̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Association Football Club

Cambridge triumphs in Varsity double as ̽��ֱ�� and United FC forge exciting partnership

jek67 — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:55:47 +0000

̽��ֱ��memorable evening, witnessed by over 2,000 spectators, set the perfect stage for the announcement of a new formal partnership between Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Association Football Club (CUAFC) and Cambridge United FC, strengthening the bond between the historic footballing institutions of the city.

̽��ֱ��women’s match opened the night in dramatic fashion, with Cambridge securing a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory. Despite trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Light Blues displayed resilience and attacking intent in the second half. Johanna Niggemann (Gonville & Caius) equalised before Sakina Dhirani (Newnham) put Cambridge ahead. Oxford responded with a goal to level the score, but Alissa Sattentau (King’s) struck late to seal a hard-fought win, sending the home fans into jubilation.

Buoyed by the women’s success, the men’s team delivered a commanding performance, clinching a dominant 4-1 victory to secure their first Varsity triumph since 2019. Cambridge's attacking pressure paid off in the 38th minute when Cai La-Trobe Roberts (Jesus) broke the deadlock with a composed finish. Moments before halftime, he doubled his tally from the penalty spot. Asa Campbell (Fitzwilliam) extended the lead early in the second half, before La-Trobe Roberts completed his hat-trick with another spot-kick, sealing a comprehensive win. Although Oxford’s Captain, Noah Fletcher, converted a penalty late on, Cambridge’s dominance was never in doubt, with midfielders Captain Reece Linney (Girton) and Jesse Tapnack (Trinity) controlling the game throughout.

Following the Light Blues’ sensational Varsity double, Cambridge United FC and CUAFC announced a groundbreaking new partnership intended to deepen and develop collaboration between the two clubs to benefit the wider City of Cambridge community.

Professor David Cardwell, President Elect of CUAFC, highlighted the significance of the partnership, stating:“Cambridge can rightly lay claim to being the global birthplace of football, and CUAFC is proud to be unofficially ‘the oldest football club in the world’. ̽��ֱ��DNA of the game was discovered here in the city in 1848 when the first game took place on Parker’s Piece under what are now the modern rules.

“Over the last two years, Cambridge United and the ̽��ֱ�� have developed a strong partnership in a number of different areas. We were very grateful that the Varsity matches were once again hosted so well at the Cledara Abbey Stadium. We agree that now is the right time to build on this and seek to deepen the relationship between our two football clubs. There is much we can potentially do together to help each other as clubs, and we share a desire to do more to help the City of Cambridge celebrate its status as the birthplace of the global game.”

Godric Smith CBE, Chair of the Cambridge United Foundation and Director at the Club, echoed these sentiments, emphasising the potential benefits of the collaboration: “Cambridge United is proud to be the professional football club from the university city that gave football to the world, so it is logical and long overdue to have a formal partnership between our two football clubs on both the men’s and women’s side.

“We are at the beginning and will work out the detail of the first steps over the coming months, but there is a united desire to explore how we can best help each other and, most importantly, the City of Cambridge. Areas of collaboration could include merchandising, facilities, sports science and coaching, data, community work and mentoring. We have a lot of resources and expertise between us, and it will be exciting to see how we can potentially make best use of them together over the months and years ahead.”

̽��ֱ��announcement of the partnership capped off a remarkable night of football at the Cledara Abbey Stadium. With both the men’s and women’s teams showcasing their talent and determination on the pitch, and a new era of cooperation between Cambridge United and CUAFC beginning, the city’s footballing future looks brighter than ever.

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� football teams enjoyed a historic night on Friday 21 March, as both the men’s and women’s squads claimed stunning victories over Oxford in the football Varsity matches at Cambridge United FC’s Cledara Abbey Stadium.

Cambridge United Football Club

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Mixed fortunes at the 150th football Varsity

jek67 — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 20:18:42 +0000

A comprehensive win and a loss on penalties for Cambridge in the annual matches against Oxford.

Plastic Fantastic Cambridge

plc32 — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 13:48:55 +0000

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Association Football Club (CUAFC) will wear a design that copies the match kit from their 1905 Varsity fixture with Oxford for this year's 150th Anniversary Varsity match. But the shirts, socks and shorts for the 39th Women’s Varsity Match and the 139th Men’s Varsity Match in Cambridge on Friday 15th March are a modern marvel of recycling innovation.

Teams announced for 150th Varsity Football Matches

jek67 — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 09:23:28 +0000

̽��ֱ��men's and women's teams for the 2024 Varsity football matches have been announced.

