The girls and organisers of Kilgetty Football teams and the South Pembs Sharks were delighted to meet their sponsor Ty Francis at the weekend, to receive their new kit and to launch their partnership with the New York Welsh.
“Providing grassroots football in Wales can be financially challenging. The New York Welsh concept is amazing. That we are able to benefit from fund-raising in New York by Ty, Alayna and Aled is a little bit unbelievable. The girls are really excited by the exposure and we look forward to the on-going relationship with New York Welsh.”
Kilgetty Football Club is one of only a few FAW Gold accredited clubs in Wales. With the help of its volunteers, Kilgetty AFC provide grassroots football for 10 teams across all ages, with girls-only teams for U14s and U16s. Club Chairman, Lukas Gamble said: “Providing grassroots football in Wales can be financially challenging. The New York Welsh concept is amazing. That we are able to benefit from fund-raising in New York by Ty, Alayna and Aled is a little bit unbelievable. The girls are really excited by the exposure and we look forward to the on-going relationship with New York Welsh.”
The South Pembs Sharks is a WRU female rugby hub based at Tenby United RFC. It was formed in 2018 under the umbrella of The Cleddau Wildcats. The organisers and coaches were blown away by the enthusiasm and popularity of the hub, as 75 girls between the ages of 7-13, were training weekly.
This year they are introducing a new age group, the un15s.
Hub leader, Rachel Grieve said: “The financial support we have received from Ty, Alayna and the New York Welsh team, has allowed us to become a hub with our own identity.
“Our four teams will now have rugby tops to play in, filling the girls with pride, ambition and team spirit.
“As a hub we aim to develop further, to introduce the sport of rugby to more and more girls in our surrounding communities, and this financial support will give us the opportunity to do this!
We, the girls, their parents and the volunteers, are very grateful, and we look forward to continuing this partnership in the future!”
This sponsorship is part of a global initiative co-founded by Ty Francis MBE, a former New York Stock Exchange executive and US Business Advocate for Wales. The platform, ‘SponsorOurClub.org’ connects Welsh expats and philanthropically-minded individuals with Welsh youth sports teams in need of financial support. The programme will initially focus on girl’s football and rugby teams accredited by FAW and WRU, and Mixed Ability teams across Wales. It will attract a broad range of individuals from across the world to support these local Welsh sports teams.
It’s currently being developed with his wife, Alayna Francis, and friend Aled Miles.
Francis and SponsorOurClub.org have already secured funding of the Dragons Mixed Ability Team (Under the umbrella of the Pro14 Dragons club) through New York Welsh, with fellow co-founder Marc Walby and Dom Barrett, a retired solicitor from Cardiff, who provided the donation. The website launches later this year.
“New York Welsh wanted to be a catalyst to demonstrate that anyone in the world could make a positive local impact on girls rugby, football and for mixed ability teams all around Wales and bring a global perspective for regional programs,” said Ty who co-founded the New York Welsh organization. It is now New York City’s largest and most active social and business network, aimed at supporting the Welsh diaspora in the City.