Stornoway Society FC

As Stornoway Society/Holburn Football Club comes to an end, we want to take a moment to thank everyone who has been part of our journey.

Firstly, a huge thank you to all of our sponsors who have supported us since the club’s inception. Your backing, both on and off the park has been invaluable and has helped us grow into the club we became.

To our supporters, friends and everyone who followed our results and cheered us on over our 2 years thank you. Your encouragement, whether from the sidelines or from afar meant the world!

To every manager and coach who dedicated their time and commitment thank you for helping shape our identity and pushing us.

To all of our committee members, past and present, thank you for the countless hours of hard work behind the scenes. So much of what this club achieved was only possible because of your tireless efforts both on and off the park.

We'd also like to extend our thanks to Brian and everyone at the Aberdeen Sunday Amateur Football Association for welcoming us into the league. Thank you for your professionalism, support and for making our two seasons a positive experience both on and off the pitch.

A special thank you also goes to our charity partners. It has been a privilege to work alongside two incredible local charities and we are proud that together we were able to make a meaningful difference within our community. Thank you for your support, your time and for allowing us to play a small part in the amazing work you do. Giving back has always been an important part of what Stornoway Society/Holburn Football Club stood for.

As the club comes to a close our final club funds were split between our partner charities with BB14 & The Jude Macdonald Memorial Fund both receiving £550.

And finally, to every player who has pulled on a Stornoway/Holburn shirt, past and present, thank you for embracing what Stornoway Society/Holburn Football Club was all about. What started as a group of mates with a shared passion grew into something we are incredibly proud of.

While this chapter closes, the friendships, memories and values we’ve built together will carry on. We wish every one of you the very best as you move on to new challenges and new teams.

Holburn Out. 🎤🫳

🚨 CLUB STATEMENT: THE FUTURE OF HOLBURN AFC 🚨

It is with a profound sense of anger, devastation and heartbreak that we must announce that Holburn AFC is facing immediate closure and will be forced to fold as a football club.

As many of our followers know, our committee of young volunteers has spent the last several months working tirelessly to transition the club into the Saturday amateur framework under the Aberdeenshire Amateur Football Association (AAFA).

Our application and league fees were submitted in full compliance on 23rd February. We notified our current league ASAFA of our intention to leave the league and spent the spring preparing a squad of enthusiastic players, local sponsors and charity partners for a brand-new chapter of Saturday football.

🛑 The Breakdown in Governance

Despite having our application and funds for 108 days, the AAFA did not invite our committee to an interview until 4th June-only to cancel on the day and push it back to 11th June. Following this interview, our application was rejected. Due to us not having a letter from the SAFA accepting our transfer of league (which we were not informed we required).

We escalated this matter to the national governing body, the Scottish Amateur FA (SAFA). The response we received from national headquarters has left us stunned. SAFA confirmed that our application is completely void because the AAFA failed to comply with mandatory national constitutional deadlines to hold a Special General Meeting by 28th February to process our inclusion. Furthermore, we were informed that the AAFA simply "did not wish" to offer Holburn AFC a place in their league.

If local league officials decided months ago that they did not want our club, we cannot comprehend why they sat on our money for nearly four months, stayed silent through vital national deadlines and dragged us into a mid-June interview that was a complete charade.

💔 The Community Fallout

Grassroots football is supposed to be about encouraging young people, promoting physical health and supporting local communities. Instead, the administrative neglect and lack of basic transparency from local football authorities has destroyed a self-funded club.
Because we were starved of an operational timeline to fix paperwork the real-world consequences are devastating:

The Club Must Fold: Our only remaining option from the governing bodies is to return to Sunday football, which we do not have the player numbers or commitment to sustain.
Charity Support Lost: Holburn AFC has proudly raised over £3,000 for local charities dedicated to getting young people into sport. Because of this decision, that funding stream and community support is gone.
Sponsors Let Down: We must now dismantle our commercial agreements and refund the local businesses who backed our vision in good faith.

🙏 Thank You to Our Community

To our players, our management team, our incredible sponsors, and our charity partners: we are deeply, deeply sorry. You backed a group of young volunteers trying to build something positive in Aberdeen and you were completely let down by the people who run the game in our country.

We would like to ask all our followers, local businesses and fellow grassroots clubs to share this post. The current system is failing the very volunteers who keep local football alive and the human cost of how our application was handled needs to be seen.

