As we all gear up for the new season, I wanted to drop you all a line.
Season 2025 / 26 was Beechwood’s most successful season in the history of the Club with success across multiple age groups, with the U12C’s and U15A’s teams both winning the League and Cup double and, separately, the U17A’s and U19’s winning their leagues and the U21’s winning their cup.
Congrats to everyone.
As I said in my previous updates, the club will remain an open book as to its operating model and financials, so if anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
So where do we stand as we start a new season.
As a club of almost 900 kids and set to grow further for the season 2026/27, we do need to continue to improve our financial position if we are to provide the pitches for training twice weekly, weekend games and dedicated coaching. As an Executive Committee, we are absolutely focused on maximising the player experience through coaching, pitch space and having fun, and this is the model we want to retain.
Unfortunately, due to increasing costs, we need to increase the annual membership subscription by €45 per player for the coming season.
The Club remains in a reasonable financial position with a cash position of €37,000 prior to issuing this season’s subscriptions. The largest contracted cost is the rental of pitches. In 2025, we renewed a number of long-term rental arrangements on market rates, as well as entering rental agreements for additional grounds. This was necessary given that we have 55 squads training twice weekly and weekend matches. We are extremely grateful to the Friends of The Royal Hospital Donnybrook (RHD) for their continued generosity in providing access to their grounds for the club.
In addition to RHD, we are fortunate to have access to facilities at a number of other locations, including Alexandra College, St. Kilian’s German School, Merrion Cricket Club, Leinster Cricket Club, St. Mary’s College Rathmines, Wanderer’s Football Club and Gonzaga College. We also regularly hire pitches at the ETB Sports Grounds in Terenure, University College Dublin, Beechill Park, Bushy Park and Herbert Park, which enables us to support our growing sporting and recreational activities. While this network of facilities is essential to meeting demand and maintaining our training and match schedules, it also gives rise to significant operating costs each year.
As a Club, we are a not-for-profit entity, but as costs rise beyond our control, we need to increase subs. However, we have benchmarked our offering, and we strongly feel the subscription paid is very good value for money when compared to other sports in our catchment area.
Sponsorship plays a crucial part of the income of the club. One of our long-standing sponsors, Rathmines Sports, sadly closed their doors recently, so we have established a Club Shop via the Club website. It is very difficult to get a title sponsor for the Club, an issue that is facing many clubs like Beechwood FC, so a number of years ago, we rolled out the option for individual team or age group sponsorship. This has proven to be very successful with multiple sponsors coming on board across all age groups. The Academy continues to go from strength to strength, and Sherry Fitzgerald has continued their sponsorship of the Academy and the Family Fun Day. We are very grateful to all sponsors.
If you would like to sponsor individual teams or become a primary Club sponsor, please contact me directly, as we have multiple options available. We will be talking to all sponsors to see where we can add value to their brand through our new landing page on the website and our social media channels.
On the coaching front, each squad gets a minimum of one coaching session every week, and for those squads that want a full-time coach, the Club will endeavour to provide one, but the extra cost will be borne by the parents of that particular team.
This season, we are rolling out ClubLync, which will be the main portal for all parents regarding training and match scheduling. This season, the DDSL is moving to electronic match cards, meaning only DDSL-registered players can play on match day. Your team manager has all the details regarding CLubLync and DDSL registration.
I would also like to sincerely thank Lisa Marconi, who is leaving the role of Fixtures Secretary. Lisa has been the bedrock of the Club in recent years and, on behalf of everyone, I wish Lisa well in the next chapter of her career. Zell Wakwella will be taking over from Lisa in early September. Sheena McLoughlin has also joined the Club with responsibility for safeguarding and results amongst other roles. These roles are essential to the smooth running of the Club on a weekly basis but also given the increasing requirements from the FAI and DDSL that the Club must adhere to.
We are a volunteer-led club so if you would like to get involved, please drop me a line.
As we reflect on the season past, we pause to remember John Healy and Paul Dillon, who sadly passed away. Both were active members of the Club for many years, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to their families. May they Rest in Peace.
So, thank you to our sponsors and to you, the parents, for always supporting the Club. Beechwood FC is in a great position for future on-field success across all age Groups and I very much look forward to meeting you on the sidelines throughout the season.
