As no doubt many would have heard that Sun Sports Football Club are currently going through a difficult time.
The current people at the Bellmountwood Avenue club, BJB Management, have locked Sun Sports FC out of the ground that they have played at for 86 years.
Things came to such a point that the club, which had been a footballing favourite in Watford non league circles for many years since the early 1920’s, looked like they had no alternative but to close down.
BJB Management thought that we would go quietly and without a fight.
This is not the case. We have every right to play at our rightful home, not just for the Senior Sides but for all of the youth sides as well.
With the help of other local football clubs such as Kings Langley FC, Leverstock Green FC, London Colney FC and also Queens School in Bushey, the Sun has continued to shine on.
We will continue to fight to get our ground back. We have been amazed at the many messages that we have had so far, supporting us and would love to get many, many more!!
Any advice from other clubs and their fans would be more than welcome too.
Once the fight has been won, the club are looking at becoming a football club run by the fans for the fans.
Below are just some of the comments that we have received from the footballing fraternity.
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This is so sad to see a great club
So many grass roots players have gone through including my son many years ago.
Hopefully you will return one day.
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I sincerely hope the club will return someday somewhere. Thoughts are with all concerned with Sun Sports FC. God Bless
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Shocking and disgusting!! Social club hang your heads in shame!! Hoping this isn’t the last of Sun Sports, keep the faith!! From all at Colney Heath FC!!
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Absolutely gutted to hear this very sad news. Working so hard for your passion to have it shattered is totally but wrenching. I feel for you all and I know that everyone at WGC FC will feel the same. I loved coming to your club and you will be sorely missed. Thank you for all your great hospitality over the years. I will be hoping and praying that you can re-form somewhere else. All the very best to you. Karen Fisher (WGC FC)
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Sun Sports are a wonderful football club. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there when Bromsgrove Sporting came down. We were welcomed with open arms. I am desperately sorry for your club. You must fight all the way as we did and return stronger.
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That is disgusting treatment of a great club with great traditions, from Tring your name has always symbolises the cream of Watford amateur football , and many a fair competitive match I have played or managed against them , I hope Sun Sports football club does survive in some form and the new owners sit and wallow in an empty shell
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I hope the police have been contacted too and not just the people removed so there is some justice for all the young people and the club they have stolen from. This is disgusting. How sad that another facility has been taken away from the youth.
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That’s very sad played there around 84/85/86 when I was still at school in the Reserves mainly having Senior football experience through Jon Perks & Ron Kelly while we played at the ground for Gadeside Rangers…..Also spent a lot of Saturday’s there in my school days with a former player Barry Smith who was my neighbour ……good memories.. .thanks all at Sun Football Club.
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It’s such a shame and we really feel for you hopefully one day you can regain your former status I personally had some wonderful games against many of your teams good luck in your fight to reinstate your club !!! Paul Roche former AFC odds now Railway arms manager
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Absolutely gutted for you all. As a Bedmond supporter I know how it feels to lose your team, although the different circumstances. Hope you can get it going again in the future.
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All down to mindless greed. I was one of many Bromsgrove Sporting fans who travelled down for last season FA Vase fixture.
We received an excellent reception & well looked after by all, regardless of the result on the pitch that day.
I truly hope that sun sports can rise again.
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This is indeed a sad day. I cut my teeth refereeing in the Herts County League in the mid 1970’s at a very young age and always enjoyed the challenge of officiating at Sun Sports. The days of Lol Bolino, Jim Hatch, Colin Weedon, Alan Mitchell, Ron Chart, Derek Higgs, and many others. Now at the age of 59 and living in Lincolnshire, I still look to see how those clubs of the 70’s and 80’s are getting on. Sun v Rolls Royce Engines – now there was a fixture!!!!! I still have my book with all of the matches I refereed, so I will go and re live some of the memories. Good luck to all of you.
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Terrible news , had a great day with you last season in the vase your hospitality was second to none , on behalf of all fans of Bromsgrove Sporting fc I hope you can rise from the ashes again
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This isn’t right – they don’t own the place – they are a private limited company by guarantee without share capital. If there is no football club they have to pay back the £600K Football Foundation grant (clawback period of 25 years if they fail to provide the terms of the grant). Check out your legal rights.
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So sorry to hear such sad news of another non league club folding and especially so as down to greedy people.
Hope you reform your club…..from a Bromsgrove Sporting fan.
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Terrible news. Bromsgrovians will especially feel your pain as we lost The Rovers back in 2010. Time to re-group and start again as we did with Sporting. Best wishes for the future and hopefully we’ll see Sun Sports resurrected ready for next season
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This is terrible news and from fans who understand what you will be now having to deal with all the best, but please cling to the hope that a restart is possible.
In fact I have spoken to a lot of sporting fans since our visit in the vase to Sun Sports and many of us see that that as being absolutely pivital during our new clubs short history in terms of – that’s the day pinpointed when we really really took off and reconnected with many many old rovers fans and just in general terms of really increasing our new clubs profile within our own town and surrounding areas (south birmingham areas).
I have travelled far and wide or the years following my teams (bcfc & bsfc) and can honestly say that personally visiting yourselves ranks right up there in terms of overall experience…
Things I personally remember from that day
1. Your communication in the build up to the game covering everything imaginable including travel, cost, what you are planning for us on the day etc.
