Congratulations to the University of Plymouth Football Club committee, who have been awarded their Icons Award for their efforts through an extremely difficult year.

The UPSU Icons Awards celebrate our Sports Clubs and Societies that have gone above and beyond throughout this year. There are certain criteria each group has to complete to win their award which is then approved by the UPSU Sports and Societies Teams. This year we have seen so many amazing things happen throughout our student community, including the efforts of the Men's Football Club.

Who are UPFC:     

"University of Plymouth Football Club welcomes all to join one of the biggest sports clubs at Uni! The club is made up of a number of teams of ranging ability to suit all our members.

 

Teams 1- 2 play in the BUCS Western leagues, where they compete against other Universities. Our teams 3s to 7s play in two Devon Wednesday leagues against other local teams, including two Marjon teams.

 

We then also offer a Saturday team in a local league as well as several intramural teams that play other societies on Sundays."

 

- University of Plymouth Football Club 

University of Plymouth Football Club Successes:

This year the University of Plymouth Men's Football Club has gone above and beyond in a difficult time for sports. This year they have reviewed, completed and signed off all relevant documentation required by the sports department which has been uploaded to the SU website. The committee has missed no more than 3 Sports Forums throughout the year and held a successful Annual General Meeting (AGM) in March 2021 to elect the next club committee.

They have complied with all of UPSU’s policies and procedures as well as keeping in touch with the relevant Activities Coordinator with information and updates from within the club. The core committee members have attended all compulsory committee training, as well as registering all trips, tours and events with the Students’ Union and demonstrated effective financial management with their budgets and funding. 

UPFC has worked closely with UPSU throughout the year by meeting/communicating with staff and Sabbatical Officers. They fought to host fortnightly online socials even in the difficult time of covid restrictions, they also managed to produce successful social media campaigns including Black History Month, Shave or Dye for Teenage Cancer Trust, Meet the Committee and Q&As to give their members a way to connect with the club from home.

The Men's Football Clubs 'Shave or Dye' event for Teenage Cancer Trust raised just over a whopping £4,800 with roughly 50 members taking part in either shaving their head or dying their hair blonde to raise awareness for the cause and they have plans for a second charity event soon. 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by UPFC (@up_fc_)

The committee has kept communications at the heart of their work with their members through the UPFC Exec 2020/21 Facebook groups where they would hold polls and plan socials, including promotion of the UPSU Elections, where Men's Football had almost 40% of their members vote on who should represent them in one of the biggest events for Plymouth students. 

And finally, the club has completed the additional criteria for their Icons Award by supporting the national campaign with FIFA and UEFA, ‘Kick Racism Out of Football’ by asking their members to give accounts of experiences they had of being a black football player in grassroots football and what racism they have encountered being a part of football in general, this was also tied in with Black History Month campaigns earlier in the year.

The committee has organised joint events with other clubs and societies, such as Netball Club co-hosting an online quiz for their members. The club gained internal recognition for their work, through UPSU Success Stories, sharing how they are keeping their members safe during the days of Covid-19. This year has been a year like no other and seeing students work to give the best experience they can to their members is exactly why we have these awards. Congratulations UPFC.

Congratulations from all of us here at UPSU!

The University of Plymouth Football Club has been awarded their Icons for all the amazing work they have done over this year voluntarily and on top of their own studies, this couldn't be more deserved and we can wait to see what you bring to the Students' Union next year! 

Stay tuned and keep an eye on our social media channels over the coming weeks to read a profile of each student group that has achieved Icons this year.

You’ll be able to find out more about what they did to receive this award and how you can get involved in September. 

Want to find out what Sports and Societies are out there? Click here