One of the West’s more successful football clubs of recent times has announced it is to establish a brand new under 18 squad.

Nailsea & Tickenham FC, have made an official application to compete in the Western Counties U18 Floodlight League Northern Division, with the club now on the lookout for talented young footballers who want to take their game to the next level and the chance to play for the senior Western League Premier Division team.

The new squad will be headed up by ex-professional football player Jason Eaton and Simon Tarr, both of whom live locally and have been involved in youth football for many years.

Both now see the setup of this new squad as the perfect opportunity to give aspiring young players a means of progressing to adult football and possibly beyond.

The pair will be planning a series of trials in Early 2024 with pre-season training starting in the late spring.

Jason said: “Having played for both Bristol clubs and Cheltenham professionally I totally understand how important it is to have a feeder teams that allow young players to compete and develop their skill.

“To be given the chance to start off a new squad from scratch is a fantastic opportunity for both myself and Simon and now will give local talented young footballers the platform to develop and continue the journey for those who still want to play at the highest level.”

Simon added: “We’re really looking forward to this, bringing together a brand-new squad. We’re totally inclusive and want to hear from those who might be interested.”

Chairman of Nailsea & Tickenham FC Rob Gregory said: “It has always been in our plans to start an U18’s team and we now believe as a committee, the timing is right to get this off the ground and we have made the application for next season 2024/25. I am delighted to say that the league management committee have accepted the application and will pass it onto the AGM in May for ratification

“I’m delighted that we have found two top quality coaches in Jason Eaton and Simon Tarr. They bring with them a great pedigree and lots of experience in the game and we are confident in making this a success.

“This is the first time  in the towns history that a Football club in Nailsea has been able to host floodlight games at this level and it will give the young players a great platform to make their next natural step into senior football and the opportunity to play in the Western Football league in their home town.”

For those players that are interested in finding out more information regarding the new U18s please contact jasoneaton9@gmail.com or tarr_simon@hotmail.com