Latest News
Chairman's Update - 13th July 2020
I hope that everyone reading this is in good medical & mental health as this pandemic continues to cause major disruption to our community?
A lot has happened since my last newsletter and hopefully a lot is about come to fruition within the next few weeks.
As everyone will know it is now confirmed that we will be competing in SPFL League One over a 27-game season commencing on 17th October 2020. Prior to that the Betfred Cup, which is an optional tournament for clubs this coming season, will start on the 3rd October. From our point of view there is no question that we will ready, willing, and able to compete in this competition. It will be a bit different this year as all the Premiership clubs will have been playing competitive games for 4-5 weeks before the Betfred kicks off meaning that there will be less chance of ‘catching them cold’ in the group stages. We will of course relish the opportunity to pit ourselves against whomever we are drawn against.
Our volunteers have already started work on preparing the stadium for games to commence and as always, I thank them for their continued hard work. We are monitoring the Scottish Government’s daily briefings as well as the regular updates we receive from the SFA & SPFL to see if there are any changes that will affect what we have to do to be able to ensure everything is in place in plenty of time.
As things stand, we expect the players & management to commence ‘preseason’ training in the last week of August, initially back at the Oriam in Edinburgh, augmented with weekend seasons at Bayview. The most onerous part of the return to training is undoubtedly the testing of the players for Covid-19 both financially and practically. At the moment we are being advised that all players & staff will require to be tested once a week which could be a logistical nightmare for not only us, but all part time teams in Scotland. The financial implications of this is also very onerous but this is a cost we will have to bear.
Now that we have some degree of confidence, we are pressing ahead with looking at sponsorship across all parts of the club.
Some of you will have noticed that we have opened up the player kit donations for next season. This is always a well-supported fund raiser for us, and I hope that it continues in that vein. This can be done through the club shop and I would advise getting in early to secure your place for your favourite player.
Our priority is to source a main sponsor for our unique home top. We will soon be launching a media campaign for this. The pre-sales of these tops have been fantastic, and they are now in production. I hope to be able to advise a delivery date for these very soon.
If anyone has any ideas for potential sponsors please feel free to contact us, any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
That brings me round to season tickets for the forthcoming campaign. I apologise for the delay in releasing details of this but as you will appreciate it just wasn’t practical to make any decisions on pricing until the full details of the make up of next season had been confirmed.
As everyone is aware, this season is going to be very hard for all clubs and we are no exception. That being said, we are acutely aware that it is the same for you our loyal fans. With that in mind we have decided to keep the walk-up admission prices the same as the last 3 seasons and also peg the season ticket prices at the same level as last season. A full list of the prices follows this newsletter.
Unfortunately, until the final fixtures are released, we do not know if we will have 13 or 14 home games. This will ultimately affect our income for the season therefore the prices are based on three quarters of the full season.
The child season ticket has risen from £20 to £40 but this still represents a 40% reduction of the walk-up prices.
In event of the season starting behind closed doors, ALL season ticket holders will be provided with ‘free’ access to EFtv’s live streaming of home games. This will apply until the U.K. & R.O.I. broadcasting restrictions are reintroduced. I know that the EFtv media team are already working on ways of improving their already excellent service to ensure that you can get the best possible coverage. It is hope that fans will be allowed into games by the time we start but should numbers be restricted then season ticket holders will be allocated entry before any individual match tickets are sold.
I am sure that you appreciate that these are difficult times for the club but with your continued backing we will emerge on the other side even stronger.
Jim Stevenson
Chairman
Tickets are now on sale, click here to buy
Player Kit Donations 2020/21
We’re pleased to announce that player and staff kit donations for season 2020/21 are now open.
Kit Donation has always been a well-supported fund-raiser for us and is a great way to show your support for your favourite player. Pick you player and kit you'd like to support and your name/your company’s name will appear next to your chosen player on the squad page of the official club website, in all copies of our matchday programme The Bayview and on the player’s social media goal & substitution graphics along with acknowledgement on the main sponsors page of the official club website. A link to your company’s website can also be added if applicable.
To sign up, visit the club shop or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Availability can be found on the squad page by clicking here*
*Please note, there may be a slight delay in the squad page being updated however we will contact you directly if your first choice is already taken
Mcconville & Newton Promoted to First Team
We’re delighted to announce that Josh Mcconville & Liam Newton have been promoted to the first team squad this season.
17-year-old midfielder Josh joined the Under 20s set-up last summer from Fife Elite FA and made his first team debut in the Challenge Cup against Stirling Albion last August. Josh was selected for the Scottish School’s Boys International Squad for this second time this season & featured in the opening Centenary Shield match this year.
18-year-old midfielder Liam joined up with the Under 20s squad from Kennoway Star Hearts in November. Liam was captain of the Fife Schools Team last season and was called up to the Scottish School’s Boy International Squad this season, making his debut against Northern Ireland in the Centenary Shield in March.
“When we introduced the Under 20s team last season I said that I would be over-the-moon if 1 or 2 players could step up each season and for that to happen in the first year is fantastic and a testament to both the work of the coaching staff and the boys themselves. It demonstrates that the pathway we’ve put in place is working and shows the kids within the Community set-up that there is a progression route right the way through from pre-school to the first team” Jim Stevenson, Chairman
Congratulations to Josh and Liam!
Bayview Birthday
Club legend Dave Clarke celebrates his 70th birthday today. Dave made a record 628 appearances during his time at Bayview, in addition to two successful spells as Manager.
