30/06/2026
๐จ CLUB STATEMENT: THE FUTURE OF HOLBURN AFC ๐จ
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.
๐ 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.
๐ 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 ยฃ3,000 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.
๐ 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
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