point.

If everyone can adhere to the above rules it will make it a lot easier for all of us. Especially the one about being there 10 minutes early, for those of you who have trouble with punctuality!