Category Archives: Sport

Football, Sport, Sports Headlines

Huddersfield Town Launch New Home Kit For Next Season

Huddersfield Town are proud to unveil their 2023/24 Umbro home kit, with the latest take on their famous blue and white stripes designed in tribute to their first of three consecutive league title victories in the 1920s!

Available for purchase ahead of Father’s Day from Friday 16 June 2023 both online and in store, the Utilita and SportsBroker sponsored kit was unveiled by First Team stars Jack Rudoni, David Kasumu and Rarmani Edmonds-Green in front of their new 1920s inspired mural outside the Millers Oils High Performance Complex.

Several design features across the kit also tip their hat to the centenary of the Club’s first ever league win, with ‘Huddersfield Town AFC 1923/24 Champions of England’ proudly featuring inside the neckline. With gold detailing around the neck, collar and Umbro’s double diamond, the woven embroidered Club crest is also enveloped in gold.

Two subtle changes are a thin pinstripe alongside their blue and white stripes, with the stripes themselves housing a prominent pattern of stars within them. On the rear of the kit, the three stars now sees the first detailed in gold, with the remaining two silver to represent the first of their three league titles.

Names and numbers will also feature in gold on the rear of the kit, matching seamlessly with the SportsBroker branding across the shoulders. Playing shorts will remain predominantly white with gold trim and blue down each side, with white socks featuring a blue ring across the top with gold HTAFC and Umbro detailing on the calf and shin.

Head of Retail Luke Cowan commented: “It’s always a brilliant occasion to launch the new home shirt, and we can really start to look forward to the 2023/24 Sky Bet Championship season now we know what we’re wearing!”

“As always, we have worked extremely closely with Umbro in the development of our kit design to focus on the intricate details across the shirt, and are proud that this bespoke kit allows us to tell the story of that first league title win.”

“I’m also delighted that Umbro have got the home kit to us early this summer so that fans can buy theirs ahead of Father’s Day and the summer holidays.”

“Kit releases are always popular thanks to our amazing supporters, so to give everyone a great chance of making one their own as soon as possible the home shirt will be available both in store and to purchase online at shop.htafc.com from the morning of Friday 16 June, with no pre-order or click-and-collect service available on release.”

Cricket, News, West Yorkshire

Yorkshire CCC stars in surprise Leeds school visit

A group of pupils had a very special surprise from Yorkshire players this week.

Yorkshire CCC captain Shan Masood and seam bowling all-rounder Ben Mike made a surprise visit to The Ruth Gorse Academy to celebrate and inspire youngsters who are part of the academy’s ‘excellence in sport’ program.

As part of the visit the cricket stars took part in a coaching session delivered by the Yorkshire Cricket Board, alongside 20 pupils.

Masood said: “I think it’s really important to give back – firstly to help support the community and secondly to help the game to grow. Sport connects people and communities from different backgrounds all around the world. That’s what makes it so special.”

“I’m really grateful to the school and to Yorkshire for giving me this opportunity to come here, spend some time with the young people, and give something back.”

“In this world the best you can have is the support of each other and seeing the students smiling and having fun – those are the things that you want.”

Currently The Ruth Gorse Academy supports around 20 students in the ‘sport in excellence’ programme, across a range of sports including football, boxing, tennis, Irish dancing and its ‘Big 3’ sports of volleyball, rowing and karate.

Ruby and Naby are both part of the rowing programme and expressed how much they had enjoyed taking part in the cricket session.

Ruby said: “I’ve really enjoyed today and my favourite part was having a go at batting. Being part of an inner-city school means that we are quite limited to what opportunities we get so to be able to play cricket here today means a lot.”

“Being able to take part in sport has given opportunities to me and it has opened me to a world that I would never have expected – hopefully I will go far in the future of sport.”

Naby, added the best bit of today was getting to play with professionals and learn from them.

He said: “The fact that two professional cricket stars came over here has been great. They helped us learn more about cricket and today has helped inspire us. Sport for me is brilliant.”

