Ashington Cougars are pleased to announce that they have retained their status as one of only 14 FA Charter “Development” clubs in the whole of Sussex following the annual FA health check. The club also recently just missed out on winning the “Sports Club of the Year” in the Sussex Sports Awards held in November at Brighton’s Hilton Hotel. “This has been another excellent year for the Cougars” said Paul Ames, Ashington Cougars Chairman, “but the best measure of a club is the extra effort that is put in to benefit the players. The last 12 months have seen us attend England U21 and U19 games, host an interclub tournament with Worthing Dynamo’s, run our own tournament and visit the Chelsea Academy over the Christmas period”. “Meeting Daniel Sturridge and the England U21 squad at the pre-match training session was a fantastic experience”, said Joe Brooker, captain of Ashington Cougars U15s.