The Seadogs have an early pre-season opportunity to lift some silverware.
It has been announced that Scarborough Athletic will lock horns with the newly-formed Merthyr Town FC to contest the inaugural Supporters Direct Shield. The game will take place on Saturday 24th July at the New Bucks Head, home of AFC Telford Utd. Following our Shield game FCUM will take on AFC Telford Utd for the Supporters Direct Cup - it will be a double-header of fan owned football
The Supporters Direct Shield is competed for by supporter-owned teams (presumably in the lower steps of the pyramid) and is provided by "Supporters Direct" the organisation formed to increase supporter representation in football.
Our opponents were originally due to have been Chester FC but they withdrew due to the uncertainty that currently surrounds their starting place in the pyramid & so the Welshmen stepped in to take their place.
I don't know too much about Merthyr Town but they do seem to have many things in common with 'Boro namely they are a reformed team that has risen from the ashes of a well-respected former top non-league club. Like ourselves they have lost their ground and have to groundshare away from home and, just like we had to, they are starting out at the bottom (or near bottom of the pyramid) - in their case the Western League. They are also, of course, fan owned.
This article below gives a bit more information about Merthyr Town and the event itself: Merthyr Town v Scarborough Athletic details
Whatever happens in the Shield Seadog Blog wishes Merthyr Town all the best and hopes they can embark on a speedy rise back up through the leagues, get back home, and soon be in a position that befits the heritage and long tradition of football in their town.
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