OUR PHILOSOPHY

Cambridge Football Club is one of more than 100 schools and clubs affiliated to WAIBOP Football, one of six regional bodies governed by New Zealand Football. 

We aim to provide a positive football experience for boys and girls and offer a clear pathway for players from juniors through to youth and senior teams. 

The club provides plenty of opportunities during the season for players to grow their love of the game, develop their skills and to have a great time playing football with friends.

KEY DATES

WAIBOP Junior Season Calendar

TEAM PLACEMENT

• Our club follows New Zealand Football's Junior Framework when forming teams for children 12 and under.
• We do not grade junior teams but aim to create balanced groups to ensure a positive experience and growth opportunities for all players.
• To keep games fair and enjoyable, we try to avoid placing all the strongest players in one team.
• At the same time, we aim to ensure new or less confident players are not grouped with those who have significantly more experience.
• Our main goal is to create a fun, supportive environment where every child can enjoy football and develop their skills at their own pace.
• Whenever possible, we consider friendships when forming teams to help children feel comfortable and engaged.
• The registration process allows for a request to play with friends.  Please note, while we do our best, this is not always possible.  

Due to the complexity of placing over 650 junior players into teams we will not be able to move players around once team lists have been finalised except in “extraordinary” circumstances. 

Registrations for 2025 season close on 16th March 2025 

We aim to have teams lists finalised by April 2025

COACHES AND TRAINING

All of our junior team coaches are volunteers (usually parents).  Please consider volunteering to coach your child’s team this season.  It’s a hugely fulfilling role and experience is not needed - loads of support is given to our volunteer coaches!

Coaches will need to pass a police vetting.  This is done online.  We will also need to sight your identification as part of the process.

Teams train once a week at John Kerkhof Park.  The day and time will be decided by your volunteer coach.  You will receive more information on this once the teams have been finalised.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

In partnership with RH3 Academy, Cambridge Football offer year-round junior development programmes focused on skills acquisition.  These optional programmes complement the learning players receive in their Saturday team environment. 

More information about junior player development and holiday programmes can be found on the RH3 Football Academy website.

More advanced programmes for BOTH Boyes & Girls are available from 12^th grade onwards through our Youth Programme offering a pathway to the TDP (Talent Development Programme) via our pre-Federation and Federation teams. 

For our Girls teams, we are starting Development teams for U12 & U14 ages this year, these teams will have an RH3 Coach (additional costs do apply) then as the girls competiton grows stronger we look forward to WaiBOP introducing a higher level of dedicated Girls competition in years to come. 

GAMES AND CANCELLATIONS

Games for 7^th Grade and up are played across the wider Waikato region with both home and away fixtures.  All games are played on a Saturday morning with kick-off typically between 9:00 and 11am.

The draw will be posted on the WAIBOP football website                             

Cancellations can be found on the same website and are usually updated by 7am on game day.

FIRST KICKS

• Our hugely popular First Kicks programme runs on a Friday night through terms 2 and 3 with a break over the school holidays.  Games and drills are played from 4.30-5.30pm (TBC) at the senior end of Cambridge Football grounds. 
• First Kicks is open to children who are turning 5 or 6 during 2025. 
• Playing groups are put together on the night so there is no stress on mum and dad if you're away one week.
• The Sausage Sizzle will be running so it's a great time to grab the kids dinner.
• There are no compulsory uniform requirements except for shin guards and boots.
• We will have a limited number of First Kicks shirts available for purchase on the first session of the season.  These are optional.
• Club socks and shorts can also be purchased from our online shop.

REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN

Registration fees for 2025 are $140 for Juniors and $100 for First Kicks

VOLUNTEERING

The junior club is run by a fantastic group of passionate volunteers, who dedicate many hours to ensuring the smooth running of the junior and youth programmes.  Every year we ask parents to help support the club by volunteering to coach or manage a team or to help out by refereeing or doing an occasional shift in the chip shop. 

There will be an opportunity to offer assistance when you complete the registration process.

We are also look for Grade Coordinators to help keep teams updated with relevant info over the season - email juniors@cambridgefootball.co.nz to apply 

SPONSOR A JUNIOR TEAM

Cambridge Football Club is run entirely by volunteers and self-funded through grants and local sponsors.  We rely on this support in order to supply everything our teams need to play football.

• Running costs and maintenance
• Balls, goals, bibs and training equipment
• Line marking

With over 650 junior players, our gear needs regular replacement.

You can support your club by sponsoring a junior team!

BASIC STARTER PACKAGE: $400 + GST + apparel cost

• Add your logo EXCLUSIVELY to your teams' apparel.
  
• Ability to purchase EXCLUSIVE club training apparel for your team and have your logo featured on it (arranged by sponsor directly with Adidas via our online shop)
• Link to your business from our junior club sponsors list on the website
• Your logo will be added to the Sponsors Board at the Junior Club
• Ability to shout out to your business when doing game day updates on our Junior Facebook Group

For more information contact Jos Philip, Junior Club Captain: juniors@cambridgefootball.co.nz