2.A group of us stopped off at your ground at about 10am on the way to our hotel and was meet by a number of delightful sun sports fans who opened up the access to the ground specially so we could get in and have a look around and take some photos.
3. The organisation and set up you had on the day in terms of welcome through the turnstiles, gazebos up, mouth watering bbq on the go.
4) The bar facility you had with decking, especially after the game meeting many sun sports fans who were all very gracious and very praising of sporting in defeat. The sing song many of us had in the bar afterwards as well.
5) The Sun Sports mug I was given free of charge after the game to mark the relationship we had built up in the lead up to the game……non league spirit alive and well
For me and many others that day has been our best away to date even beating days out further along our vase journey. You were all superb on that day, please take strength from that day, if you decided to try and reform you defo have the people to do it.
It wont be easy and whatever journey you decided to take I wish you all the best – from one proper non league club to another – all the very best….
Finally I am sure if you do get something of the ground sporting fans (if only in a small way) would be willing to help in terms of say – donating something for a raffle or something like that…..
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Devastating news and really poor show by greedy and spiteful individuals with clearly no concept of what local football clubs mean to a community.
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Not really any need to add to the above . . . . . . . . Apart from – the sun always rises again and again.
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From Watford Observer 31st August 2017
On Friday evening Sun Sports, a Watford footballing institution some 96 years of age, appeared to have breathed it’s last as a statement confirmed the club had folded.
What a difference 24 hours and a little help from some friends can make then, as the Sun did indeed rise once more on Saturday.
So often rivals Kings Langley, among other clubs in the area, came to the aid of Sun and have offered to allow them to play their home games at Gaywood Park.
The need to do so came after the owners of Sun’s home ground demanded a payment, claimed to be £20,000 by the club, for the use of their home ground.
It is a figure Sun simply could not pay, and for Kings chairman, Jeremy Wilkins, the decision to come to the aid of a grand old club was a no-brainer.
“Whether it be a youth team or senior team, being unable to stage a football match is very, very sad. For a local club of Sun’s heritage it is particularly disappointing,” Wilkins said.
“We have quite a lot of connections to Sun. Players have gone between the two clubs and our current manager has been in charge there.
“It’s a local club in trouble so we picked up the phone and said ‘come along and we will see what we can do to help’.
“We don’t know the politics of the situation, we just want to be able to help, whether that be offering our pitch, equipment or players, we are willing to do that.”
While Gaywood Park will play host to Sun, it is a near impossibility they will be able to host all their home games there.
Kings need to complete their own fixture commitments and Watford Ladies will also use the ground this season.
With this in mind, Wilkins confirmed other local clubs have been contacted and it is likely Sun will play at a number of venues in 2017/18.
He also confirmed the use of any facilities will come free of charge as Kings look to help get their neighbours back on their feet.
“For us this is not about money. If they sort out the issues and get back to their home then happy days. This is not about Kings Langley,” he said.
“It could be perceived as us trying to make money from Sun’s misfortune, but that could not be further from the truth.
“We want to get them in a position where they can play their football, whether that is at our ground or somewhere else. We are talking to other local clubs to see if we can provide facilities for them to play.”
On the pitch, Sun picked up a morale-boosting victory over London Colney in midweek as they held their nerve in a penalty shoot-out Premier Division Cup win.
A battling display against the league champions saw Sun take the lead through a fine header at the back post, only to be pegged back in the tie.
With the sides unable to be separated the game was decided by the lottery of spot kicks and two fine stops from the Sun keeper gave Tim O’Sullivan’s side a 4-3 win.
Wilkins believes the victory is evidence of the ups and downs of football and provides proof things can get better for Sun.
He said: “On Friday it was doom and gloom and come Tuesday they won a cup game away at London Colney.
“So from a position of being without a club they are back playing and winning football matches.”
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Well done to KLFC.
Can the reporters at the Wobby (Watford Observer) use their investigative skills to report on the greed of the owners of Sun Sports social club. There have been some dodgy dealings at the club that need to be brought to light.
More great messages of support, please keep them coming in!!!
Absolute disgrace. Have seen many great games between us and Sun over the years. Unfortunately there are too many non football people meddling with grass roots football nowadays.
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Tragic and a disgrace
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Kings Langley have come in and offered their ground to Sun Sports to share keeping them alive.
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Fabulous news. Well done well done well done Kings Langley.
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That’s great news. Nobody wants to see a club fold. Lets hope the powers that be allow them to do
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Good to see that they’re able to carry on – I doubt if Kings Langley will be asking such stupid money as these dodgy owners of theirs
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Great gesture from Kings Langley. Given the fiasco of many groundshares and in particular Southalls how can the league say no?!
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I am stunned and so sorry to hear this news, you must all be in shock.
A century of history mindlessly needlessly greedily destroyed.
Much love from Cockfosters and all of the rest of us Spartans.
My heart beats for you, the Yellow and the Blue.
Keep the faith SSFC.
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To keep the Sun name alive, the Sun reserve squad will now become the first team and will continue to play in the Herts County League Division One, playing their “home” matches at Queens School, Aldenham Road, Bushey for the remainder of this season.
Some of the original first team have already offered to stay with the Sun and are willing to stay “Yellow and Blue”
Now that’s grass-roots football for you!!