Another highlight of the academy visit was a Q & A with the students and Masood and Mike followed by an autograph signing session.

Mike said: “It was a really great visit. It was nice to take part and show the students some cricket. I think it is massively important to inspire young people. I know with cricket there can be a lot of barriers to entry – it’s sometimes seen as a sport that is very elite… so it’s nice to come into urban areas like this and introduce cricket to them.”

“There are some real superstars here – they were saying one of the pupils can deadlift 180kg – he would be a good fast bowler – he’s got the build for it.”

“It was great to see that some of the girls were hitting it further than the boys. With a little bit of coaching, I could see some of them coming a long way.”

Students at The Ruth Gorse Academy are able to access exceptional opportunities to take part in extra-curricular activities. As well as the extensive health and fitness clubs run by the PE department, students have the chance to access a wide range of free of charge activities.

Charlotte Ball, Curriculum Leader of PE at The Ruth Gorse Academy, said: “This is an absolutely incredible experience for our students.”

“We are an inner-city school – we have a diverse school community and sport is very much at the heart of our academy. Sport is used as a vehicle for success.”

“Cricket is a sport we are hoping to expand further, and an event like this can start a conversation with students. Cricket is on our curriculum and we look at ways that we can make it accessible and work for us here, regardless of us not having a field in which to play – but we want to offer it to all of our students.”

“It’s incredible for us to see how excited they are to meet the Yorkshire players and be able to play alongside them it really is an excellent opportunity for them. We want to open doors for our students and ultimately let them experience as many different sports as they possibly can.”

Yorkshire CCC’s Performance Pathway has been a key building block in ensuring the Club is encouraging greater access to cricket for young people across the county. Across boys and girls age groups, the programme has introduced measures including removal of match fees, the provision of kit and winter coaching free of charge, alongside the creation of an accessible hardship fund for those that require further financial support.

Over the past year, these changes have seen the 940 young people come through the Performance Pathway, with a notable upswing in participation and engagement from people from diverse backgrounds.

The results demonstrate that focused investment on providing equity of opportunity and driving inclusivity can lead to strong results in a relatively short timeframe.

Football, Huddersfield, News

TOWN AWARDED ‘FAMILY EXCELLENCE 2023 GOLD AWARD’

Huddersfield Town are proud to have achieved the EFL’s Family Excellence ‘Gold Award’ status in recognition of the quality of the match day experience we provide for families.

The Family Excellence scheme sees Clubs receive two visit assessments each season from a family who rates their match day journey: from the website experience, ticketing, pre and post-match communication, entertainment and activities and more. The scheme recognises the continuous improvement and best practice that emerges across the League and rewards Clubs for their efforts in attracting and retaining young supporters.

After the second visit to the John Smiths Stadium, our assessor commented:
“There were many high points for this season’s two assessments including the warm, friendly, organised Club representatives, the external Stadium experience, the lovely post-match ‘thank you’ from the Club and the way the Club picked up on the fact a young girl was attending her first match.”

In addition to achieving scores which ranked Town seventh in the EFL for family experience, we were also one of just 12 Clubs handed the ‘Gold Award’, recognising our continued efforts to engage the next generation of Terriers. These efforts have contributed to a 12% increase in Under 11 Season Card Holders, and a 160% increase in match day tickets from 2021/22 to 2022/23.

Head of Supporter Services, Robyn Kennerdale, stated:
“We are immensely proud to have been recognised by the League for our commitment to attracting and engaging with junior supporters!”

“Delivering an affordable and enjoyable experience is key to ensuring the next generation of Town fans come through the turnstiles and want to keep coming back. From the pre-match activities in our Community Hub, to the opportunity for fans to meet players in the Family Area, many people behind-the-scenes come together to try and make a match day more than just the 90 minutes.”

“We now look forward to the upcoming 2023/24 season, when we will continue striving to improve match days for all groups of supporters.”