-The Committee of Holburn AFC

Shahbaaz Tandoori Restaurant
Holburn Bar
5ives Football Aberdeen
BB14
Hearts for Jude
Rorie Macleod Coaching
Alex C Tattoo

Aberdeenshire Amateur Football Association
Scottish Amateur Football Association

🏆 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐏 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐑 🏆

For just £5 per entry, you'll be randomly allocated a team & if your team goes all the way, you'll take home £100! 💰

⚽ £5 Entry�🏆 £100 Prize for the Winner�🌍 Random World Cup Team Allocation

To get involved, get in touch with any player, committee member, management team member or reach out to us on social media.

Don't miss out!

🔴⚪️🔴⚪️

🏆 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐑𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞 - 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 🏆

A huge congratulations to Joe Scoular, the winner of our signed Aberdeen FC top as well as the hospitality tickets for Pittodrie! 🔴⚪

We would like to thank everyone who entered the raffle and supported the club. Your contributions make a massive difference and play a vital role in helping Holburn Football Club continue to grow as we prepare for the transition to Saturday football next season. ⚽💥

The support from our players, families, friends, sponsors alongside the local community is invaluable and we genuinely couldn’t do it without you.

Congratulations again to Joe & a massive thank you all for getting behind the club.

🔴⚪️🔴⚪️

𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

Stornoway Society 6 - 2 Aberfield FC

⚽️ Arran Walker
⚽️⚽️⚽️ Mitchell Phillips (Sponsored by Shahbaaz Tandoori Aberdeen)
⚽️⚽️ Clement Alake

🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯Arran Walker
🎯 Saiyed Ahmed (Sponsored by Shahbaaz Tandoori Aberdeen)

🌟 Mitchell Phillips (Sponsored by Shahbaaz Tandoori Aberdeen)

Proudly Sponsored by:
Alex C Tattoos @ Studio X
5ives Football Aberdeen

Holburn Bar
Rorie Macleod Coaching
Shahbaaz Tandoori Restaurant
Three2 Graphics

Proud Supporters of:
BB14
Hearts for Jude
Cardiac Risk in the Young

🔴⚪️🔴⚪️

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐗𝐈

Yesterdays Starting XI who took on Aberfield FC 💪

Sponsored by:
Alex C Tattoos
5ives Football Aberdeen

Holburn Bar
Rorie Macleod Coaching
Shahbaaz Tandoori Restaurant
Three Two Graphics

Proudly Supporting:
BB14
Hearts for Jude
Cardiac Risk in the Young

🔴⚪️🔴⚪️

𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘

🆚 Aberfield FC
🏆 Aimin Elmegirab Memorial Trophy
🏟️ Catto Park
🕑 2PM KO

Sponsored by:
Alex C Tattoos
5ives Football Aberdeen

Holburn Bar
Rorie Macleod Coaching
Shahbaaz Tandoori Restaurant
Three Two Graphics

Proudly Supporting:
BB14
Hearts for Jude
Cardiac Risk in the Young

🔴⚪️🔴⚪️

𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐔𝐏

This weekend the boys take on Aberdield FC in The Aimin Elmegirab Memorial Trophy Final ⚽️

🆚 Aberfield FC
🏆 Aimin Elmegirab Memorial Trophy
🏟️ Catto Park
🕑 2PM KO

Sponsored by:
Alex C Tattoos
5ives Football Aberdeen

Holburn Bar
Rorie Macleod Coaching
Shahbaaz Tandoori Restaurant
Three Two Graphics

Proudly Supporting:
BB14
Hearts for Jude
Cardiac Risk in the Young

🔴⚪️🔴⚪️

𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

Stornoway Society 5-0 Aberfield FC

⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ Arran Walker
⚽️ Clement Alake

🎯🎯 Sean Christie (Sponsored by harnden detailing)
🎯 Josh McLoughlin

🌟 Arran Walker

Proudly Sponsored by:
Alex C Tattoo
5ives Football Aberdeen

Holburn Bar
Rorie Macleod Coaching
Shahbaaz Tandoori Restaurant
ThreeTwo Graphics

Proud Supporters of:
BB14
Hearts for Jude
Cardiac Risk in the Young

🔴⚪️🔴⚪️