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July 2008 - Congratulations to our next season U16 girls - 2008 Finland Finalists'! Yet again our girls did us proud in Wassa on the West Coast of Finland. Through to the cup final and beaten by a team that had been especially hand picked from all across Finland for the competition. The girls would like to say a special "Thank You" to the Jack Petchey Foundation who helped match fund their trip. Take a look at some of the photos.

July 2008 Our "Have You Pitched In?" Campaign is now underway. Our new page dedicated to the "Have You Pitched In?" campaign is in production and on this page will be a donate button for all members and friends of Long Lane to dig deep and make a contribution to this very worthy cause. Mick and Clare are planning lots of great events so check back soon to see the new page.

January 2008 - Congratulations Luke Joins Millwall School of Excellence! More good news in 2008. Goalkeeper Luke bids farewell to his U14 Kent Squad as he heads off to Millwall. Well done Luke and good luck and best wishes from everyone at Long Lane especially your U14 team mates who will be busy putting your potential replacement through their paces. If anyone knows of a good goalkeeper who might like to have a go then please contact Duncan immediately on 07725 362586

January 2008 - Congratulations Ria Joins U15 England Squad! Well what a great way to start the news page in 2008. We are so proud of our players who are doing so well. Well done Ria from the Long Lane U15 Girls who has been selected for the England U15's. We will all be following your progress and wish you good luck. More information on England U15's squad can be found on the FA web site.

October 2007 - Congratulations Ben! Ben Duben’s of Chris Thackham’s U13’s Kent League Team 2006/07 has just signed a 1 year contract with the U14’s Arsenal Academy for 2007/08.  He has only been playing football for 3 seasons 2 of those at Long Lane.   All that hard work in training and playing matches has now paid off.    He has settled in well at Arsenal and made a lot of new friends.   But certainly won’t be forgetting the Long Lane Boyz. Ben has already been on tour with Arsenal for four days to Florence in Italy.   He played Parma/AC Milan/Bologna/Empoli/Fiorentina/Sales and Torino.

July 2007 - One of those wonderful moments when Billy saves the winning penalty at the Long Lane Tournament!

July 2007 - Long Lane welcomes home the U14 girls who reached the finals in the WASA Finland Tournament - well done girls!

Long Lane U/14 girls returned to Finland to defend the cup they won last year in the annual WASA Football Tournament held on the west coast of Finland. The girls just missed out this time being beaten in the final after playing magnificent attacking football over the four-day tournament, scoring 28 goals and conceding just three.   Over 240 teams from 10 different countries took part, Long Lane were the only representative from England.  Chief Executive Mick Northwood spoke proudly of his girl’s behaviour and achievements; “although we stressed to our players that we were here to try and win the tournament we also emphasised they we here to make friends and experience a different culture and society”. Mick, who took the clubs first ever girls team abroad last season went on to say how proud he was of his girls who performed superbly both on and off the field; everyone was overwhelmed with the kindness and hospitality of the Finns. This tour finishes off another magnificent season for Long Lane JFC, who won no less the twenty-six trophies and were named as the London & Regional Charter Standard Community club of the Year for the fourth year in succession. The clubs U/17 Boys and U/14 girls both won the London Football Association Youth Cup, with the girls creating a little bit of history by winning the trophy for the fourth year in succession.

May 2007 - Long Lane Host International Tournament

Long Lane was honoured that our new Mayor of Greenwich, Sajid Jawaid, opened Euro-Sportring's International Tournament held at Long Lane JFC. Euro-Sportring held their first seniors tournament in London in conjunction with Long Lane JFC and they were "very pleased to have the support and co-operation of such a well organized club and would like to thank everyone at the club for their hard work and enthusiasm". This was Euro-Sportring's first London Greenwich Cup, with teams from France, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Belgium, along with 5 local English teams taking part.  Despite the poor weather, a great time was had by one and all and we hope to see some of our new International friends again at future Tournaments.

April 2007 - U14's Boys To the Rescue! Mick Northwood received a cry for help call on 04.04.07 when a team coming over from the West of Ireland to play football found that their opponents had to let them down.  Long Lane were asked if they could field an under 14’s side to play them on 07.04.07 so we got the 2 u14’s squad together and made a squad of 16. The boys really pulled a great performance out of the bag for a team that had just been put together against a side that hadn’t been beaten in their own league all season. The game got under way and straight from the off we were on top but couldn’t score.   Eventually we got our shooting boots on and ran out comfortable 10-0 winners with goals from Luke 2, Ben 2, James 2, Ade, Naufal, Nuri, and Benji. Salthill were very impressed with our football and even though they lost they thoroughly enjoyed the day.  We hope to see them again sometime in the future.

