In September 2009, Barnstoneworth United Junior Football Club was borne and with it the mission to offer #FootballForAll. We are a club based on junior participation only, where irrespective of level of sporting ability, all children will be welcomed.
The Story Behind Our Name
Both our name and strip come from a UK television program called 'Ripping Yarns'. The show features a number of the original Monty Python team including Michael Palin and Terry Jones.
'Ripping Yarns' was made up of six 40 minute episodes totally unrelated to each other. In one episode called 'Golden Gordon', which is set in in 1935, they tell the humorous 'yarn' of a football team called Barnstoneworth United who, in the Yorkshire Premier League, had enjoyed outstanding success in the early 1920's, but were now struggling.
Rather than persist with a team full of young players who are always getting beaten, all the players and the home ground are sold to a local scrap merchant, Mr Foggen.
Gordon Ottershaw (Golden Gordon) who is one of the few remaining loyal fans, determined to do something about it. Gordon dreams of Barnstoneworth being a great team again just like the Premier team of 1922, so in a last ditch effort, he rounds up all of the retired 1922 team members (who by now are geriatrics), and reunites them to play brilliant football once again.
From these origins a number of football clubs with the name of Barnstoneworth United now exist throughout the world. There are five different Barnstoneworth United clubs in Australia - in Sydney, the NSW Central Coast, Adelaide and Tasmania.
Barnstoneworth United Junior FC is Established
The founding members of Barnstoneworth United Junior FC really had one purpose - to enable as many kids to play football as possible.
During a period of discontent within clubs, the founders saw that increasingly kids were not able to play the game because:
- They were considered not good enough ... and sat on the bench week in week out; and/or
- They could not afford the ever increasing club costs.
It was quickly identified that a significant portion of club fees where going towards paying Senior players rather than being invested into the juniors. It was also identified that player favourites and stronger kids were most likely to play each week. The less developed and those not as athletically strong in their age groups were missing out.
So in September 2009, Barnstoneworth United Junior FC was borne. A club based on junior participation only where irrespective of the level of sporting ability, all children would be welcomed.
To this day, the mission of being a club where all children have a place to play football remains a cornerstone of our philosophy #FootballForAll.
At Barnies we have a loyal community base that stretches across Williamstown, Newport, Spotswood, Yarraville, Footscray, Altona, Altona Meadows, Seabrook, Point Cook and everything in between ⚽️
Officially: Barnstoneworth United Junior FC
Also know as:
Barnstoneworth Juniors
Barnies
BUjFC