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Once, Twice, Three Times a Contract Extension

In the words of Lionel Richie, we are delighted to confirm three players that have extended their contracts for the 2023/24 season.
  Starting with the No.1, it’s Jack Atkinson.
 
  The 22-year-old Welsh shot-stopper has been integral to Andy Welsh’s side over the past two seasons, clocking up 98 appearances.
  Atkinson signed for the club in July 2021 and has been a fan favourite ever since. Making the big saves along the way and can’t forget banging the drum in the Isle of Man.
  Last season he picked up the North West Counties Division One North Goalkeeper of the Year award.
  Jack’s aims are clear to see ahead of the new campaign.
        From the backline to the forward line, we are delighted to extend the contract of winger Connor Comber.
  The 23-year-old joined the club in August after leaving Atherton LR and signed a contract in December until the end of the 2022/23 season, which has been extended for a further year.
 
  Comber knocked up 45 appearances last season, with the second most goal contributions amongst the squad, scoring 18 goals and supplying five assists.
  He’s also been on-trial in the last 18 months at EFL side Queens Park Rangers, so he’s a player we are delighted to retain.
      Another player that’s re-signed from the forward line is Lewis Gilboy.
  The 23-year-old joined the club in August 2020 after being released by Accrington Stanley.
  He also had non-league experience before coming to join Andy Welsh’s team after playing 10 games for City of Liverpool just before the pandemic in March 2020.
 
  Lewis had the most goal contributions last season, with 32. Scoring 22 and assisting a further 10.
  He’s also the second highest on the appearance charts with a 105 apperances.
      Manager Andy Welsh commented on the three contract extensions.
    #PartOfIt | #ShakersTogether | #BuryFC
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Introducing Andy Welsh

Whilst Andy Welsh is already preparing for the 2023/24 season, we wanted fans to learn more about the man who will be managing the Shakers for this exciting time ahead. 
 
 
Welsh’s football pedigree goes right back to 2001 when he began his professional playing career at Stockport County. From there he went to progress right up to the top tier, playing in the Premier League for Sunderland. His career saw him play for many other clubs, and even saw him be part of Toronto FC’s inaugural season.
 
He first became a manager at Ossett United. Welsh then joined Bury AFC in 2020 and the Manchester–born manager achieved promotion in their first full season as Champions of NWCFL Division One North.
 
Welsh managed 101 games for Bury AFC, amassing 69 wins with a 74.55% win ratio and an eye–watering goal difference of +122. When asked about the footballing philosophies he will be instilling at Gigg Lane, Welsh said, “Wherever I go, I want to win games.” He demands “High–energy entertaining football” and acknowledges the community and town who come to watch the games. “(The fans) don’t pay all their hard–earned money to come and watch a lethargic team that sits behind a ball. We go and get after it, and we make life hard for the opponents.”
 
Though Welsh has enjoyed success up to date, he is well aware of how the situation has changed. Following the successful amalgamation of Bury FC Supporters’ Society and Bury AFC, Welsh knows that those Bury fans who have not attended AFC games are a big part of this exciting journey.
 
 
There are many jobs to do in order to start building for the future. For Welsh, the first on his list is recruitment. While three players (Lewis Gilboy, Jack Atkinson and Connor Comber) carry through their contracts from Bury AFC, Welsh is already in the thick of attracting new players to the club. With his attitude towards winning clear, one of his main priorities is making sure whoever he signs would know the significance of playing for Bury Football Club.
 
 
Working together is something Welsh is passionate about. He will require the same of the squad he assembles. “It’s about making sure that the group of players we bring in work together and gel together. We’ve got to get used to playing together here at Gigg as well. My job as manager, our job as staff, is to get players used to playing at this club as quickly as they can, and to enjoy it as well.”
 
Playing at Gigg Lane is something Welsh wants his players to go to sleep “dreaming about”. However, he knows the opposition will be no different. “We are everyone’s cup final. Everyone will want to come here and beat us.”
 
Welsh knows the challenge ahead, but his focus remains on looking upwards. “We go into leagues to win them. We want to get promoted – no doubt about it.”
 
Above all else, Welsh recognises the club is now fan–owned and the importance of working together is essential to success. From his time managing Bury AFC, he knows the value of creating a collaborative ethos. “One thing we built there was a fantastic family–orientated football club that got behind the players week in, week out.”
 
With pre–season around the corner, Welsh wants fans to show no hesitation in helping the effort on and off the field.
 
As we look forward to Bury back at Gigg Lane in August, Welsh is calling on everyone to be part of it.
 
