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Congratulations to our Head Fundraiser and Committee member Paula Miller and Marius – say hello to the very special and beautiful 'Quinn Alba Miller Androne' who took her bow on 9 September at a healthy 7lbs 8oz.

One of our 2009s mums, Kelly Ingram, has created a JustGiving Crowdfunding page to help the team reach their goal of £500 to enable them to attend the prestigious ESF 2019 Football Tournament Click on the above image to visit the donations page or share https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kelly-ingram?utm_term=77PRQgQxJ Good luck to Kelly and the coaches, Stevie Millar and Danny Bennett, in helping the players achieve what will no doubt be a memory they will hold on to for the rest of their lives! Skegness here they come (hopefully, but they need your money first!)

Click on the image to view the latest edition (950KB PDF)

	ACO 2005s Our 2005s are looking for players to join their squad who will be playing in the South East Region YFA Under 14s Division 3 for the 2018/19 season. Last season the team secured a very respectable 3rd place finish and the players and coaches are ambitious to gain promotion at the end of the 2018/19 season. If you are interested in joining the squad please contact the 2005s team secretary James Hossack 07739 224 457 james.hossack@acoxgangs.com Alternatively complete Our Online Enquiry Form

	ACO 2004s Our 2004s are looking for experienced players to join their squad who will be playing in the South East Region YFA Division 2 for the 2018/19 season. League fixtures are played on Sunday afternoons. From 30 July, training will take place on Mondays (6pm to 7.45pm) and Wednesdays (6.15pm to 7.45pm) at Colinton Mains Park. Last season the team secured a very respectable top four finish and the players and coaches are ambitious to gain promotion to the top flight at the end of the 2018/19 season. They are holding a series of open training sessions to welcome potential new players - these will take place on Wednesdays 11, 18 and 25 July (times as above), and on Sundays 22 & 29 July (10 to 11.30am). If you are interested in joining the squad and would like to attend one of their Open pre-Season training sessions please contact the 2004s team secretary Mark Duffy 07796 481 880 mark.duffy@acoxgangs.com Alternatively complete Our Online Enquiry Form

*Our 2007s Reds* worked extremely hard to ensure they had a very successful bag packing fundraiser at the weekend - thanks to all the customers and staff at Tesco Colinton Mains for their support! Coaches Andy and Stephen have ordered new training footballs and ACO t-shirts.**

"Thanks to all the 2009 players for their hard work and dedication in what has been a very successful 1st half of the 2018 season. Also a massive thank you to the committed parents for supporting us and the boys." Stevie and Danny the 09's coaches. A larger version of the photo can be viewed HERE (and choose the 'News/Photos' tab)

*Our 2012s Soccer School* took advantage of an unexpected break in the weather last Sunday to kick-off the first of their 2018 sessions. As usual the boys were full of enthusiasm and willing to listen and learn as the next stage of their journey in the 'Beautiful Game' unfolds.** The sessions are run by two of our most experienced coaches, Billy McEvoy and Chris Kenny, whose aims are to introduce the players to a good work ethic and various skills - and of course, just as important - having fun! More photos of the 2012s in action can be viewed HERE (and choose the 'News/Photos' tab)

Our 2009s are delighted to announce a very generous sponsorship donation from Gentleman Jack's Barbers After fine-tuning their skills for a couple of seasons playing 'Super 5s' the boys are now gearing up for their first full season playing 'Soccer 7s'. Gentleman Jacks' contribution will ensure the squad isn't wanting for the latest training and matchday kit! It's terrific to see a local business helping our players and coaches realise their sporting dreams - just don't forget who helped you along the way when you sign for our namesakes AC Milan in the not too distant future!

Our 2004s had the honour of participating in the opening ceremony of the new Aldi Oxgangs store. Aldi also kindly provided sponsorship for the team. The boys were welcomed by Aldi's Area Sales Manager Stephen Donaldson and Store Manager Robert Lawson and they took pride of place alongside local councillor Scott Arthur and Team GB curler Vickie Adams. Special mention to 2004s parent and former ACO coach Rod Smith who liaised with Aldi’s representative Luci Cockayne to make it a memorable day for all concerned! Click on the above photo to see the full gallery - and choose the 'News/Photos' tab.