Everyone at East Fife would like to send Dave and his family our very best wishes on this special day.
Supporters Survey 2020 - Results
Today we're delighted to reveal the results of our recent supporters' survey that you took the time to participate in. We were absolutely delighted with the response to the survey and on behalf of the club, Jim Stevenson would like to say the following:
“The board thanks everyone for taking the time to take part in this survey. Every aspect of the survey will be discussed and passed to the relevant director or staff member with a view to improving all areas around the club where it is practical and financially achievable. At present all our focus is on preparing for playing season 2020/21 but the results of this survey will assist us to also prepare Bayview for the return of fans. Our sincere hope is that it will be sooner rather than later"
Jim Stevenson - Club Chairman
The results from the survey can be viewed here
Chairman & Board Update - June 2020
Firstly, I hope that anyone reading this is fit, healthy and like everyone here at the Club, itching to get back to watching football?
Once again, I would like to thank every person who has contributed & continue to contribute to our GoFundMe page and also those who have been very generous with their direct donations to the Club. The pre-orders for the new home top have been a huge success and we will hopefully be in a position to confirm delivery dates for these very soon.
This all means so much to us and is allowing us to look with some degree of confidence to the future.
It may appear that there is not a lot happening at Bayview during this horrible period, but I can assure you that I and my board of directors are working hard behind the scenes to give us as much chance as possible of being ready for the recommencement of football. It feels that every day consists of endless video group calls, telephone calls and emails and, in some respects, we are having to work harder now than during a ‘normal’ close season. The support the board has given me during this period has been fantastic and I thank them all for that.
I wish I could tell you that we have dates for training to start and the commencement of next season but, in truth, you know as much as I do about that! While the Premiership has a proposed start date of 1st August there is no such date for the Championship and Leagues One & Two. Some of this is due to the ongoing uncertainty of league reconstruction but mainly it is down to the restrictions imposed on football, and sport in general, during this pandemic.
What I can tell you is that we have been given guidelines on a phased return to training and we are considering what measures we can put in place to facilitate this. There are a lot of protocols that will mean some extensive alterations within the stadium and some onerous paperwork, but we feel that these are achievable. The stumbling block that we foresee is the bi-weekly testing for Covid-19 and the restrictions placed on players and staff out with the actual physical training days. The possible injection of cash to all clubs from the philanthropist James Anderson would assist greatly with the costs of the testing but the logistics of this present all clubs with some extremely difficult hurdles to overcome. We are in constant dialogue with the SPFL and SFA to try and resolve these issues but please do not underestimate the difficulties this will impose on us.
The management and players are desperate to resume training, but their health and safety must be paramount. I know that every player is doing all they can to stay in shape so that we they do return it will not take too long to regain full fitness.
I had hoped to be able to advise you on the season ticket prices for next season but obviously it is not possible to do so at this time. The uncertainty of which league we will be in and how many games we will actually play means that it is impossible to set prices right now. I would hope the position will be a bit clearer by the end of next week.
A lot has been said in the press about live streaming of closed door games and this is something we have been looking at very closely with the media team at EFtv. We are confident that should we return with closed door games, we will be able to provide this service for at least all our home games. During the group video calls with representatives of clubs in Leagues One & Two, EFtv has been used as the model that clubs would like to achieve and the media team are in touch with other clubs to advise them on what needs to be done to do this.
On the squad front, you will have seen through our social media platforms that we have extended the contracts of Aaron Dunsmore and Craig Watson for two years & one year respectively. We are delighted to have done so and thank them for their ongoing commitment to the Club. Negotiations with Anton Dowds re extending his contract are ongoing and we will advise the outcome of these discussions when they are concluded. Anton harbours ambitions to go full time and we respect that, but we would still like him to be here next season. As you will also be aware, we signed Thomas Collins from BSC Glasgow on a precontract in February and we will be honouring this with a 2-year deal when his present contract expires with his current club in a few days. Welcome to Bayview Thomas.
As with every close season, some players will be moving on. I would like to thank Lewis Hunter and Lewis Baker for all their efforts at the club over last season and wish them well in the future.
All of that means that the players contracted to the Club for next season (1 year remaining on current deal unless stated otherwise) are;
Goalkeepers
Jordan Hart & Brett Long
Defenders
Ross Dunlop (2 yrs), Chris Higgins, Pat Slattery, Stewart Murdoch & Craig Watson
Midfielders
Scott Agnew (2 yrs), Kyle Bell, Ross Davidson (2 yrs), Aaron Dunsmore (2yrs) & Liam Watt
Forwards
Thomas Collins (2 yrs), Danny Denholm, Kevin Smith & Ryan Wallace
We all felt that it was important to extend the contracts of the players the management team wanted to retain at the club as quickly as possible and this means that we are well on the way to the completion of the playing squad for next season. I will stress now though that there will be no ‘new’ signings until we are sure of a resumption date and confirmation of which league we will be competing in.
As mentioned previously, all our contracted players and management team are currently furloughed and, again, we are in constant contact with them regarding this situation. The players are fully aware of how the Club is placed with this and I thank them for their understanding & cooperation.
Rest assured that we as a club will be doing whatever we can to facilitate the return of football to Bayview at the earliest opportunity but will always act in the club’s best interests while ensuring the long term viability of East Fife Football Club.
Please stay safe.
Yours in sport
Jim Stevenson
Chairman East Fife Football Club