Crawley Town Community Foundation Join New EDP Programme with Opening Fixtures Against EFL Clubs

This season marks a new chapter for the Crawley Town Community Foundation’s Elite and Development Programme, as our Development squads have joined a new fixture programme involving several other EFL Football Club Charities, including the likes of Swindon Town and Millwall - also named the ‘Elite & Development Programme’. 

The programme involves our own Elite and Development Centre teams, providing an opportunity for players across all age groups to experience competitive fixtures and represent the Crawley Town Community Foundation against other opposition. 

Swindon Town - Our First Fixture of the Season 

Our U7s-U15s Development squads recently travelled to Swindon Town for the very first set of fixtures in the new programme, which was a great experience for the players, coaches, and parents, and an exciting way to kick off the season. 

“The Swindon match was one of the fixtures as part of our new EDP programme that we’ve joined for the season along with six other EFL clubs,” said Elite & Development Coordinator, Zack Lamont. “It allowed our players to play away, and Swindon was the first fixture that we had for our Development groups.” 

Why We Joined the programme 

Previously, fixtures for our Development squads were arranged on an ad-hoc basis, the Foundation is now able to offer structured fixtures every half-term throughout the season, giving our players consistent opportunities to put their training into practice. 

“The reason for joining the EDP was to guarantee more fixtures to our programme,” Lamont said. “Before, we had fixtures as and when, but now we have a structured programme that ensures regular matches and development opportunities for all the boys.” 

Seeing Player Progression in Action 

While weekly training is the foundation of our players’ development, fixtures can provide an essential platform to measure progress and identify how well coaching principles are being applied in real match scenarios  

“The main reason we like to do fixtures is to see progression from players,” added Lamont. “It allows us to see what they’ve taken on over the past six weeks - which coaching points they’ve absorbed and how they’re developing.” 

During the Swindon fixture, coaches were pleased to see many of the core principles taught in training being applied effectively on the pitch. 

“We saw a lot of the things we implement in our sessions, one of them being maintaining possession,” said Lamont. “There were some great patterns of play where the players kept the ball well and demonstrated real understanding of our coaching points.” 

Looking Ahead 

The Foundation’s squads will continue to participate in regular fixtures against other EFL Foundation Development teams throughout the season, with upcoming matches providing more valuable learning experiences for all players involved. 

The introduction of the EDP programme represents a major step forward in our commitment to developing young footballers both on and off the pitch, giving them the chance to grow, compete, and represent Crawley Town Community Foundation.