Bradford, News, Rugby

Bull’s LDRL Team Makes History

The Bradford Bulls LDRL team made history by competing in their first ever festival at the weekend!

The action got underway from 10:30am at Leeds Modernians RUFC, with a 11-strong squad taking part representing the Bradford Bulls.
Our Learning Disability is one of nine teams running under the Bradford Bulls umbrella in 2023, which includes a Women’s team, Physical Disability team and a Wheelchair team.

Having lost 5-3 against Hull KR, our LDRL team won their four other matches including an 8-3 victory over Leeds Rhinos! The Bradford Bulls are a wholly inclusive club and remain committed to providing pathways for all to participate in Rugby League.

Bradford Bulls Foundation Chief Executive Chris Chamberlain said:
“This is a great achievement to see a new Learning disability Rugby League team off the ground and competing. This has taken a lot of hard work from a number of people; however I’d like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to Mick Colborn, Darren Collins and Chris Chamberlain for their continues work”.

There are sponsorship opportunities available for the team and players for this 2023 LDRL season, for further information please contact jonathan.armstrong@bullsfoundation.org
Bradford Bulls’ 2023 LDRL Squad.

  1. Harry Naylor
  2. Barry Mason
  3. Kian Collins
  4. Lily-Rose Chamberlain
  5. Ryan Hobson
  6. Danny Bayliss
  7. Callum Heald
  8. Jamie Readyhough
  9. Charlotte Foster
  10. Jake Fahey
  11. Ben Metcalfe
Cricket, News

Saud Shakeel Set To Shine For Yorkshire

The Yorkshire County Cricket Club is delighted to announce the signing of Pakistan Test batting star Saud Shakeel on a short-term overseas contract.

Shakeel, 27, will be available for selection for the second LV= Insurance County Championship game against Gloucestershire at Bristol next week and will be one of the Club’s overseas players, joining Shai Hope in the squad.

Shakeel will be available for an initial four-game spell in Division Two, though there is scope for an extension to his stay at Headingley.

The talented left-handed Pakistan batter made his Test debut last winter against England and New Zealand, had a stunning start to his international career by scoring 50s in each of his first five appearances and averaging 72.5 in the process.

Darren Gough, Managing Director of Cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, said: “Saud is a very talented young player, he will be a wonderful addition to our current squad.”

“He did well against England and New Zealand – and here at Yorkshire we want to get the balance right between youth and experience and we now feel we have got a squad where we have plenty of opportunities for everyone.”

“We don’t want to be in a position like last year where we had to rely purely on youth at times – you need that balance in the line-up.”

Shakeel will help bolster the Yorkshire squad following an injury to overseas player Neil Wagner, from New Zealand, and the unavailability of new captain Shan Masood for the initial rounds of the Championship after being selected in Pakistan’s upcoming home series against New Zealand.

Gough added: “We see this as a great signing.”

“Saud is coming over here looking to put his name in lights. He has already played for Pakistan – he’ll be in their Test squad in July most likely.”

“He is coming here to develop his game and it’s great for us to have someone else of international experience coming into the Yorkshire dressing room.”

Karachi-born Shakeel has played five Tests and as many ODIs.

He has scored 4,773 runs in 62 first-class career matches to date, including 16 hundreds. He averages an eye-catching 54.23.

Bradford, Community, Other News, Rugby, West Yorkshire

New Community Box At Bradford Bulls

In partnership with West Yorkshire Police, Bradford Bulls are delighted to officially open their ‘Community Box’ – situated in the Sekhon Group Stand at Odsal Stadium.

The Community Box will be attended by 10 children each game and hosted by West Yorkshire Police, these are children who would not normally get the chance to attend and watch the Bulls.

This community based initiative brings together local businesses who have funded the community box where children and young people can come together to enjoy the match day experience. The partnership also sees the police Early Help teams working with the Bradford Bulls on matchdays providing refreshments, support and safe environments following successful engagement with local support services.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Farrell of Bradford District Police said:
“The initiative came as part of our wider commitment to neighbourhood policing in South Bradford, working closely with wider partnerships seeking to identify early intervention opportunities for children and young people preventing them getting involved with crime and Anti-Social behaviour.”

