I LOVE Mountfield Rovers JFC – Bramhall’s Oldest Football Club

11 Dec 2020

Mountfield Rovers are a football club which encompasses the best of both worlds for junior football. The club’s inclusive ethos means ‘everybody plays’ AND players are provided with professional coaching by the brilliant and dedicated SK Football Coaching. Everyone involved with the club – the Chairman, the committee, the parents, the players themselves and the SK coaches – shares the same aim. It’s ALL about the kids playing their football.

A Half-Century of Football in Bramhall

Established way back in 1969, Mountfield Rovers are Bramhall’s longest standing junior football club. They’re one of the oldest across the entire North West, actually. History and heritage mean a lot – but the club don’t just rely on their past. They never rest on their laurels. Mountfield Rovers Junior Football Club continues to move with the times, to innovate and to go from strength-to-strength. A Charter Standard club, their recent developments include girls’ football, their academy and the valuable partnership formed with SK Football Coaching. SKFC is a professional coaching organisation with a difference, which values grassroots football every bit as highly as the elite game.

The club originated in Mountfield Road over fifty years ago. Local dad, Brian Hackett, saw the need to provide better footy opportunities for his sons and their friends. Playing football in the road was far from ideal, even half a century ago. He organised the lads into a 5-a-side team whose ranks soon swelled – and continued to swell. Ken Morrison, himself an experienced footballer, stepped up to manage them. They played friendly matches against local scout groups and the like, then joined the Reddish Under 11 League. There, they won the League and the Cup, AND provided most of the players for the League’s representative team.

Thus, the foundations of Mountfield Rovers were well and truly formed. Over the next decade, the club expanded further – fielding seven teams, before playing in the then Hazel Grove Junior Football League. The club then became part of the Stockport Metro League, which now features teams from over FIFTY junior football clubs, providing matches and leagues for hundreds of teams from under-8s right through to under-17/18s.

A Bramhall Institution

Today, Mountfield Rovers is simply a Bramhall institution. Somewhere in the region of 170 boys and girls are given the chance to play a game of football, week in, week out throughout the season. The season is then capped with a glittering presentation for every player to attend. Over the club’s impressive fifty-year history, well over 3,000 players have passed through the Mountfield ranks. That’s 3,000+ happy memories and valuable lessons. 3000+ young footballers making friends for life. 3000+ kids developing their skills and fitness with a great hobby.

Junior football in Bramhall is flourishing, and that is in no small way related to the progress and evolution of Mountfield Rovers JFC. Mountfield Rovers were SK Football Coaching‘s very first partner club: SK started with the then U11s and U6s in 2017. Since then, the club has grown more – SK’s Joe estimates three-fold – and the scale of the partnership with SK has developed greatly. SKFC‘s partnership with the club really promotes junior football in Bramhall, as SK’s strong links to local schools ties in to the growth of the club.

The Club now boasts:

A thriving Academy, with four new U7 teams graduated for 20/21, and more already up-and-coming for next season
A complete foundation phase section, with teams at U7-U11
A thriving youth development phase, with teams from U13-17
New in 2020, an FA Wildcats girls’ coaching centre – enabling the growth of girls’ junior football in Bramhall

Many current Mountfield parents and other Bramhall residents will have played for Mountfield in their youths and will cherish those memories. The club’s current membership numbers rather eclipse those back in the day – but the ethos and dedication of those involved remains constant.

Footy in the Heart of the Village

Mountfield’s home ground is on Lumb Lane, right in the heart of village. As well as sole rights to play matches there, they enjoy access to the fab facilities of the village hall. Meetings, socials, parties, presentation evenings, can all take place there.

The club enjoy tremendous support from several businesses in Bramhall. Quite a few Mountfield teams are sponsored by our local businesses. Amaranth, Mosley Jarman, and Village Square all support the club. Further sponsorship opportunities are available – your business name could be emblazoned on those distinctive red-and-black striped shirts, as well as Mountfield’s website and social media.

Support Your Local Club

We all love football, the beautiful game. As Bill Shankly famously said, football isn’t a matter of life and death. No. “It’s much more important than that”. The success of football; the development of home-grown players; the very sport itself – all are dependent upon and intrinsically linked to the grassroots game. From the most gifted and confident players to those who just live for when Saturday (or Sunday) comes and love to have a kickabout with their mates, clubs like Mountfield Rovers, are worth their weight in gold.