A new amateur football team kicked off for the first time thanks to lots of help from a housing association.
Wearing a smart black and red strip bought with a £500 donation from Cartrefi Conwy, the CAIS Lions roared into action against North Wales Dragons at Glan Conwy FC’s ground in Conwy on Sunday.
Despite also having its ranks bolstered by two Cartrefi Conwy staff members, the Lions were on the receiving end of a 13-0 mauling.
But undaunted by the goal blitz they suffered, the team’s boss vowed there would be plenty more chances for them to claw their way to victory.
CAIS is a Wales-wide charity which helps people overcome problems with addictions, mental health, personal development and employment and also offers information and assistance to their families and friends.
Earlier this year, CAIS decided to form a football team comprising members of staff, service users and volunteers.
Cartrefi Conwy, which works in close partnership with CAIS, stepped in and approved their application of £500 from its sponsorship and donations budget to pay for a full set of kit.
Two members of staff from Cartrefi Conwy also volunteered to play in the Lions’ debut match against well-established charity side North Wales Dragons.
One of those on loan from Cartrefi Conwy was 18-year-old Bobbi Roberts, who lives in Llanddulas and started work as a Modern Apprentice with the housing association this summer.
Lions’ organisers were delighted to have him on the team as striker as his previous footballing experience includes spells playing for Bangor City, Llandudno Town and Prestatyn Town.
But despite a couple of near misses, he and the rest of the team were hard pressed to withstand the goal avalanche from the Dragons.
Bobbi said: “It was a hard match because this was our first time playing as a team but I enjoyed it.
“I started as a Modern Apprentice with Cartrefi Conwy in August. I’m doing various administration tasks as well as working towards an NVQ Level 2 in Business & Administration, which I’m really getting into. Also in the Lions’ line-up and the only woman player on the pitch was 23-year-old Sarah Jones, from Mochdre, who has been working as a Community Governance Co-ordinator with Cartrefi Conwy for the past year and is now based at its new Abergele headquarters.
She said: “I really enjoyed playing. I joined the team after seeing the poster asking for players who would be interested in the charity event.
Linda Humphreys, from the Cartrefi Conwy communications team, who was amongst those watching from the sidelines, said: “Despite the score the match went really well and I wish the CAIS Lions every success in the future.
“Cartrefi Conwy supports and promotes involvement for all through donations and sponsorship in our communities, so we were very pleased to provide the £500 to CAIS for the kits it needed for the team.”
CAIS chief executive Clive Wolfendale, who played for Lions at right-back, said: “We decided to put together our team earlier this year with the intention of raising awareness of the work we do and also to raise a few pounds for good causes.
“Our wide range of services includes residential treatment and rehabilitation, counselling, peer mentoring, supporting people in their homes, assisting people back into work or education, group work and other motivational interventions.”
Mr Wolfendale added: “Despite the Lions’ first match not going too well the cause we were supporting, Change Step, a mentoring and advice service for military veterans which is part of CAIS, was the real winner on the day.
“We raised over £300 for them with an auction after the match which featured prizes including Liverpool v Cardiff tickets, a tour of Goodison Park and family tickets for various regional attractions.
“We now hope to arrange a series of fixtures for Lions when we’ll hopefully do much better.
“We are very grateful for all the help and support we have received from Cartrefi Conwy which not only provided a donation of £500 for our smart new kit but also persuaded two of its staff members to join the team for our first match.
“I’d also like to thank all the businesses and organisations which provided prizes for the auction and North Wales Dragons who kindly presented us with a Manchester City poster at the end of the match which we auctioned off for £30.”
Collections for North Wales Dragons were donated to the Make-a-Wish UK children’s charity.