“Through positive engagements with the on track programme, young people are rewarded for taking part and they can now see how sport can provide positive lifestyle choices.”

“I am grateful for the support or Arif and Safeer, local business owners who have provided the funding for this initiative and the continued engagement and willingness to deliver an effective partnership from Joe Pitts as commercial director and Tracy Erby as general manager. The partnership is continuing to flourish as we seek to build on this with the Bradford Bulls foundation working with the chief executive, Chris Chamberlain as part of the longer term community intervention work.”

Judith Cummins, South Bradford MP said: “I would like to congratulate everybody for coming together, great to see a positive initiative with Bradford businesses, Bradford Bulls, West Yorkshire Police and Bradford police coming together to make a real difference investing in the future of young people, it is really positive.”

Chris Chamberlain, Bradford Bulls Foundation Chief Executive said:
“This is a massive opportunity that we really welcome, using sport as a tool to engage with young people to make a positive difference in Bradford. These partnerships are really welcome and we look forward to developing this moving forward.”

We would like to place on record our thanks to Smorgasbord Coffee Bar (Arif Mehmood) and International Restaurant (Safeer Khan) for their contribution to this partnership.

Business, Leeds, News, Other Sports

Leeds Based Underpin Appoints New Non-Executive Director

Well-known figure within professional sport and current CEO of Leicestershire County Cricket Club (LCCC), Sean Jarvis, has been appointed as non-executive director for Leeds-based golf mental performance coaching company, Underpin.

Sean will still maintain his full-time commitments with LCCC but draw on his leadership and sporting experience and expertise to help Underpin drive its long-term strategic growth aims.

With a strong commercial sporting background spanning three decades, Sean has worked at executive level within professional sports clubs, including in the Premier League with Huddersfield Town and the Football League with Oldham Athletic. He was also involved the launch of the rugby Super League and worked in a marketing capacity for Carling at the inception of the Premier League and Sky TV.

With Underpin providing mental performance coaching to elite amateur and professional golfers across the globe, Sean aims to replicate his success across other sports by providing the strategic direction and tactical delivery needed to help scale the business.

Sean will also help grow its existing network of corporate members, which includes Blacks Solicitors, C&C Healthcare and Sagars Accountants. Each member of the Underpin 72 Club benefit from bespoke golf and business events through to commercial networking opportunities. They gain a unique insight into the world of elite sports performance and help Underpin’s portfolio of players achieve their full potential at the very highest level of the professional game.

Commenting on his appointment, Sean said: “Having seen first-hand the vital role mental performance coaching plays in elite sport, I jumped at the opportunity to be part of Underpin and help provide the strategic guidance needed to shape the future growth of the business.”

“The role is ideal as it still allows me to provide my full commitment to LCCC, whilst being part of a business in its infancy which has a growing corporate network, operates globally and is having such a positive impact on the development of the amateur and professional game.”

Greg Robertson, founder and mental performance coach for Underpin, added: “To bring someone of Sean’s calibre on board is a major coup for Underpin. We have ambitious aims for the company and feel his commercial acumen and pedigree within professional sport can only benefit us in the journey ahead.”

“His passion and love of sport is infectious and he very much shares our philosophy of developing elite golfers, not just as players but as people as well, creating a solid platform for them to excel at the highest possible level. Everyone connected with Underpin has been energised by his arrival, as we enter what is a really exciting chapter for the business.”

Bradford, News, News Headlines, Rugby, Sports Headlines

Bulls Pass Junior Season Ticket Milestone

Bradford Bulls are delighted to announce we have passed another milestone in our Kids Go Free campaign – with over 15,000 FREE Junior Season Tickets now distributed.

Over 250 schools have been visited in the Bradford area, alongside over 120 businesses – all receiving one message. KIDS GO FREE.

