Dover Athletic have announced changes to operational arrangements at the Megger Community Stadium for next season.

Chairman Jim Parmenter said, “We have listened carefully to suggestions and input from supporters as well as reviewing our operation with a view to modernisation.

Our aim is to improve supporter experience by reducing queues and waiting time and with the majority now wishing to use cards for payment making that process easier and quicker.”

All our turnstiles and catering outlets will be fitted with fast card readers and the bars with new card reading tills, the Stadium will become cashless (card only) in the turnstiles although a cash facility will be retained at reception for use by anyone who is genuinely struggling to pay by card for entry. Supporters will also be able to purchase programmes at the turnstile with one simple payment.

The turnstile for season ticket holders will become season tickets only in order to reduce queues there, which I know has caused some concern amongst our season ticket holders this season.

To improve hygiene and reduce queues our catering outlets will be card only as will the club shop and the bar. 

The 50/50 draw will remain a cash payment and initially it will remain possible to purchase a programme using cash .

We sincerely hope that supporters will work with on these initiatives, and we will welcome feedback so that we can further improve matchday experience for our supporters.  

As we have come to the end of the football season, although the results on the pitch may not have been what we all wanted, off the pitch we have been taking the small steps towards making Dover Athletic a more inclusive community club.

From quiz nights to raffles, community days to sponsoring books, launching a provision for girls’ football to matchday visits from local grassroots teams, creating a sensory room to hosting the Dover School Games Year 1 & 2 football tournament, donating various raffle prizes to other local causes and charities to craft fairs, attending community days to walking football and plenty more.

None of these things could have been achieved without the generous support from our club sponsor Megger, along with the amazing support from the fans and volunteers involved with each and every one of these activities.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for getting behind the Community Trust and the projects we are trying to make a success and I look forward to continuing building our community links with you all through the close season and into next season.

Vikki

As we close another season I want to thank all the supporters for your support for myself and the Academy once again throughout the season.

Looking back at this season it’s been pleasing to see another 3x Academy players progress into the first team.

Henry Young has established himself as a first team player this season still only aged 18 making 30 appearances scoring 1 goal. Youngy is a great lad who will only continue to improve this seasons experiences will be invaluable for his development.

Archie Hatcher has also come into the first team making 18 appearances across the season scoring 3 goals. Archie again will only continue to improve and we look forward to seeing him continue to develop with us.

Matty Holness has also come into the first team, making his debut against Yeovil and been gaining experience on a dual registration with Erith and Belvedere and supporters will get the opportunity to see him in action next season.

Once again this is fantastic to see these players come through and what our Academy is all about. We look forward to starting again next season and hopefully continue to develop and progress players into the first team.

Enjoy your summer!

Mike

We look forward to welcoming you tomorrow for our final National League South game of the season, and ours in the competition.

I don’t think you can call it a relief. It’s done and dusted, but it’s never a relief to be relegated. You certainly don’t prepare for it, it’s certainly not what any of us wanted.

It’s certainly not what you, the supporters deserve, the way you have been with us all season.

We’ve got to dust ourselves down, we’ve got to regroup and make sure that we get a stronger group together that can give us an opportunity to bounce back straight away.

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome my Yeovil counterpart, Mark Cooper, his staff, his players, the directors, and of course, their fans, to Kent and congratulate them all on their promotion as NLS champions.

Although the season has come to an end, we all know that there is still a lot of hard work to be done. We have been here before as a club and rebuilt – we all want a positive environment, so let’s all work together to achieve it.

Finally – and this is definitely a case of last but not least – I would like to take this opportunity to thank our fans for the support that you have given us this season.

It would be fair to say that you could have asked for more from us and also that we will be asking more of ourselves going forward, but we could not have asked for more from you.

Home and away and in good times and bad, your backing has been incredible and I could not be more grateful.

Hopefully we can enjoy tomorrow together and start thinking about a brighter future.

Jake

All of our Player Shirt Sponsors were entered into a prize draw to win 2 X Premier Club day passes for the last game of the season against Yeovil. Acorn Homes, sponsors of both of Henry Young’s home and away shirts were the successful pick and we look forward to welcoming them for our macthday hospitality.

Acorn Homes is a proud family owned provider of care and education for young people.

Due to our successful growth, we are now looking for enthusiastic and dedicated people to join our teams in both existing and new proposed services across Kent.

Experience is not necessary to begin your career in care, but a caring and supportive character is always going to help those we support.

Acorn Homes

If you feel you can make a difference to their young people’s lives and wish to begin or advance your career in care, please contact them via email: hr@ahgroup.org or visit their website: www.ahgroup.org for more information.

Fancy watching the Whites take on Yeovil in style? Of course you do.

The boys will be looking to put on a show and where else would you rather watch it than here with us.

Watch the game from the best seats in the house and let our match day hospitality provide the ultimate way to spend your time with us.

The package includes:

• Butler hosted lounge with large TVs and a projector showing the game
• A three-course meal served at your table
• Reserved undercover premium padded seating
• Complimentary tea, coffee & mineral water, plus a dedicated paid bar before and after the match
• Complimentary match day team sheet

The very special experience costs £28 per person and is available for individual and group bookings, or as a gift voucher.

Please note that this price does NOT include entry for non-season ticket holders who do attend, and they will still need to pay at the turnstile on the day.

On the menu for the game will be :

Starter:

Prawn Cocktail

Main:

Steak Pie, Mash Potatoes served with a selection of Vegetables and Gravy

Dessert:

Apple Tarte Tatin served with Ice Cream

There are only 64 spaces available, so all tickets will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis.

