Sporting Director, Paul Jones shares a message with FC Isle of Man fans in relation to the extremely challenging situation we’re all facing.
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We are worried too.
Like you we are worried about our family, our friends and our colleagues.
Like you we are worried about our work, our Island community and our shared future.
Like you we are trying to come to terms with our new reality.
Like you some days are better for us than others.
We are inspired by the stories we are hearing about the people in our community going above and beyond and of those who are acting in the best interests of others. Just as inspiring are the people who are keeping our Island community going and those keeping us safe and well by doing the things, we seem to have taken for granted for so long. Thank you.
Like you we feel it is such a shame that it has taken this crisis for us to value people and services that have until now have been hidden in plain sight and are wondering how we can make sure we don’t lose sight of them again.
Like you we are thinking about how we can help, how we can do our bit for our Island and our community.
We have spoken as a group at length, we have consulted with those who are part of our Facebook group and we have come to the following conclusion.
Our project, to have a Football Club from the Isle of Man playing in the English National League System, has always been with our community at the forefront of our mind. It has always been about doing our bit for our Island, using football to create wide ranging benefits on and beyond the field of play.
So, we are cracking on. We are continuing to work towards FC Isle of Man playing the 2020/21 season, whenever that may start, in an English League. We understand that might not be possible due to the large number of things that are beyond our control but we will do our best to put everything in place so we are ready when the time comes, regardless of whether that time is season 2020/21 or season 2021/22.
We will continue to do so with our community, it’s individuals and businesses, at the forefront of our minds so they are the ones able to make the most of the potential benefits we believe this project will provide.
We know that the next few weeks and months may be tough for us all therefore some of our planned announcements have been put back a week or two.
In due course we will share what we are doing and how people can become a part of it. We will endeavour to strike the right tone in our actions and would appreciate feedback from you all if we get this wrong at any point.
Football is a long way down the priority list for us, let alone anyone else at present. However, we also know that we would like FC Isle of Man to play its part in helping our Island move beyond our current reality. Therefore, we will continue to work hard to play our part, alongside others, in creating a new and improved, but undeniably different, reality for our Island.
We understand it will take us all, as individuals and businesses, different timescales to move towards a place where we can start to think about what comes next let alone take action to make it happen. We can be forgiven for living day to day when so much around us is changing so quickly.
Please know that when you are ready, we will be here making those plans and taking that action. We would love for you to be a part of what we are doing, and we will be waiting to welcome you with open arms when that time comes.
So, we will continue to build a community football club. One that will represent all of us because it will be created by all of us. We know there are many more people beyond our small working group that share our positivity about this project and we thank everyone for their support to date. Between us all we can make this happen. It won’t be easy, and in time we will be calling on as many people as possible to help us, but we firmly believe our project will be good for our Island and its people once we all get through this period of our lives.
So safe travels over the weeks ahead, follow the advice we have all been given and let’s make sure, by our actions, that the people and businesses we all value are supported enough to be there when we emerge on the other side.
Very best wishes
Paul Jones
FC Isle of Man Sporting Director