Bradford Bulls Media & Marketing Manager Luke Mawson said: “Kids Go Free was, and remains, the cornerstone of our 2023 marketing campaign.”

“We are incredibly passionate about engaging with juniors in Bradford and beyond and making watching rugby league at Odsal Stadium affordable.”

“We have distributed 15,000 free season tickets, having visited over 250 schools and over 100 businesses in Bradford, but our work is by no means done.”

“We invite people of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs to our safe, fun and welcoming environment.”

“Plans are well underway to make the match day experience more enjoyable for juniors and all fans alike, and we will constantly be engaging with our local community with all things rugby league.”

“Our mission was to let every child under the age of 18 – in and around the Bradford area – know they can come to our matches for free, and we will not stop until we achieve that goal.”

Other News, Other Sports

Yorkshire Firm To Continue Midland Speed Championship Sponsorship

Connectus Business Solutions will be sponsoring an exciting motor racing competition for a further two years, they announced today.

The Yorkshire-based tech firm said it was delighted to be supporting the Midland Speed Championship which is contested by drivers starting out in motorsport, right up to seasoned campaigners who take part in 32 events across Hillclimb and Sprint.

Connectus, which has offices in Salford, Warrington and Doncaster, sponsored the 2022 season of the Championship, but this new deal will see them continuing to back the event through to 2024.

The company’s CEO, Roy Shelton, confirmed details of the partnership at an awards ceremony recently which saw him present a trophy to last season’s winner Peter Taylor (pictured above).

Commenting on the growing partnership Roy said: “Connectus are passionate about supporting grass root and amateur sports in rugby, football, cricket and outward bound activities. That’s why we are proud to be continuing our support of the Midland Speed Championship over the next two years. It’s a fantastic event. What I love most about it is the wide range of people taking part in the events. We continue to look forward to seeing this event grow, and I am sure it will only go from strength to strength with our support.”

The sponsorship is Connectus’ latest move towards supporting more regional sporting activities.

The company, which announced a merger with KTSL last year, is the connectivity provider at Sale Sharks Carrington training ground and its AJ Bell Stadium home.

Connectus secured a five-year deal in 2019 to provide a high-speed fibre optical network, as well as telephony, corporate Wi-Fi and managed cybersecurity services to support the stadium management team.

The company is also a proud sponsor of Sale Sharks’ captain Jono Ross, who regularly works with Connectus in the local community.

Mr Shelton added: “Supporting great local sports clubs is something we are incredibly passionate about at Connectus and we value all the partnerships we have.”

Cricket, Sport, Sports Headlines

Yorkshire Set For Pre-Season Tour In South Africa

Yorkshire will face Warwickshire in a two-day friendly as part of the county’s fortnight-long pre-season tour to Cape Town in March.

Ottis Gibson’s charges will face the Bears in a two-day fixture on March 19 and 20 to complete six match days in the South African sunshine.

The Yorkshire squad will leave Headingley on March 8 and return on March 21, with three training days preceding two T20 fixtures and the first of two two-day games.

Opponents for the pair of T20s on March 13 and 14 and the opening two-day clash (March 16-17) are still to be confirmed.

Coach Gibson returns to the nation where he played domestic cricket in the 1990s and then led as head coach between 2017 and 2019.

Yorkshire spent their pre-season in Potchefstroom in early 2019 and also played at the iconic Newlands venue in Cape Town during the 2012 Champions League T20 event when they faced both the Sydney Sixers and Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians.

The current squad are preparing for the opening LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two match of the new season, against Leicestershire at Headingley on April 6.

Earlier this month a quartet of seam bowlers – Ben Cliff, Ben Coad, Ben Mike and Matthew Revis – travelled to Dubai for a specialist training camp.

Fin Bean, Harry Duke, George Hill, Will Luxton, Yash Vagadia and James Wharton are heading out to India for a similar batting camp.

And prior to the Cape Town tour, Dom Leech, Jack Shutt and Jonny Tattersall are due to train with Pakistan Super League side Lahore Qalandars.