CoventryCity have announced that they are forging an association with Coventry’s highest ranked non-league football club, Coventry Sphinx. Sky Blues Director Joe Elliott and newly appointed Sphinx Chairman Neil Long, have met over the summer to discuss ways in which the two clubs can work together to ensure football in Coventry gets to the very top at both levels of the national game.
Non league football is essential to the progress of clubs at our level as many of the players who make it in the professional game have come through this route including our very own Robbie Simpson.
The Aspire Midland Alliance club were promoted to Step 5 in the national league system in May 2007 and last season flew the flag for Coventry to reach the quarter finals of the FA Vase, only losing to the eventual Wembley winners Kirkham & Wesham in a replay here in Coventry. We at Coventry City assisted the Siddeley Avenue based club with the printing of tickets for the FA Vase replay whilst also sending our best wishes to the club ahead of the game.
Many Sky Blues supporters followed the Sphinx to Stanway Rovers in the 5th round and to Kirkham & Wesham where your sky blue shirts and scarves were evident to the Sphinx players and management as they walked out. The Sky Blues song even echoed around Stanway Rovers Hawthorns ground following a fantastic 3-1 away win, albeit with a few tweaks to the original words.
As the 9th biggest City in the country, Coventry is large enough to support two successful football clubs and this season will see the Aspire Midland Football Alliance alternate the Sphinx home games with us here at the Ricoh Arena. So if you can’t follow the Sky Blues on the road then why not get down to Sphinx Drive and support Coventry’s non-league team.
Coventry Sphinx Chairman Neil Long, a lifelong Coventry City fan is delighted with the co-operation being shown saying, “With each of the 350+ people connected to the club keen supporters of the Sky Blues, to work so closely together will prove to be very beneficial to both clubs. We get comments from many people saying that if home games didn’t clash they would love to support both teams so this will allow them to watch non league football as well as supporting the City at the Ricoh Arena. It also gives our junior players the chance to watch our own first team play without missing the Sky Blues in action as many them are season ticket holders at the Ricoh”
Sky Blues Director Joe Elliott is equally excited by the relationship saying, “I fully agree with Neil’s sentiments. We would encourage our fans to support local football, bringing the links between Championship and grassroots football closer together.
“It is in everybody’s interests to work together and with a friendly fixture arranged to mark our new link-up with Sphinx, it would be nice to think that plenty of our fans will get behind them whenever possible this season.”
To launch the new association Chris Coleman will be taking a team to Sphinx Drive in early September to play in a friendly game. More details will be announced soon.
Sphinx open their home campaign on Saturday 16th August when they entertain Barwell in the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup sponsored by EON, the same day as the Sky Blues travel to play Barnsley. So if you can’t follow Chris Coleman and the boys in Yorkshire then you may like to cheer Sphinx into the next round of the FA Cup.
