December 9th 2024
Getting as many young people playing in football in Nairn is extremely important to the club and today, we are excited to announce we are joining forces with Nairn Soccer 7s and Nairn Fire to commit to providing a more structured approach to youth football in the town.
The aim is to bring both Nairn Soccer 7s and Nairn Fire under the Nairn County umbrella allowing both groups access to additional resources, administrative support and to form a full pathway for young footballers from age 5 through to first team. As part of the new pathway a new Nairn County Under-14s team will be formed with aspirations to compete in the Moray Youth League.
Nairn Soccer 7s was started in 2019 by Jason Robertson and through his hard work saw it grow very quickly, providing opportunities for kids between 5 and 12 years old a chance to play football every Sunday regardless of ability or gender. This year, Nairn Soccer 7s has seen over 130 boys and girls take part under the stewardship of Kenny Spink.
Nairn Fire is a new team formed in Nairn in late 2021. Overseen by Derek Keir, they have over 30 boys and girls at under-8 and under-10 level training on a Monday and playing in matches and festivals on a Saturday morning.
Under the new vision moving forward, Nairn Fire will be renamed Nairn County Fire Kids and will establish an under-12 side. As part of coming under the NCFC umbrella, it will allow access to additional support and the chance to play against other Highland League teams with equivalent age groups and wider football festivals.
Nairn Soccer 7s will also be renamed to become Nairn County Soccer 7s.
All three groups are committed to ensuring the new structure is in place for early 2023. Both Nairn County Soccer 7s and Nairn County Fire will continue to run autonomously with support and guidance from the club.
Mark Kelman, Nairn County Chairman said:
“As a club, supporting the local community is at the heart of who we are. To be able to bring all three groups together and provide support and opportunities for even more young kids in Nairn to play football is exciting but we know there is a lot of hard work to do to make it work and it will require the support of others beyond the club, Nairn Soccer 7s and Nairn Fire.
As part of our ambitions, we will be looking to organise an annual football festival at the end of every season to give as many boys and girls as possible the chance to play on the Station Park pitch.”
Kenny Spink from Nairn Soccer 7s said:
“Nairn Soccer 7s has become a part of Nairn’s kids’ football calendar.
Joining forces with Nairn County and Nairn Fire cements the position of Nairn Soccer 7s as the football foundation for our youngsters.
It opens the door for us to develop our coaches, to embrace community football, and to foster the best possible environment for developing football, sports, and wellbeing through ages 5 to 12.
This collaborative effort builds a sustainable base for Nairn Soccer 7s to continue to grow and develop into the future.”
Derek Keir from Nairn Fire said:
“Nairn Fire (Kids) was started by children in Nairn that wanted to play more regular games against other communities. The name was chosen by that same group of children, the motto and the logo was also designed by those same children and Nairn Fire was formed.
The opportunity to join Nairn County will allow for a wider range of opportunities in football whilst continuing our commitment to be compliant with best practice and Scottish FA standards.
We are very excited to play our part in creating a transparent football pathway for young people in Nairn and importantly our opportunities aim to complement the great efforts of Soccer 7s and Nairn County.”
As part of the plans to bring all three groups together and recruit more volunteers to help we will be hosting an open evening at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club on Wednesday 16th November at 7.30pm where you will get to hear from the club, Nairn Soccer 7s and Nairn Fire.
This evening will provide information on what football opportunities are available for kids as well as more information on how to get involved.
We will also be embarking on a recruitment drive over the coming weeks and months to fulfil several volunteer roles including:
