Pride in UKAF football: Head coach Joey Collins lays out mission statement

New UK Armed Forces men's head coach Major Joey Collins wants to continue the tradition of pride in the shirt as he begins his reign with the first training camp in Aldershot.

Maj Collins, alongside his new coaching team, which includes former UKAF greats Keith Emmerson and Lewis Brownhill, invited a number of new players to the first training camp, including some who have only played under-23s football with their service.

With a number of Navy players unavailable due to the Navy FA's overseas tour of Canada, there was an opportunity for players such as Lewis Watch, Alfie Rogers, Mitch Duggan and others to make their mark.

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"We've moved some people around," said Maj Collins. "We've had a couple of lads leave. This camp, for instance, there's only four players that have played UKAF before.

"We're looking at them opportunities for people and that's what it is. They've got to look to take that with having the Navy away this week.

"Obviously, it helps my preparation because we get to see different people, but then, when we come to the camp in September, that allows me to bring them players back in with a bit more experience as well.

"Blooding new youth is always a good situation to be in. We've got three or four guys who have never played senior football yet, but what we've seen in their own Inter Services allowed us to bring them in and give them an opportunity.

"Let's see if they can take it."

Playing with pride in the UKAF shirt

Over the past decade, reigns under 'Ding Dong' Nick De-Long, Dyfan Pierce and Daryl White have seen unprecedented success for UKAF in the Kentish Cup as well as other key rivalries against the Irish Defence Forces and German Bundeswehr.

In those eras, a key message was "Three Teams as One" and that pride in UK Armed Forces football is something the new coaching system are keen to continue to foster.

Maj Collins said: "Very, very rarely do football managers come into sides that are actually winning competitions and winning trophies.

"I'm in a bit of a unique position because, obviously, Daryl White is gone, but he's laid down some serious foundations along with Dyfan Pierce before him and 'Ding Dong' Nick De-Long.

"We're coming into something that's successful, and it's just about that extra couple of per cent each time we come in. Can we make it that little bit better?

"To play at this level in the pinnacle of football in the services has to be a goal.

"There's guys that are playing some serious football outside, but within the services, playing Inter Services games is full-on, full-blooded, 100% one team wants to win more than the other. It's blood and thunder.

"However, when you come to UKAF, you get a different atmosphere. What’s been great is that you can see the willingness that people do want to come and get involved. They want to wear the shirt. They want to put the United Kingdom badge on the shirt.

"They're proud in the service, and that's what we are. We should be proud. We're playing for not only our badge but the three service badges and it's one badge that we wear together."

A testing end of the year to come

With March's Inter Services season in the rear-view mirror, attention now turns to the key clashes UKAF have in store before the end of 2025.

A Kentish Cup held in the UK will be the priority as the British team host their French and Dutch counterparts in a week-long festival of football.

In November, a Remembrance clash against the German Bundeswehr is in the works, as is the annual clash against the Irish Defence Forces, with a date still to be confirmed.

Maj Collins said: "I think learning from being under pressure and being able to control the uncontrollables sometimes is hard, but they need to be tested.

"When they step into the Kentish, it is a completely different competition."

The new reign of UKAF football kicked off on Tuesday night with a 1-1 draw against Ascot United and a thumping 6-1 win over Alton FC later in the week.