Author: Paul Jenkins

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We are pleased to announce Patrick Moore as our new Commercial Director. Patrick has recently had sustained success at both Donegal Celtic and Lisburn Distillery respectively.

As Director of Football, Patrick picked up boyhood Club Donegal Celtic from a struggling position, introduced to the fold by then Manager Liam Hunter. On the verge of exiting intermediate Football, Patrick was able to bring significant financial investment, appoint a new Management Team and begin the process of reforming their junior Football section in a very short turnaround.

After leaving Donegal Celtic in a strong position, Patrick was approached by Barry Johnston at Lisburn Distillery to come on board as Sport and Commercial Director. Playing a key part in Barry’s successful first season and being heavily involved in Talent ID, Financial Development and securing significant long term sponsorships for Distillery’s Mens 1st team, Ladies 1st team and both the boys and girls academies.

Patrick is the Head of Northern Ireland for a leading globally renowned recruitment business. In addition to his primary responsibility of bringing financial investment through local, national and international businesses, Patrick also brings employment opportunities to the club, staff and supporters. We encourage all those around the club that may be in need of work, short or long-term, to get in touch with Patrick to explore. Likewise, our local business owners in need of staff during this difficult time – get in touch. Patrick is here to support the Club and the wider Ballyclare Community. If you would like to contact Patrick, his email address is: [email protected]

We are pleased to announce that Declan Breen has agreed to join us again this season on loan, until January. Decky made 36 appearances for us last season, and kept 6 clean sheets in the process.

Stephen Small had this to say about Declan’s return, “We are delighted to welcome Decky back on loan again after a successful season just past and it’s great that he’s chosen to continue his personal development by extending his stay at Dixon Park until at least January. “

We thank Cliftonville for facilitating Decky’s loan and continuing the good relationship between our clubs.

We are pleased to announce that Ethan Simpson will join us on loan from Larne for the 23/24 season

Ethan, a centre midfielder, arrives at Dixon Park having worked with Manager Stephen Small at youth level.

We look forward to integrating him into the team and aiding his development further.

We would like to thank Larne FC for facilitating this move.

Ethan made his first appearance for the club in last night’s friendly vs Crumlin Utd and will wear the number 17 shirt this season.

In the first of our player interviews of the season, we chat to Tomás about his move to Ballyclare Comrades, the start of preseason, and being in the same team as his brother.

Watch now:

We are delighted to announce that 21 year old striker Calvin McCurry has agreed to sign permanently for the 2023/24 season.

Calvin spent last season on loan from Cliftonville scoring 10 goals and finishing the season in fine form.

Stephen Small, “This is a great signing for us. Calvin showed his qualities all last season with his all round forward play and work rate. He is a young ambitious player eager to improve under the guidance of our coaching staff . We look forward to watching him continue to perform and score even more goals in a Ballyclare shirt.”

Calvin will join after his contract expires with Cliftonville at the end of this month and will wear the number 11 shirt.

Welcome back Calvin!

We are delighted to confirm our ticketing options for the upcoming 2023/24 season.

We have frozen our season ticket prices for adults and concessions, and we have added new exciting ticketing options. Our adult season ticket price remains £110 which gains access to all home league games. Our concession (students over 18, and over 65’s) also remains at £55. Both these options are full membership tickets, and therefore give voting rights at the club’s AGM.

This year we are introducing “Admissions Passes”, giving a great discounted way to attend our home league games. If you are aged between 13 and 18, it’s only £55 for the season, under 12’s are £25, and our new family option is £200 for 2 adults and 2 children under 12 to attend Dixon Park. These passes do not give voting rights at our AGM, but do represent great value for money, allowing the widest range of options for entry into league games that we’ve ever offered.

We have put together a handy comparison chart to allow you to see the savings offered by these ticketing options.

Respect and Safety at Dixon Park

We hope you enjoy your engagement with Ballyclare Comrades. To ensure everyone has an enjoyable experience, its necessary for everyone to show respect for others and to behave in a safe manner.

RESPECT

The club has adopted the IFA’s ‘Giving sectarianism and racism the boot! Football for All’ policy as part of our application to the IFA Club Licensing Standard. The policy states that “Ballyclare Comrades Football Club is an equal opportunities club and will not tolerate any form of sectarianism, racially offensive behaviour or chanting. As part of our ongoing commitment to the IF’s ‘Football for All campaign, Kick It Out’ and to equality, anyone caught making racist or sectarian comments, may be arrested, prosecuted and banned from the club.”

SAFETY

Specific ‘Ground Regulations’ are clearly displayed at the entrances and around the ground.

These polices apply to all those persons within the ground, including spectators, players, club officials and match officials. Please respect the advice and directions from stewards, club officials and public announcements. Failure to do so may result in your removal from the ground and confiscation of your ticket.

To help with the day to day running costs of Ballyclare Comrades, we undertake a number of fundraising initiatives throughout the season. This year we are launching our 200 Club, where you will have the opportunity to win cash prizes every month, while also helping out the club with a £10 donation each month.

We have 4 cash prizes to give away every month, £100, £50 and 2 x £25! Additionally, we will be giving away one FREE SEASON TICKET in our first draw, which will take place at one of our home preseason friendlies.

If you wish to be part of this, you can contact Jackie Murdock on 07870832072. He can take payment at Dixon Park on Friday evenings 7 – 8pm, or from 1:30pm on match days. He can also arrange PayPal / bank transfer if that is easier for you.

We greatly appreciate the support you give to our great club, and look forward to welcoming you at Dixon Park this season!

We are delighted to confirm that 21 year old defender Tomás Gilmour will sign for the club once the window opens.

Tomás came through the ranks at Linfield and Ballymena before spending 4 months on loan at Knockbreda at the end of 21/22 season.

He then moved to Stirling University to continue his studies playing in their impressive run to the Scottish Cup 5th round.

Our manager Stephen Small had this to say about our new signing: “Tomás will bring added athleticism and tenacity into the defence. He is comfortable on the ball and can play anywhere along the back. We are excited to work with him and integrate him to our squad.”

Welcome to the Comrades Tomás!