Co-Chairman Bill Waterson writes:

The waiting is over, idle Saturdays at home are a thing of the past. Football is back, and we at Altrincham FC are refreshed, renewed and ready to go for the 2023-24 season.

We hope you are too! There are those among you who will have heard the welcoming sound of your season ticket falling through your letter box, and said season tickets are valid for tomorrow's pre-season friendly with Stockport County and the subsequent home game on Sunday 30th July with a Manchester United XI.

There is still more than enough time to purchase or renew your season ticket, and you can do so on our website.

The season proper starts with a home game with Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday 5th August with a 3pm kick-off, and match day and hospitality tickets for this game, and every other home league fixture, are now on sale on the website.

We have been busy over the summer, and you will see a few changes to The J Davidson Stadium. The team of volunteers have woven their magic again and the ground is spruced up from turnstiles to terraces.

The new tarmac in front of the Golf Road End makes a huge difference in my view and acts as a beacon like a shining path towards the Fan Zone.

The Fan Zone is now finally taking shape in a way that reflects the vision we had for it initially, almost unrecognisable and bigger than ever before. The segregation barriers are being replaced and upgraded – you will see some difference tomorrow and more improvement before the start of the season.

Off the field, too, there have been changes. Nigel Bunce, multiple times winner of Clubman of the Year and our former COVID Officer, has stepped back from Ground Safety Officer.

Hs efforts on behalf of the club over the last few years have been extraordinary. Our promotion during COVID season would not have happened without his putting in place the necessary protocols, and again he rose to the task when we reintroduced fans for the last three home games of the 21-22 season.

He has overseen our safety operations from an average crowd of around 800 to successfully managing capacity crowds at The J. Davidson Stadium last season. I am delighted to say Nigel has joined the board of the Altrincham FC Community Company, and he will, of course, continue to watch Alty home and away.

We welcome to the club Michael Heath as Ground Safety Officer and Dave Cardall as Deputy GSO and Chief Steward. Michael joins us from Stockport County and Dave from Oldham Roughyeds RLFC.

We are always looking for ways to improve the match day experience and we believe the close-season changes reflect our ambition in this regard. Of course, you all are the final judges of whether we have achieved that goal and we welcome your feedback in the coming weeks.

Thank you all for your continued support – we have another exciting season ahead of us with new goals to attain and new expectations to surpass. We look forward to seeing you all back at The J. Davidson Stadium for Stockport County, to begin with, and then the forthcoming season.