  #PartOfIt | #ShakersTogether | #AndyWelsh
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Bury Football Club reveal kits for new season

We are pleased to announce the results of our member vote on the kit designs and colours for the new season as we head into the 2023/24 season.
  As we reported when the kit vote went live last month, the team at Hope + Glory had headed into the Bury footballing archives to bring the supporters three new kit designs to choose from for both home and away kits.
  On the vote selection was also the question as to whether our new home kit would be trimmed in either ‘Royal’ or ‘Navy’ blue.
  We are delighted to report that next season’s kits are displayed below. We will be in Royal blue with selection No.2 winning in both cases!
 
  The background to the Hope + Glory EcoKit design can be found on our piece from last month here.
  As a reminder to all supporters, we are due to keep the home kit design for two seasons, with the chosen away kit in place for only a season to allow us the ability to only change one kit at a time in future.
  Our online shop should be up and running as soon as possible to enable supporters to place their order for the new kit! So keep your eyes glued to our social media for updates on this.
    #ShakersTogether | #PartOfIt
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Welcome to our new Bury FC Website!

The launch of a new website for a new start.
Since the results of the amalgamation vote were confirmed in May, with a resounding percentage of the support wanting to see football being played out of Gigg Lane in 2023/24 and following yesterday’s announcement that the name Bury Football Club can be used also, the media groups across the two separate entities have come together for a ‘New Start’ for football in the town of Bury.
A fundamental part of spreading this message will be centred on our media output, with this website being a base for all of this. Wherever you are following from, make sure you keep it here for all your club updates. 
In readiness for the switch of name back to Bury Football Club, we are delighted to be back on the familiar buryfc.co.uk domain. 
There will be further updates to all areas in the coming weeks, where we will add access to season tickets, match fixtures and tables, on-line shop, history, contacts pages and membership logins. Please be patient while these changes are put into action. We look forward to bringing these to you as the new season draws closer. 
On social media, the teams have also worked hard to secure previous account details, which in some cases had either become dormant or unrecoverable post-2019. We have utilised these where possible and brought a consistent approach to the account names, with our men’s and women’s sides represented separately, where this works for covering each respective matchday output.
You can connect with us across all of our social media channels below.
Men’s First Team
Women’s First Team
Follow us here
Men’s First Team
Women’s First Team
Subscribe Here
Follow Us Here
Connect With Us Here
Whatever your background, come with us on this journey. We know you’re going to love it! If you want to be #PartOfIt in any way, contact the media department via our email address at media@buryfc.co.uk.
#PartOfIt | #ShakersTogether
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Welcome back, Bury Football Club

Welcome back, Bury Football Club
We are delighted to confirm that the FA have now formally approved the use of the playing name Bury Football Club, for the start of the new season. We will see Bury FC take to the pitch once again on the 29th of July, ready to kick off at 3 pm in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division. You can read all about it using the button below.
Read More We’ve already made some signings, and we can’t wait to release the news to you on our new website over the next few weeks. We have a list of friendlies to release ahead of the, which includes a first home game on 8th July against EFL opposition. The full list will be rolled out once the last game is finalised. Season tickets are also ready to go, we are just waiting for final confirmation of the league numbers, as any final changes are agreed or rejected this coming week. We have also submitted all of the necessary paperwork to amalgamate the two societies, Shakers Community and Bury FC Supporters' Society, and expect that to complete within the next two weeks. Once done, we will issue an eight week Calling Notice for a first General Meeting of the new society when the newly elected board will be announced. The process for board nominations will be issued well in advance and members will be asked to vote for nine board members to look after the interests of the club in future. Nominations may come from anyone who has been a member of either Shakers Community or Bury FC Supporters' Society for at least six continuous months immediately prior to the General Meeting. There is a huge amount of work going on at Gigg Lane to get things ready for the new season. The amalgamation has given us a vastly improved aggregated balance sheet and we have committed a budget to making improvement around the stadium already, but please bear in mind this is a work in progress so some of the work underway is not obviously visible to supporters, such as improving pitch irrigation, and some will take time to put in place. We are working hard to make sure your money is spent wisely and make every visit both safe and enjoyable
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Dean
Dean

Bury Football Club: We Are Back

We are delighted to confirm that Bury Football Club will be back playing at Gigg Lane for the new season.
The FA have now confirmed that the name Bury Football Club can be used in competition, and a squad is ready to start the 2023/24 season in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division.
The club will use its full name, Bury Football Club, and the abbreviated Bury FC where appropriate. Where team names have a suffix, we will use Bury FC in the team name, for example Bury FC Reserves, Bury FC Women.
    The North West Counties Football League will simply show ‘Bury’ in all fixture lists and league table, in accordance with their convention.
We want to thank all the people and organisations that have made this possible and who continue to support us on and off the pitch. Please join us on our adventure and become a member to help fund the club and allow you a say on how it is run. Everyone is welcome to join us on our wonderful journey.   Up the Shakers and see you in July!   #PartOfIt | #ShakersTogether
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Get Involved: Volunteer Your Time at Gigg Lane

The hard work continues as we turn Gigg Lane around in time for the 2023-24 season.

