Welcome to Steeton
Wed 11th July 2018 | Steeton | By Ian Templeman
Although the village of Steeton may not have been an immediately familiar name to followers of our league, anyone travelling to watch the village's football club this coming season will be heading into established Hallmark Security League territory.
Steeton is in the Metropolitan District of Bradford, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and is situated around 5 miles from Skipton, 3 miles from Keighley and it's just over a mile from the centre of Steeton to the centre of Silsden.
However, the club share another common bond with Silsden AFC, as they have entered into a groundshare agreement with local rugby league side Keighley Cougars, and will play their home games at Cougar Park, just as the Cobbydalers did for a number of years when they joined the League in 2004.
In the meantime, Steeton will continue to operate from their existing home base at the Doris Wells Memorial Field in the town which has been their home since 1969, which will continue to host games for their reserves in the West Yorkshire County Amateur League, and Under 18 and Under 16 teams in the Craven League.
First team manager Roy Mason explained that everyone at the club was committed to making the step up when the opportunity arose, as it had been talked about in the past.
"Once it was announced last October that the League were looking to expand, we decided that it was the right time for us to look to progress", said Roy.
"We had discussed this over the past couple of seasons but it hadn't really got off the ground before.
"We spoke to both Silsden, who are on our doorstep, and Barnoldswick Town who we have always had a good relationship with, and we got some great advice from both of them.
"However, the decision to join was made before speaking to them really, as we were already aware of how good the league is.
"We played Bacup Borough last pre season, and we seemed to be establishing links with a few clubs in the league, so it made sense to apply.
"The past few months have been very busy, but now we have been accepted into the league, all worthwhile".
The club come into our League on the back of a successful season last time out, finishing third in the West Riding County Amateur League and both the First and Reserve teams won their respective Keighley District FA Cup Finals.
Although aware of the challenges ahead, Roy insists that everyone at the club is ready for the new campaign.
"There are a number of things we are looking forward too, such as visiting new grounds and meeting new people", he said.
"We would like to be competitive and give a good account of ourselves both on and off the field.
"Moving to Cougar Park is exciting for us as well, as we feel this will engage more people in the area and will help build a bigger fan base for us.
"We know that every game will be competitive and that was something we didn't have in our league last season
"It's an exciting time for all the new clubs, and they will all have improved their squads. It promises to be a really exciting season".
Welcome to Steeton
Wed 11th July 2018 | Steeton
By Ian Templeman
Although the village of Steeton may not have been an immediately familiar name to followers of our league, anyone travelling to watch the village's football club this coming season will be heading into established Hallmark Security League territory.
Steeton is in the Metropolitan District of Bradford, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and is situated around 5 miles from Skipton, 3 miles from Keighley and it's just over a mile from the centre of Steeton to the centre of Silsden.
However, the club share another common bond with Silsden AFC, as they have entered into a groundshare agreement with local rugby league side Keighley Cougars, and will play their home games at Cougar Park, just as the Cobbydalers did for a number of years when they joined the League in 2004.
In the meantime, Steeton will continue to operate from their existing home base at the Doris Wells Memorial Field in the town which has been their home since 1969, which will continue to host games for their reserves in the West Yorkshire County Amateur League, and Under 18 and Under 16 teams in the Craven League.
First team manager Roy Mason explained that everyone at the club was committed to making the step up when the opportunity arose, as it had been talked about in the past.
"Once it was announced last October that the League were looking to expand, we decided that it was the right time for us to look to progress", said Roy.
"We had discussed this over the past couple of seasons but it hadn't really got off the ground before.
"We spoke to both Silsden, who are on our doorstep, and Barnoldswick Town who we have always had a good relationship with, and we got some great advice from both of them.
"However, the decision to join was made before speaking to them really, as we were already aware of how good the league is.
"We played Bacup Borough last pre season, and we seemed to be establishing links with a few clubs in the league, so it made sense to apply.
"The past few months have been very busy, but now we have been accepted into the league, all worthwhile".
The club come into our League on the back of a successful season last time out, finishing third in the West Riding County Amateur League and both the First and Reserve teams won their respective Keighley District FA Cup Finals.
Although aware of the challenges ahead, Roy insists that everyone at the club is ready for the new campaign.
"There are a number of things we are looking forward too, such as visiting new grounds and meeting new people", he said.
"We would like to be competitive and give a good account of ourselves both on and off the field.
"Moving to Cougar Park is exciting for us as well, as we feel this will engage more people in the area and will help build a bigger fan base for us.
"We know that every game will be competitive and that was something we didn't have in our league last season
"It's an exciting time for all the new clubs, and they will all have improved their squads. It promises to be a really exciting season".