Our 2007 Blues are pleased to announce a generous sponsorship contribution from the directors of Howdengrange Financial Services Ltd - money is tight in youth football these days and Howdengrange have once again contributed to the Club having sponsored our 2004s. A set of new strips and some much needed training equipment is no doubt on their shopping list. Howdengrange Financial Service Ltd are based at 109/12a Swanston Road, Edinburgh EH10 7DS Tel. 0845 475 6678

	Update Please help improve our pitches and keep everyone safe by contacting the Council ... Thanks to the efforts of one of our ACO Mums we have a new contact at the Council who has pledged to focus the efforts of Wardens and Park Rangers on Colinton Mains Park to combat the dog fouling problem. Please continue to be vigilant and immediately report your concerns by phone or email to the Council:- Craig Dunlop Parks & Greenspace Officer City of Edinburgh Council 0131 527 3806 craig.dunlop@edinburgh.gov.uk ********************* In common with many pitches up and down the country Colinton Mains Park is often plagued by dog fouling. We are determined to stamp this out and our Committee often contact the Councils' Environmental Wardens with a view to increasing patrols to catch the owners who are responsible for this anti-social, offensive and potentially harmful conduct ... but we need your help! The Council has advised that their Environmental Wardens operate a complaints based Tracking System. This means that the more complaints they receive on a regular basis about a specific problem, the more attention it's given. If few complaints are made then there's the possibility the issue will drop off their radar. Can we therefore ask all users of the pitches at Colinton Mains, be it a parent, player, coach or spectator, to contact the Council on every occasion they come across dog fouling on the pitches and surrounding areas. It would also help if you mention that your concern relates to footballing activities. With the help of the Council we can all work together to catch the culprits and make our home ground a safer and more pleasant place for everyone concerned.

	Our governing body, the Scottish Youth Football Association, has issued an updated policy document:- Use of Social Media Policy for SYFA Players, Parents/Carers, Officials, Clubs, Leagues and Regions To download click on the above (75Kb PDF)or to view in a browser click on the SYFA logo.

We all know that juggling your commitments these days is difficult to say the least, however we would like everyone to spend just a minute of their time looking at the words in this image. As a club we are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with ’other interests’ and as a consequence more of our games are having to be conceded due to a lack of squad numbers. This has been particularly prevalent at the start of this season and the loss of points, as well as being forced to concede cup ties, is no doubt having an impact on the morale of several of our squads and that includes players, coaches and parents alike. To give you an example of how unexpected withdrawals from a squad can impact others consider this – let’s assume 3 or 4 players decide they can’t play and we are forced to call off a game. That no doubt leaves quite a number of ACO players/parents frustrated that they have no game to enjoy. Add to the mix the opposition players, coaches and parents and all-in these 3 or 4 withdrawals have affected, in all probability, at least 50 individuals. Understandably, those who are prepared to commit themselves to the Club become disillusioned and may eventually look elsewhere for regular football. There are also the financial implications on the club to consider given that pitch hire and refereeing costs have to be met in part or full depending on the timing of the cancellation. We fully understand that there are occasions during the season when you simply cannot avoid missing either training or a game, however we ask that your other commitments take a back seat and priority is given to your team mates and coaches if there’s a clash of interests. Remember the facts – a call off can impact up to 50 individuals, the clubs’ reputation can be damaged, there are cost implications and points/ties lost and most importantly of all your team mates are being denied the opportunity to enjoy a sport they clearly love to be part of. Let’s change things – let’s put AC Oxgangs first!


	The SFA has published a useful guide to pre and post match nutrition aimed at players of all age-groups. Download the PDF version (475kB) by clicking on the thumbnail.

We now have some useful information and user instructions for the defibrillator! Click on the above image to visit our help page.

click to view Full-Size (228KB)

Thanks to the ongoing hard work behind the scenes by our Committee and the dedication of our coaches in keeping their coaching and first aid qualifications bang up to date we’ve again been awarded the prestigious SFA Quality Mark Award. Read about the award ceremony at Easter Road HERE

The Official AC Oxgangs FC Free App is Now Available! The AC Oxgangs App will keep you up-to-date with news, events, fixtures, results, league tables, photos and much more. To get the full features of our App you need to download Team App to your smartphone or tablet. Download it HERE (http://teamapp.com/app) - it's 100% free. Launch Team App and search for AC Oxgangs FC then ... Sign-up to Team App. You'll be sent an email from Team App to confirm your registration Search for our App and request access to group(s) that apply to you. One of our App admin team will approve your request as soon as possible Alternatively, you can sign up and view all app content online on the website version at https://acoxgangsfc.teamapp.com/ Spread the word! FLYER (350KB PDF)