As much as the ground has been operating for the past 12 months, and the pitch is currently undergoing it’s summer regeneration, there is plenty to do both inside and outside the ground in preparation for staging games from July.
The main focus of the working groups involved so far has been to establish the various works that are necessary to both stage and operate out of Gigg Lane. These continue to be worked upon in conjunction with the Council and other associated bodies.
We do thankfully have lots of supporters getting in touch itching to get involved in whatever way they can and we welcome anyone and everyone looking to #GetGiggGleaming.
For the fundamental jobs of cleaning seats, jet-washing and sweeping walkways and clearing rubbish, the ground is officially open from 10am this weekend (3rd – 4th June) for anyone to turn up and get cracking. Just sign-in on entry and look for the ground-based team to direct you to the job of the day.
We urge all supporters to bring any equipment they can to assist in this clean up – sweeping brushes, buckets, cleaning clothes etc.
  #VolunteersWeek (1st – 7th June)
In line with Volunteer’s Week we are also making preparations for new season and keen to hear from anyone who is considering their availability to help in the running of the club and operations down at Gigg Lane.
As has been shown across the last few seasons, volunteers are the key to the success and whereas we are blessed with a number of enthused and hard-working individuals who are part of a number of working groups already, many hands make light work so we are keen to hear from you.
We have volunteers who are very hands on, to those who are not local and work predominantly on a remote basis. A flavour of the areas our volunteers currently cover are as follows:
Matchday ground staff (net movers / pitch forking and maintenance / stretcher bearers) & administrators Fundraisers and idea generation Broadcasters, film-makers / camera technicians and media runners Match photographers Presenters, musicians and DJs Graphic designers and video editors Match reporters / writers Website technicians and content creators Merchandise and programme sellers Hospitality providers General match day stewards, customer service and crowd assistance Accounting and Book-keepers Now is the perfect time to get involved if you want to join the journey in time for the 2023/24 season, click on the below button to fill out a form with SurveyMonkey:
Volunteer Survey     #Community | #ShakersTogether | #PartOfIt | #GetGiggGleaming
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Treasureline: Week 1

This week’s Treasureline Winners for Week 1 – 24th May 2023 are in! The rollover this week was £500 and remember it can reach up to a life-changing £10,000!!
Prize Draw No. Members Name £500 Rollover WD6957 NO WINNER £1000 ND4195 P BRIERLY £100 RB5541 MRS TAYLOR £50 WC5606 M JACKSON £50 HJ6946 J SCOTT £25 NA1063 H HOLDEN £25 NA0985 L PATTERSON £10 NJ2051 S CROSTON £10 OB6230 J HANLEY £10 NN5444 K ALLEN £10 SA4855 C HARRIS £10 MN2966 T TOLLERSON £10 LJ2516 S MEARNS £10 HL1024 G THOMAS £10 WD1577 M TOMLINSON £10 GP4526 L SPENCER £10 LL2615 P METCALFE View the full article on the Bury AFC website
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Our Mandy honoured at National Game Awards

Bury fan and volunteer Amanda Freeman was honoured this week at the Isuzu National Game Awards in London.
Mandy picked up the Unsung Hero Award, for which she was nominated for following her passing earlier this month.
Two of Mandy’s teammates from her recreational women’s team Diane Dobson & Caroline Suttie collected the award on her behalf at AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane.
Speaking to the Bury Times Diane said: “When it was Bury FC, she used to be a lifelong supporter with her dad. She was devastated, as were many people in the town when Bury FC went, but she just wanted to follow football in Bury and when Bury AFC was created, she just wanted to support them.
“She used to be there at the tunnel, greeting players out on a matchday, and she would be there painting and cleaning and selling tickets and fundraising, for Bury AFC men and women.
“In non-league, no club has got a lot of money, so they rely on volunteers to get out there and do the work. Fortunately, we have got a lot of people that love the team, it is a labour of love, and they will go out and do it.”
Bury fans and the wider football community raised £5,620 for costs towards her funeral.
Mandy was also recently honoured at the Bury AFC end-of-season awards, being named Volunteer of the Year.
Football Board Chair, Marcel De Matas said: “Mandy was a lifelong Bury supporter and one of the unsung heroes of Bury AFC. From the inception of the Phoenix club through to her untimely death, Mandy involved herself in everything from fundraising to match day stewarding and did so with a smile on her face, making many friends along the way.
“She was at the heart of all things great about Bury AFC and was pivotal to the family ethos and community feel around the club. She’ll be sorely missed by her many friends, and we just wish she was here to see the return of football to her beloved Gigg Lane.
“Her dedication to the Bury cause for very many years and the enthusiasm for volunteering, that shone through, even during periods of ill health, truly made Mandy a worthy winner of the Unsung Hero Award for 2023”.
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