Congratulations to Tom Ross & Sons Funeral Directors Super 5s team this week for displaying some of the clubs core ethos and attributes, earning them the first ever Team Of The Week in the Super 5s Section.

Keep up the great work team.

Recently we had the opportunity to work with Weronika Cichosz, an employee of James Jones and Sons Forres, to build football connections with a city in Tanzania. Over the festive period Weronika travelled to Morogoro to visit a team of missionaries who run one of their schools there.

Weronika works with the clubs Vice-Chairman; Scott Thomson who wanted to offer some gifts from Forres Area Soccer7s for the school children in Tanzania. We then asked if the children might like some of our previous season’s strips and a few new footballs to play with, which Weronika said was a fantastic idea. We met up at the clubs’ pavilion and sorted out some strips and footballs for Weronika to take over with her on her travels.

This is what Weronika had to say on her return from Tanzania.

The school has a ‘pre-school’ class, which they affectionately simply call baby. This is for children between the ages of 2.5 and 5 years old. Then from 5-13 they run the primary school programme.

There are some 900 students overall, 40 of which (typically coming from very far or very poor families) stay in the boarding house.

The school employs 32 teachers so as you can imagine – they have their hands full!

 The school has a large garden in the back were tomatoes, bananas, mangos and other basic fruit and vegetables grow – even some chickens and goats are kept (which double down as cheap grass cutting service during holidays!). There’s also a very ferocious guard dog patrolling the grounds – Stella – who likes to intimidate newcomers by asking them for belly rubs.

The children receive meals at the school’s outdoor kitchen every day, which is further encouragement for families to send their kids to school rather than have them working in the fields. To prepare for the first week of classes, we spent a morning sorting through 100kg of tomatoes which may last for about two weeks.

The children receive a comprehensive education in Swahili, English, maths, history, sciences, arts, music and many more.  

Thomas, who you can see below with a Soccer 7s strip, oversees 5 such schools in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

It has taken many years and many people of good will to build this school up to what it looks like now. At present works are underway to expand the classroom space to accommodate for the 1000 children which are expected to enrol this year.

Among the surrounding area this school with its colourful walls looks like a peaceful haven for kids to run around and play. There’s a football pitch (of sorts) with some goal posts (of sorts) but they haven’t been making much use of it because they haven’t been able to get decent balls. I’m sure you’ll be aware but a seemingly small gesture from yourselves will bring a big smile on many wee faces – and probably annoy the neighbours with the noise.

The country of Tanzania is without a doubt, a beautiful one, the nature and wildlife provide an unforgettable experience for the senses. However, an even deeper beauty there is that of the people. Sounds of rejoicing and celebration are never ending and something that was particularly obvious is that Tanzanians look after their things; they take great care and pride in what they have so something we can be sure of is that these kits and footballs will be in use for a very long time.

The club is now looking to arrange for more strips to be sent over, so one day we might see a big derby match in Tanzania between Maclean’s Highland Bakery v Murdoch Brothers Butchers or Mundole Taxi’s v Tom Ross & Sons.

Team Soccer7s

As we approach the start of the 2025 season we are looking for new volunteers to join us. The club relies on volunteers to help coach the local children and if we did not have that we would not be able to offer this great facility.

If you want to volunteer or know someone who would be a great addition to our team then please contact us through email – office@forres-soccer7s.co.uk or pm through any of our social media pages.

We are all looking forward to another season with more great sessions, matches, events and much much more.

See you all soon.

Team Soccer7s

Registration Open

We are pleased to announce that registration is OPEN for our 2025 season.

There is a limited number of spaces available for the Junior7s section.

Super5s section is now full and the applications are now closed for that section.

If you would like to be put on the waiting list, contact the club though the website or on our Facebook page.

You will be contacted if a space becomes available.

Dev4s and Senior7s will remain open throughout the season.

Dev4s – £20 for the whole season

All other groups – £30 for the whole season.

You can registers through our website https://forres-soccer7s.co.uk/product/membership-junior/

With the start of the 2024 season just around the corner, we are looking for new volunteers to help with coaching, assisting or to join the ‘Half Time Grill’ team in the kitchen.

