Aberdeen FC is proud to be a thriving, community driven football club who aim to have a positive impact far beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch

. We recognise our unique standing in the local community and appreciate the importance of giving something back as we actively engage with the local communities that support and sustain the club.

Here is a small taster of the recent activity that various representatives of the football club have undertaken recently in our efforts to interact with our local community.

This season we launched a new membership scheme, Red Army: Next Generation, to engage with every supporter between the ages of 12 and 17. On Tuesday 10th September we kicked off our Red Army: Next Generation Secondary Schools Tour with a visit to Northfield Academy. Vice Chairman, George Yule, Head of Communications Dave Macdermid and Vice Captain Mark Reynolds all took to the stage to speak with the youngsters about their careers and experiences in the business community.

Chris Gavin and Craig Brown represented the Club at Methven Parish Church at the funeral of Fred Martin, former International Goalkeeper, aged 84.

Angus the Bull went along to the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes at Hazelhead Park. JDRF is the type 1 diabetes charity, improving lives until they find the cure. They fund research to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes. The walk aimed to raise awareness of the charity and its cause.

Chris Clark and Willo Flood popped along to AFC’s Junior Matchday Club at the St Johnstone game to meet the participants and see the kids in action.

In the run up to Aberdeen v Viking Stavanger in the Energy Cities Community Cup, AFC in the Community offered up a whole programme of activities around the City. Below is a summary of the activities carried out:

Energy Cities Community Cup Trophy TourAFC in the Community, along with Angus the Bull, visited 10 schools in the week leading up to the Aberdeen FC v Viking Stavanger match on Wednesday 4 September. Angus the Bull visited all the classes with the trophy along with AFC in the Community staff who told the children about the upcoming free to enter game.

Energy Cities 4v4 FestivalAFC in the Community hosted a 4v4 festival on Sunday 1st September at Aberdeen Sports Village for clubs within Aberdeen with teams at the 2005/06/07 age groups to participate in the event. 30 teams (180 children) participated in the festival on the day.

Walking Football FestivalFollowing the 4v4 event, there was a Walking Football Festival. 6 teams played in this event with Hibernian travelling up to participate along with 5 teams from Aberdeen. The event was a great success and everyone involved had an enjoyable day.

Multi-Cultural Football Festival The final event on Sunday 1st September to complete a day of activity in the lead up to the Energy Communities Cup match was the Multi-Cultural Festival. 8 teams participated in the event from Nigerian, Polish and Turkish Communities with the eventual winners being Northern Lights who were representing the Aberdeen Mosque.

Travel in Style WorkshopsOn Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd September, AFC in the Community invited classes from Glashieburn, Cornhill, Stoneywood and Broomhill Primary Schools to enjoy our “Travel in Style” workshops in the build up to the Energy Cities Community Cup game. Pupils from the schools were collected from their schools by the new AFC 1st team coach and then taken to Pittodrie for a guided tour of the stadium. They then moved over to Aberdeen Sports Village where they received 1 hour of coaching from AFC in the Community coaches. Thank you to Central Coaches for taking the 1st team bus to the event and making it a special day for the children.

Positive Coaching Scotland WorkshopOn Tuesday 3rd September, AFC along with SFA staff hosted a Positive Coaching workshop. Glentaner coaches along with AFC in the Community staff attended the event which educates coaches, parents and volunteers about how to positively coach and work with children.

Family Fan ParkBefore kick off at the Aberdeen FC v Viking Stavanger game, AFC in the Community and StreetSport worked together to have a portable pitch on the outdoor RDS concourse to allow fans coming to the game to have a kick about prior to the game starting. This proved popular and allowed fans of all ages to show off their skills.

AFC in the Community have been sponsored by Tartan Army Children’s Charity to run a project which will mean 20 pupils from Seaton Primary School participate in a year long programme. Every Tuesday the pupils along with AFCITC staff and their head teacher will walk from their school to Aberdeen Sports Village where they will have 1 hour football coaching. After this they will then walk to the stadium and have their evening meal in the club restaurant.

Directors, Craig Brown and Ian Jack and Vice Chairman, Geroge Yule attended the I&K Charity Golf Day in aid of CLAN at Old Meldrum.