Crawley Wasps Join the HHTFC Family
We are delighted to announce that Crawley Wasps will be merging with Haywards Heath Town FC, and will be playing at Hanbury Park moving forwards! Both boards of Haywards Heath Town FC and Crawley Wasps will also be merging and sharing governance responsibility with immediate effect.
Established in 1991, Crawley Wasps have helped pioneer the development of womens’ and girls’ football in Sussex, becoming a founder member of the Sussex County Women and Girls’ Football League in 2002/2003.
Currently playing in the third tier in the FA Women’s National League South, the Wasps have played at Hanbury Park a number of times over the past several years, and will now be able to call it their home.
Both Haywards Heath Town FC and Crawley Wasps are excited about the potential of the merger, both in terms of growing the profile of football within Haywards Heath, and also the continued development of the facilities at Hanbury Park Stadium as we look to continue progressing as an inclusive club to the entire local community.
Club statement from Owner and Chairman of Crawley Wasps Jack Ayles:
“As I am sure many are aware it is becoming increasingly difficult for a club without a home to continue to compete in the FAWNL. The rising costs of running a club of this status and the introduction of minimum standard requirements for this level of football have meant that a plan was needed in order to become sustainable and create a suitable pathway for all the incredibly talented young Wasps at the club.
After several months of talks between several clubs it has become clear that Steve and Haywards Heath Town is the right move and an exciting new partnership for Crawley Wasps FC. Steve and his team are incredibly passionate not only about Wasps but the future growth of women and girls football in the area, and they have already shown Haywards Heath Towns commitment to the club with the use of the facilities and investment into the first team.
The first team will train and play at Hanbury going forwards. This is a ground we can finally call home!
Our talented and competitive youth section will continue to play and train at Ewhurst playing fields in Crawley for the foreseeable future.
Further details will be announced internally to all club members in the coming days.
I look forward to working with Steve and the team at Haywards Heath Town as we look to grow and now compete on an equal footing in the FAWNL.”
Steve Isherwood – Haywards Heath Town Chairman
“I am delighted to have got this over the line and see it as a great coup for the club. It puts both sides in a much healthier position to push on through our respective leagues and grow the fanbase of both teams.
Crawley Wasps have already played several games at Hanbury, the most recent being a 2-1 victory over Plymouth. I would like to thank Jack for his efforts and his desire to see what they have built at Crawley push on to the next level.
We share a similar community ethos and I would like to urge all Heath fans to support the Wasps final 2 home games at Hanbury against Ipswich on Sunday 19th March and Oxford on Sunday 9th April – both games being a 2:00pm kick off.”
