Recognition for Roman

Harpenden Town chairman Roman Motyczak has received the annual Town Council Merit Award from Mayor of Harpenden Fiona Gaskell for services to the community, recognising his contribution to the club and Rothamsted Park stadium over the past decade.

The culmination of that work was the installation of a state-of-the-art artificial grass pitch and improvements to the ground, which were completed in September 2023, when the stadium was re-opened and welcomed a then record crowd of 427 for the game against Dunstable Town.

Club volunteer Marko Johns, who supported the nomination with a written submission, said: ‘Roman became the chairman in July 2013 when the club was staring into the abyss of insolvency. In ten years, he has been the guiding hand building and developing the club into the community asset we now see.

‘Harpenden Town FC celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2021 and Roman’s vision has always been to build not only a successful club at the centre of our town and community, but also create a consistent path to adult football for the large number of young footballers in Harpenden.

‘To make this possible, the club partnered with Harpenden Town Council and Harpenden Colts to create a new home for football in the town. Roman worked tirelessly to secure funding from the Football Foundation to make sure we were able to complete the project on time.’

Harpenden Town also created a women’s team to reflect interest in the women’s game following the success of the Lionesses. The team reached the FA Cup first round in November 2023 and played Luton Town in front of another record attendance for Rothamsted Park. The team lost the game but the women’s first team and under-23 team help counteract a trend that sees young women drop out of group sport.

Roman was also a key part of the club’s #OneTeamOneTown strategy, working with local businesses to promote the club and strengthen connections with the community.

As Roman is Ukrainian he has been an ambassador welcoming displaced Ukrainians in the area and helping them integrate into the area.

Photos:
Left: Roman and Mayor of Harpenden Fiona Gaskell
Right: Richard Bandell (ex-chair of Harpenden Colts FC, Town Clerk Carl Cheevers, and Roman – the trio who collaborated to make the artificial grass pitch at Rothamsted Park a reality.