Without volunteers we would not be able to offer football for players aged 4-16 year olds from the local area.

If you are interested then please contact the club ⚽️⚽️⚽️

We are pleased to announce that we will be continuing to offer free places to any child that is in receipt of free school meals.

For those who don’t know, Forres Area Soccer 7s is a registered charity and we do everything we can to ensure that every child has the opportunity to play football. If you wish to claim a free place for your child please contact the club through our email office@forres-soccer7s.co.uk or private message through our social media pages.

We are pleased to announce that the registration for the 2024 season is now open. You can register your child through the ‘Join The Club’ tab.

The club has also made the decision to freeze the registration fees and they will remain at £20 for the Developmental 4s and £30 for the Super 5s, Junior 7s & Senior 7s for the whole season.

We will also be having 2 warm up session for the Super 5s, Junior 7s & Senior 7s on Sunday 18th & 25th Jan. Kickoff 11:30, please arrive 10/15 mins beforehand.

The season will fully kickoff on Sunday 10th March, where the Developmental 4s will join the rest of the age groups.

If you have any queries or questions please contact the club.

Kind regards

Forres Area Soccer7s

We are delighted to announce that Fraser Fire & Security have joined the Soccer 7s family and agreed to sponsor one of our Super 5s teams for the next 3 years.

When asked why they wanted to sponsor a team within Soccer 7s, Stevie replied:

“I remember the year before I was at the age for playing Soccer 7s being told I was too young. I was absolutely devastated and cried for hours to my mum.”

“When my time came, it was brilliant playing in a competitive league with players from other primary schools. So many good players have come through Soccer 7s over the years and many have went on to play junior and highland league football.”

“It’s so important that we have organisations like Soccer s to get kids outside playing sports. Local business’ have a responsibility to support the area in which they operate so that’s why we have committed.”

The club’s Chairman, Paul Lynch added, “It’s fantastic to have local companies that want to give back to the community and support Soccer 7s. To have Fraser Fire & Security join us in sponsorship with no hesitation, really puts into perspective the impact that Soccer 7s has in the local community. We would not be able to continue to offer such an excellent facility to the children if it wasn’t for companies like Fraser Fire & Security.”

Fraser Fire & Security helps protect your loved ones and your most precious assets. It is our duty to keep you and your property safe, by providing excellence in fire safety and security.

We specialise in Fire Alarms, Smoke Detectors, Intruder Alarms, CCTV and Fire Extinguishers. We take our job seriously, paying close attention to detail with a forward-thinking approach. With bases in Kintore and Forres, the company provides fire safety and security services across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Inverness.

Our highly skilled and fully qualified staff have years of experience in designing and installing all types of fire & security systems. As an independent business, we are committed to finding the best and most cost-effective solutions. Keeping up to date with the latest technology and legislation, we work in both residential and commercial premises.

We are delighted to announce a new Super 5s team sponsor, with Murdoch Brothers Butchers taking up sponsorship for the next 3 years.

We had the opportunity to ask Graham Murdoch why he decided to sponsor a team within Forres Area Soccer 7s, and he said – “We’re delighted to sponsor Forres Soccer 7s because it provides young people of the town a fantastic opportunity to get involved in sport and make new friends outside of school. Moreover, the social and team-building skills these young people develop will stay with them for life. It’s great that Forres Area Soccer 7s is such an inclusive organisation with participation encouraged by both girls and boys.”

Paul Lynch, Chairman of Forres Area Soccer 7s also added “I am really pleased that Murdoch Butchers have agreed to sponsor a team with us. We have been dealing with them for the last couple of years, where they have been supplying our kitchen on a Sunday morning with lovely sausages. To have local companies show the support they do is overwhelming and Soccer 7s would not be able to offer such a great place for children without companies like Murdoch Butchers.”

Murdoch Brothers Butchers was established back in 1916, when the first Murdoch Brothers and their farming family established a butchers shop and fishmongers in Forres. Four generations later Master Butchers, brothers Graham and Ronnie Murdoch, are specialists in manufacturing award winning meat products and pies.