MOUSEHOLE AFC | END OF AN ERA

Chairman Deryk Heywood has stepped down

It’s the end of an era at Mousehole AFC after Chairman, Deryk Heywood, decided to stand down following a successful six-year spell at the helm of the Pitching In Southern League Division One South club.

The club were in Step 7 when Liverpudlian Heywood, a former player at the club back in the 1970s, arrived as General Manager in 2018 and in the subsequent years they have grown significantly both on and off-the-field.

Working as an unpaid volunteer throughout his time at the club, he has played a leading role in many projects, including the numerous stadium improvements at Trungle Parc.

He will be replaced as Chairman by the club’s award-winning groundsman, Billy Jacka, and leaves with many fond memories.

“It has been a great privilege and honour to have served this wonderful club as Chairman,” said Heywood, who moved to live in Cornwall half-a-century ago. “On reflection, it’s now time for someone else to take the helm and help drive the club towards further success.

“Mousehole has always had a well-regarded reputation, and with a huge amount of togetherness we have developed it into a leading Cornish football club, in many ways ‘against the odds’.

“Everyone who attends our recently developed stadium, whether a regular or a visitor, agrees it’s a friendly and welcoming place to be, with a good matchday vibe. We can all be proud of that.

“All of the developments both on and off-the-pitch have, of course, come with a price tag - some of them quite hefty - including the overall cost of operating at Step 4.

“The club’s collective ambition has now seen it reach a stage where both expenditure and income require a serious and diligent business-like approach to consolidate the gains made and to improve its financial basis sustainably. That’s the challenge from now on.

“The hard work will continue and I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has, in their different ways and over a prolonged period, played their part in making Mousehole the great club it is today and will continue to do so in the future.

“A true collective example of The Seagulls ‘Flying All Together’.”

Mousehole open the 2024/25 league season at home to Evesham United on Saturday, August 10th.

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