Welcome to season 2024 – 2025 as we enter our 44th season as a League.

I want to start by thanking all my Committee and Officers who continue to work tirelessly across the season and to bring you a product which we believe is the best around. This was evidenced this year as we have again received record entries into the League, and we start with the largest number of teams in our history. We have the same backroom team again, which is amazing as other leagues find it harder and harder to get volunteers for vacant roles…..we are very lucky to have such an experienced team.

I would like to thank our sponsors and supporters of the League and a special shout to Colin and Sue at Faversham Trophies who wait all season to come into their own, with supplying all our winners and runners up with their shield and medals, and of course for our Cup Finals. I know they go the extra yard for you all and we are very grateful for their continued support.

A huge welcome to all our new clubs and those returning after a break! It is always good to welcome to new clubs and teams and I hope you enjoy the KYL experience.

From Under 14 – Under 16 divisions are now divided so that teams from North/Central and South/East will find themselves playing teams of similar ability, something that continues to work well.

We would ask you all to take a look at our social media platforms and encourage parents and players (Instagram) to take a look….. We have X formerly Twitter, Instagram where we highlight the many professional photos that are taken every Sunday and YouTube – where highlights of all our Cup Finals can be found, and from time-to-time interviews with myself and others across the season.

We continue to work hard with behaviour. All Managers and Coaches will wear their ID badges in the technical areas – this ensures that we and spectators are aware of who is permitted in these areas, and we will continue to educate those who feel they do not need to wear them.

Sadly, poor behaviour has risen dramatically across the season across all parts of football. We have seen a few incidents and whilst we will not rest on this topic, I can confirm that ours is one of the better leagues in the County for behaviour. That is good news, but as individuals, Managers, Coaches, and spectators you are individually responsible for how you behave, and what kind of impression you make on players when you choose to behave poorly.

I would like to place on record my thanks to Kent FA for their continued support, especially on the discipline side.

My thanks to those clubs who hosted our Cup Finals: Maidstone United, Glebe, Herne Bay, Sheppey United and Corinthian. We had some excellent finals, and our Thursday night matches are a must to come and watch.

I always like to talk about the match officials in our League. We have Alan Faulkner as our Referee Secretary and a new Assistant Bradley Godden and we have seen a significant improvement in matches we have been able to cover, and we have seen some excellent performances from the Referee panel.

We continue to ask all clubs to make the matchday experience a good one for the official. Hospitality for the official goes a long way to keep Referees wanting to referee on the League. A lot of the feedback we receive is that the officials enjoy the quality of football and the challenges it brings. However, we do hope that we can see improved behaviour, but we now have a team of Referees who will deal with these matters in the correct manner.

Can I personally thank every Referee who covered a game for us last season.

The season will start this season on Sunday 8^th September, and end 18^th May 2025. There will be no games on Sunday 29^th December and Easter Sunday 20^th April 2025.

Finally, let us remember that we are providing over 3,000 young people with an opportunity to play football every Sunday – just take stock of those numbers. The exceptional stories we keep reading about players going on to play professional football and semi-professional for our member clubs who started in the KYL……I always feel a sense of pride when I read about these great achievements.

Enjoy the season, and I look forward to seeing many of you across the season.

Ken