Dear Members, Parents and Our Community,
As Drefach Football Club we would like to make a formal apology to everyone associated with the club and the wider community for the role we played in spreading the COVID virus in our community.
We would like to take this opportunity to explain the circumstances around the presentation evening and clarify the facts surrounding the events in question to dispel any misinformation that you may have heard.
From the onset, it was our intention to use a marquee that was erected for the kit ordering day/s and for our Senior teams’ presentation evening. This was to allow more space to aid with social distancing. Unfortunately, the marquee was damaged on Friday the 28th August and the kit ordering day was moved into the clubhouse. The presentation evening on the 29th August was also held there including the use of an additional large function room.
The clubhouse is a licensed premises and as such was not limited to a capacity of 30 however a safe limit of individuals in all areas of the premises should have been calculated and confirmed with Carmarthenshire County Council.
The management of the clubhouse is done by Drefach Cricket and Football Club committee and is run by volunteers. Unfortunately, the extensive COVID guidelines required to keep patrons as safe as possible were not up to standard. Although attempts were made to adhere to the guidelines there were areas that were lacking, we as Drefach Football Club must acknowledge our part in this management structure and can only apologise for not fully understanding and implementing these guidelines.
The Wales Health Board, Environmental Health, Infection Control and Carmarthenshire County Council have done thorough investigations into our COVID Guidelines for the Football Club and the management of the licensed clubhouse. All investigations into the running of Drefach Football Club activities including the kit ordering day/s and training protocols were up to standard. Drefach Football Club has not received any sanctions for non-compliance with these COVID guidelines.
The clubhouse management has needed assistance from Carmarthenshire County Council to bring the premises up to standard with COVID guidelines. We are very grateful for the assistance we have received from them in order to ensure the premises are as COVID secure as possible. This includes a deep clean by a COVID specialist and Carmarthenshire County Council approved cleaning company. All the recommendations provided by these agencies have been rectified and an inspection of the premises was undertaken on the 21st September and the closure order for the premises has been withdrawn.
During the outbreak, many of our members were contacted by track and trace in order to self-isolate and get tested. There was a lot of information to be understood and disseminated in order to restrict the spread of the virus. We as Drefach Football Club have a designated volunteer COVID Co-ordinator who has done an exceptional job in the most difficult of situations. We worked closely with the Wales Health Board and Infection Control in order to contact all potentially affected individuals and we also advised players to self-isolate in advance of being contacted by track and trace in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
We hope this statement goes a small way to start to repair the trust the community places in Drefach Football Club and hope the misguided activity of the Senior Men’s and Women’s section has not tarnished the outstanding work done by so many coaches and volunteers throughout the club. We are deeply sorry for our actions and we have learned from our mistakes. We hope all associated with the club can, in time, forgive us.
Yours Sincerely,
Drefach FC Committee