Rare photos reveal 150 years of Varsity football

jek67 — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:37:19 +0000

Rare photos from the Cambridge archives revealed for the first time, celebrating 150 years of Varsity football.

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Cambridge United announce strategic partnership

jek67 — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:27:35 +0000

̽��ֱ��partnership will focus on three initial areas - community, inclusion and sport – with pilot programmes being planned. These will include events and visits to the Club’s stadium as part of initiatives to encourage more prospective students from deprived backgrounds around the country to apply to the ̽��ֱ��; and to enable more existing students to attend games.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� and Club have also established a high level partnership group which will meet regularly to drive progress and identify areas of opportunity. New programmes are likely to focus on supporting wellbeing and mental health, encouraging healthy lifestyles and improving access to sport.

Three of the ̽��ֱ��’s colleges will take part in the initial phase of activity as the ̽��ֱ�� and Club begin working together. ̽��ֱ��Club has also agreed that this year’s Varsity Match will take place at the Abbey Stadium on 15 March 2024.

Prof Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, whose remit covers ̽��ֱ�� sport, said: “ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� is a global institution, but it is also right at the heart of our local community here in Cambridge, working with others in partnership. We know that sport can inspire people of all ages and backgrounds, and I welcome this exciting new partnership with Cambridge United which I hope will help build new and positive relationships which further benefit the city and its communities.”

Shaun Grady Chair of the Board at CUFC said: “We are very pleased to be formalising our relationship with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� with whom we have had many different and positive contacts over recent years - and of course many of our fans work in, with and around the ̽��ֱ�� itself.

“We have identified areas where we will be looking to collaborate over the coming years: community, inclusion and sport. We are excited about the opportunities ahead to do more together for the wider benefit of the city and look forward to welcoming the new Vice Chancellor to the Abbey Stadium over the coming months.’

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Cambridge United Football Club have agreed a new partnership with the shared ambition of working together to help the wider city and the community, supporters, and current and prospective students.

"Sport can inspire people of all ages and backgrounds"

Professor Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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A score for sustainability: Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� football teams step out in recycled kit

jek67 — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 12:24:30 +0000

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Association Football Club (CUAFC) will wear an innovatively recycled football kit for the 37th Women’s Varsity Match and the 138th Men’s Varsity Match against Oxford ̽��ֱ�� on Sunday 19th March.

̽��ֱ��kits include shirts, shorts and socks made from OEKO-TEX certified recycled yarn, produced by recycling used plastic bottles. At the Varsity matches, CUAFC are wearing the equivalent of 2,500 plastic 0.5 litre bottles, approximately 30 bottles per player.

To produce the kits, post-consumer PET plastic bottles are first shredded into small pieces in a recycling plant and cleaned. ̽��ֱ��parts are melted and the resulting mass is pressed into the desired shape by extrusion. From this the yarn is produced and further processed into fabric which is used to make clothing. ̽��ֱ��result: Kits made entirely from plastic bottles.

Matt Hawthorn, captain of the men's team, studying Land Economy at Pembroke College says: “We are proud, as the oldest football club in the world, to lead the way on sustainability in Cambridge sport by choosing kits made from recycled plastic bottles. As sports teams typically need to order new kits for each season and for the Varsity matches, this is a first step towards reducing our environmental footprint.”

Fran Steele, captain of the women’s team, studying Medicine at Wolfson College says: “CUAFC is incredibly excited to be wearing a sustainable kit at the Varsity Match 2023. As a club, we are proud to promote the use of recyclable sports kits, which can help to raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage others to adopt more sustainable practices. ̽��ֱ��use of this sports kit for this large event is a small but impactful way to contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally-conscious future.”

̽��ֱ��kits have been developed by Appareal, a Swiss-based company whose mission is to provide sustainable clothing from recycled sources. It was co-founded four years ago by Andy Wright, who took up studying an Mst at Selwyn College in 2022. Having read the College’s Sustainability Charter, Mr Wright saw an opportunity to expand it through the use of sustainable sports clothing.

̽��ֱ��men's and women's Varsity matches against Oxford ̽��ֱ�� will take place on the 19th of March at the Breyer Group Stadium in Leyton, East London, home to League 2 leaders Leyton Orient. Tickets can be bought on the Leyton Orient website.

̽��ֱ��men’s and women’s teams will tackle their annual Varsity matches in football kits made from 2,500 plastic bottles.

Dik Ng

CUAFC men's and women's football teams wear kit made of recycled plastic bottles

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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