March 2007 - U8’S Tiger Parties With The Champions! Luckily our U8’S Tigers didn’t have a game on Sunday 18th March 2007, because their left winger spent most of Saturday night partying in the Chelsea players lounge at Stamford Bridge! After the blues successfully beat Sheffield United 3-0, our young Tiger and his Auntie spent the next few hours chatting with stars including, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Carlo Cudicini, Arjen Robben, his new best mate Frank Lampard and Chelsea and England Skipper John Terry! After discussing tactics, having a few drinks, and laughing with his new friends, there was just enough time for him to pose for some photos and to get some signatures. The Chelsea boys were also nice enough to autograph his shirt and programme so that he would have lots of really special things to remember his day by. As he said his goodbyes, our Long Lane starlet hoped that one day he would be returning ………but not as a visitor, as a player! March 2007 - Congratulations are in order for One of our Under 12'S players who has recently been successful in cross country running. In January 2007 he was selected to run in The Kent Cross Country Championships at Detling and did very well.  He was also chosen to represent Bexley at The Kent School's Championship at Tonbridge and was well placed. In late February 07, he competed in the Mini London Marathon trials at Erith Stadium and qualified for Bexley to run the final 2.5 miles of the official course, finishing near Buckingham Palace in The Mall on the morning of the big race. He will be running for the Make-a-Wish foundation which grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening illnesses.  The charity was founded in the UK in 1986 and, since then, has granted over 4,200 wishes. Whether a wish is to be a princess or a policeman for a day, own the latest computer equipment, meet a favourite celebrity or just enjoy some special time away from home with their family, a wish come true brings so much to a child's life and provides memories for the family that last a lifetime. He intends to ask our parents and supporters for help with sponsorship whilst we are in Great Yarmouth on football tour at Easter, and he would be most grateful if you give generously to such a good cause. February 2007 - Congratulations are in order for one of our under 8's Tigers boys who was a Charlton Athletic mascot on 3/2/07 for the match against Chelsea. He was lucky enough to be able to tour the ground before the game & meet the Charlton players in their dressing room. After getting all the Charlton autographs, he was bold enough to ask Didier Drogba for his signature and was thrilled when the Chelsea No.11 took his book into their changing room and came out shortly after with it fully signed by all their stars! After warming up with all the players before kick off, he then held the hand of Marcus Bent as he walked out with both teams onto the Valley pitch in front of 28,000 thousands cheering fans! Although Charlton lost 1-0, he had a fabulous day and as you can see has some fantastic photographs to remember it by. He was also featured in his Long Lane kit in the match day programme and was shown on Sky Sports! Long Lane Elvis Night is very nearly a sell out - book soon or be very disappointed! We have some great events coming up so please book your tickets now or miss out ...... February 2007 - Congratulations are in order for one of our under 10's girls who got through to the next round of the Clarks auditions! We wish her luck. Long Lane Elvis Night is very nearly a sell out - book soon or be very disappointed! We have some great events coming up so please book your tickets now or miss out ...... January 2007 - Long Lane girls aged 8 to 11 with a shoe size 3.5 and under were invited to attend the Arsenal Training Centre on Saturday 6th January (2007) to participate in a casting session for a new Clarks Shoe commercial.  We had very short notice to gather girls together for this and all the girls who did attend thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We apologise in advance to anyone who we could not reach given such a quick timescale. There will be other exciting opportunities coming up later in the year! Hopefully we will have more time to notify you on other such opportunities. Long Lane is very grateful to Andy Ansah who kindly invited us along.  We wish all our girls the very best of luck that some (if not all!) might be chosen for the commercial.   We have a few pictures of the day here and are awaiting others to add to this collection that were taken by parents on the day. Long Lane JFC Standard Charter Community Club Award 2006 - 3rd Year in a row. Long Lane are pleased to announce that another 7 coaches have qualified for their Level 1 coaching certificate which also includes Child Protection and Emergency Aid done over approximately 39 hours of their own time. This is a continued effort by the club to make sure that all children are able to enjoy their football with qualified coaches at all levels. Our new conference room with Video/DVD facilities and astro turf have been used twice by the FA for Level 1 Coaching courses.  These facilities are available for hire so get in touch with Long Lane if you wish to make a booking. It is never too late to join a Long Lane team. Some of our teams need extra players.   Take a look at the Players Wanted linkin the main menu or make a call to the office.