The dress code is smart casual.

To buy your VIP ticket please email gavin.hughes@doverathletic.com or call the office on 01304 822373

Dover Athletic Chairman Jim Parmenter has confirmed that Manager Jake Leberl will continue as first team manager next season.

He said “We are delighted that Jake will be with us next season he is passionate about the club and wants us to improve on and off the pitch.”

News on players will be published as it is available. 

Plans are well under way for next season and as well as supporting Jake to build a strong team, discussions are under way around our community activity which will include a review of our youth structure and the introduction of women’s and girls’ teams.

Equally we are discussing ways in which we can improve supporter experience at The Megger Community stadium including how we can speed up service and reduce queuing. 

The club will issue updates for supporters on a regular basis, we look forward to an exciting season with many local derbies.  

Fancy watching the Whites take on Chelmsford in style? Of course you do.

The boys will be looking to put on a show and where else would you rather watch it than here with us.

Watch the game from the best seats in the house and let our match day hospitality provide the ultimate way to spend your time with us.

The package includes:

• Butler hosted lounge with large TVs and a projector showing the game
• A three-course meal served at your table
• Reserved undercover premium padded seating
• Complimentary tea, coffee & mineral water, plus a dedicated paid bar before and after the match
• Complimentary match day team sheet

The very special experience costs £28 per person and is available for individual and group bookings, or as a gift voucher.

Please note that this price does NOT include entry for non-season ticket holders who do attend, and they will still need to pay at the turnstile on the day.

On the menu for the game will be :

Starter:

Pate with Melba Toast

Main:

Chicken Breast in a White Wine Cream and Garlic Sauce served with Baby Potatoes and Vegetables.

Dessert:

Raspberry and Elderflower Cone served with Cream

There are only 64 spaces available, so all tickets will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis.

The dress code is smart casual.

To buy your VIP ticket please email gavin.hughes@doverathletic.com or call the office on 01304 822373

Match Preview by Fred Deveson

This weekend Dover are back at Crabble as they host Farnborough in what will be their last attempt at survival. 

It’s a special weekend this weekend as it is non-league day on Saturday, the day of the game. A raffle for every attendee with big prizes, girls football, meet the players and much more will be available this weekend. 

More information can be found here: https://doverathletic.com/news/non-league-day-2024/

The Whites will be looking to capitalise on their recent improvements. They will be hoping they 

can go one better this weekend and grab a win against mid table Farnborough. 

The goal scoring of the hosts for the weekend has been poor of late, but it’s not due to a lack of chances created. Final third decisions and a lack of a cutting edge are the main reason why Dover is struggling to put the ball in the net lately. 

Should Dover lose this game, the consequences in terms of relegation are almost fatal. A loss next weekend and a win for Truro will all but relegate the Whites.

Farnborough are in a rich vein of form, having won the last 4 games and are in tenth place, making a late surge for the playoff places. 

The visitors have only lost once in their last 9, a defeat to champions elect Yeovil Town and have won 2 of their last 3 away games.

Farnborough have absolutely found their scoring boots lately, having scored 8 goals in the last 3 games making it a very tough fixture for the Whites.

It is sure to be a fantastic day at Dover Athletic, with plenty on offer both on and off the pitch. 

Before the game manager Jake Leberl has said:

“I do feel that our performances of late have been much improved with the previous two games we’ve performed for the full game rather than half a game which was becoming a trait and something we needed to do a lot better on. But again we only have 2 points to show for our endeavours due to naivety & several missed opportunities in our play.“

Dover Athletic vs Farnborough. Saturday 23 March 2024, 3pm.

Ticket Information:

Admission for this match is by turnstile only. We accept both card and cash on the gate.

Adults – £17

Over 60 – £15

Under 18 – £9

Under 11s continue to be free with paying adult

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the Megger Community Stadium for Non-League Day on Saturday 23 March against Farnborough.

The day kicks off at 9am with our 5-10 year olds Happy Feet sessions on the Community Pitch, children of all abilities welcome!

At 10:15am our 11-16 year old Happy Feet sessions will be running in conjunction with the first of our Girl’s Football Sessions. For girls aged 11-16 this initial session will be ‘turn up and play’, there is no need to register. This will be the first step in realizing a competitive girl’s side under the Dover Athletic name from next season.

The gates at Crabble will open at normal time with the National League North clash, King’s Lynn Town v Tamworth, live in the Centre Spot.

Everyone that comes through the turnstiles will receive a raffle ticket with the draw taking place at half time. There are big prizes to be won including:

• 2024/25 Season Tickets

• Food and Drink Vouchers

• Matchday Hospitality package for 2

• Mascot package for next season

• 2023/24 Away Shirt

• Club Shop Merchandise

• And more!

Every child attending the match will also receive their own DAFC goodie bag with plenty of treats and merchandise inside.

We will be welcoming 20 children who are part of 15th Dover St. Andrew’s Cubs group as our special guests. They will be given a tour of the ground, meet the players and will be the flag bearers at kick off.

There is still time to book on to our match day hospitality package which includes a butler hosted lounge and three course meal, whilst watching the game from the best seats in the house.

For the last decade the leading men’s health charity, Prostate Cancer UK, has worked side by side with Non-League Day, raising funds and awareness for and about the most common cancer in men. A limited-edition pennant will be presented to both clubs before kickoff and we will have donation buckets around the ground.

After the game, our players will be in the Centre Spot ready to meet and greet our young fans, sign autographs and have their pictures taken.

And how can we forget, Dover Athletic mascot Captain Crab will of course be making an appearance.

See you on Saturday!