ByDanny Caro, Danny Caro
They say that all good things come to those who wait. Well, that was precisely the case for the folk of South Manchester Maccabi Sports Club who, after 13 years of trying, have finally secured their own £1 million sports and community centre.
The project, which will be named the Henry Guterman Community Sports Centre, was finally given the green light after grants totalling £770,000 were received from the Football Foundation and Sport England.
Work begins early next month on the site which is due to open by the middle of next year. It will house a pavilion will contain four changing rooms, a lounge area and a physiotherapy room.
Among their fine crop of sportsmen, South Manchester Maccabi’s houses Michael Filson, one of the top all-round Jewish sporting talents in the country, and Akiva Lieberman, one of the most promising cricketers to have come out of the area in recent years.
And much to the delight of chairman Jonny Davis, the new club will put the club on more of an even playing field with neighbours Manchester Maccabi’s Brooklands.
The new Maccabi GB Primary League kicked-off in sunshine last weekend with 10 matches featuring more than 60 goals and five hat-tricks. Following the demise of the AJY, the new set-up came as a huge relief to football-crazy children and their families keen to keep them involved in a Jewish sporting environment.
Montana Boca United have secured two major sponsorship deals, the first being a renewal of the main shirt sponsorship with FootballAudio.com. Managing Director Jonny Gould was happy to extend their deal into a fourth year. Montana’s Nick Goodmaker has also secured a secondary sponsorship deal with ESPN, for the club’s B team for the season. He said: “Following their securing of Premier League broadcast rights in the UK back in June, the corporation are now looking at opportunities within grassroots level football and were happy to come on board as a club sponsor.”
A meeting aimed at securing the long-term future of Jewish cricket will be held in Hendon on November 23 when Maccabi Cricket GB chairman Richard Mitchell outlines a set of new initiatives and proposals. The AGM will also host the election of a new committee and structure. Mitchell said: “It will come as no surprise to some that Jewish cricket is at a crossroads and as such needs to revolutionise itself in order to survive and in the longer term grow back to the levels it once enjoyed. In order to do this, several new initiatives will be presented at the meeting for discussion, and Maccabi Cricket GB will be looking to significantly increase the size of its committee from the small working committee it currently operates depending on the outcome and response.”
Wingate & Finchley’s Capital League side continues to be a breeding ground for exciting Jewish prospects. Eliot Green, Harry Hatchwell and Max Martin, who represented Great Britain at July’s Maccabiah, have caught the eye. Within the Under 16 centre of excellence side, Seb Garber and David Smouha are developing well and the Under 15 team has a strong representation with four prospects in Callum Miller, Joseph Sharpe , Ryan Sellers and Sam Singer three of which have all either been with clubs including Crystal Palace, QPR and Spurs.