Shifnal are planning for a bright future
Shifnal Town want to offer talented youngsters a pathway to first-team football after launching a development team to compete in the newly-formed Salop Leisure Football League next season.
The new outfit will play on a Saturday in the league, governed by the Shropshire FA, the first in the county to feed directly into the National League system.
The Salop Leisure Football League, the launch of which is understood not to have been affected by Covid-19, is expected to be a very competitive league of two divisions kicking off next season.
Shifnal Town Development will play their home fixtures at the club’s Acoustafoam Stadium base, offering young players a chance to catch the eye in a competitive environment.
They will be managed by Ash Cook, who was involved with the first-team management set-up last season. Joining Cook is vastly experienced former AFC Telford United first-team coach Steve Wynn.
First-team joint-manager Andrew Carrier said: “We’ve got a growing and talented youth set-up at Shifnal and the addition of a new development team helps us find a solution to the problem of bridging the gap to the first team for the club’s youngsters.
“In Ash and Steve we have two of the most experienced football people around and we are very confident that they are equipped to help and support the club and make the development team a resounding success.”
Cook said: “The main aim of the development team will be to support the first-team by developing our younger players by getting them ready and fully prepared to challenge and press for first team football.”
“It’s a great challenge for us personally and we are really looking forward to it, for me there’s nothing better than helping to develop young footballers and watching them progress.”
Wynn added: “I’m really excited to be joining Shifnal Town at this time. You can see the progression that the club is making on and off the pitch and I could just feel that this was the right move for me when I came down to meet everyone.
“For me the development team is about laying down a pathway for the club’s youth players to progress to into first team football. We are looking forward to meeting managers and players soon and I can’t wait to get started.”
