25/12/2025
Merry Christmas
Delivered somewhere between the gentle click of knitting needles, the loud pastels of festive TV, and possibly even the King’s Speech (apologies to His Royal Highness), this is the “No Cap” end-of-year update from Waterbeach Colts FC
A double Royal visit (kind of)
Early in the season we were treated to what can only be described as a Royal visit. Sadly this probably won’t make it into The Crown, but HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal did fly into Waterbeach and park her brother’s helicopter on the rec. Not, it turns out, to watch the U9 Magpies.
However, those same U9s were later visited by local football royalty in the form of Cambridge United Football Club's Liam Bennett. After taking part in Liam’s 30-day challenge, the team won a training session led by Liam himself. Whatever the coaches then did clearly worked: the boys went on an unbeaten run in 2025, scoring 234 goals, picking up some brilliant wins against three academy opposition along the way.
Outstanding effort from the players and coaches alike — genuinely sensational stats and achievements to be proud of.
And speaking of Magpies excellence, the Girls U9s Magpies have been writing their own remarkable chapter this season. They’ve reached the cup semi-final after a commanding 6–2 quarter-final win — a superb achievement and testament to their hard work and development.
Across the campaign so far they’ve played 14 matches, winning 11, drawing 2, and losing just 1. Amazing work from the girls and coaches — absolutely flying.
All bow to the unsung heroes
Speaking of on-field success, new goals appeared this season, along with a new line-marking thingy-majigger (which I'm naming Des). Huge thanks to John Wyatt, Paul Cuddon (and others!) for giving up their time to mark pitches — one of those essential background jobs that can easily go unnoticed, but absolutely shouldn’t.
And while we’re on pitches… haven’t they held up brilliantly given the weather?
"YES", we hear you shout, and here's WHY?
That’s a real testament to the hard work of the Waterbeach Parish Council grounds team, and to the club’s proactive approach to protecting the rec. By moving nearly all midweek training off-site, and partnering with Cottenham United Colts CUFC for the official opening of the all-weather facility at Cottenham Sports Centre, we’ve helped keep pitches playable when it matters most, match days.
Fewer postponements also meant less chaos behind the scenes — so massive thanks (and honestly, much more than thanks) to our Pitch Coordinator and scheduling hero Rich 'The Pitch', and Refereeing Coordinator hero Amey Fordham, for tackling two of the toughest jobs in grassroots football with such calm competence.
Not all heroes wear capes (some wear boots… and WCFC hats)
We were absolutely delighted — though not surprised — to hear that local footballing heroes and now coaching legends Daniele and Hayden won the Cambridgeshire FA New Volunteer Award. These two Incredibles attended a suitably posh nosh ceremony to receive their very well-deserved recognition.
December also brought warmer heads across the club thanks to John Wyatt’s inspired WCFC hats and caps initiative — solving his own cold-head problem while raising much-needed funds for the club at the same time. A win double if ever there was one.
Say what again?! The Football Tournament & Beer Festival 2026
You heard it here first, so grab that new calendar and pencil this in:
May 22–24, 2026 — Beer Festival & Football Tournament.
Yes, it may feel wild talking about this before Christmas decorations are even down, but our Beer Festival sub-committee has already been hard at work behind the scenes. Running hand-in-hand with this, of course, is the ever-popular 5v5 Football Tournament — and we’re aiming to match (or beat!) this year’s success.
You can actually enter right now https://www.tournifyapp.com/live/waterbeach2026
I dare you, I double dare you.
Girls’ and Women’s football — stronger than ever
If there’s one story that truly defines the year, it’s the growth of girls’ and women’s football at WCFC.
Building on commitments made several years ago, the club has gone from strength to strength and now boasts more girls’ and women’s teams than ever before. A few girls play in mixed teams and we currently host five teams from U7 to U11 and Women’s (16–40), providing football opportunities for around 75 girls and women.
The WCFC Women have recorded some excellent results in CGWFL Division 1, currently only two points from 3rd place and in the quarter final of the cup. As a club, we couldn’t be prouder to be laying such strong foundations for local girls’ and women’s football.
And finally…
Please raise a glass of your beverage of choice — from the club to the coaches, committee members, volunteers, referees, our sponsors, parents, and players alike.
Wherever you are, we say cheers!
(salud, santé, prost, salute, skål, sláinte).
Thank you for a wonderful 2025, a Season’s Greetings, and here’s to a brilliant 2026.
No cap.
