The name change was not an easy decision by any means. I realise this may upset people but the committee and myself felt it the right thing to do to move the club forward, says APM Contrast joint-chairman Phil Hudson

APM CONTRAST joint-chairman Phil Hudson has defended his decision to controversially change the clubs name to K Sports FC next season.

The club were formed in 1919 as Aylesford Paper Mills but have decided to ditch the club’s current name and badge after announcing plans to build a new ground at their current base at Cobdown Sports and Social club.

The club, who will be playing in the rebranded Southern Counties East Football League Division One next season, will also be playing on a 3G pitch next season, which will bring in vital revenue to the club.

The name change runs in line with the new owners of Cobdown Sports and Social club changing the facilities name to K Sports.

Mr Hudson said in a statement on the clubs website that the rebranding will take the club to a whole new level.

He said: “Well myself and joint chairman Paul Atkins have been waiting to announce the news for what seems like a long time now but I can now confirm that APM Contrast and the youth section APM Holtwood will all become known as K Sports FC.

“I have been in talks with the new owners of the facility for well over a year now and it’s great to finally announce the plans. We will be playing our football on a 3G surface with all brand new facilities

“The name change was not an easy decision by any means, I realise this may upset people but the committee and myself felt it the right thing to do to move the club forward.

 “Last year Aylesford Paper Mill closed down and we haven’t had any support from them for years. We were thinking along the route of Aylesford United or Athletic but after several meetings a decision was made to bring the whole club together.

“In keeping with the clubs history we will still play in black and white stripes and this is evident in the new club badge as we have very cleverly integrated the black and white stripes.

 “The 3G pitch is a must, to grow our club and make sure you’re always training, always playing football, it’s the best way forward.

“We have been working very close with the FA, Kent FA, Football funding, the Kent Invicta League making sure we are getting everything correct.

Another exciting venture at K Sports will be the introduction of K Sports Soccer, this is a Soccer academy fronted by Darren Hare and Andy Hessenthaler.

“I have to say two top blokes are fronting the academy and we will only benefit from their knowledge and experience,” added Mr Hudson.

The work on the club house has started, the main bar area is closed while the work is carried out, this will hopefully take five weeks to complete and then the work will start in the function room.

Mr Hudson said: “The plans look great, unfortunately we are going to have to work around the new project, but that’s just short term, in the long term the short term will be forgotten about. I would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused while the work is carried out.

“I really would like to give a big thank you to Alan Dennington (K Sports Chief Executive).”

Visit APM Contrast’s website: www.apmfootballclub.co.uk