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ISSUE 2 • SUNDAY 28TH DECEMBER 2025
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TFFC – 57 YEARS OLD TODAY!
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Season 2025/26 is a momentous campaign for Temple Fortune FC. It is our 50th season of competing in the Maccabi (Southern) Football League. No other club past or present can boast such an incredible achievement; even the giants of the Jewish game who reside at Rowley Lane, with all the financial clout and amazing facilities the rest of us can only dream about, cannot match this Club's feat of going into a 50th consecutive season in Maccabi football.
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FortuneTeller Editorial by Nigel Kyte Today marks the 57th birthday of the Temple Fortune Football Club. In repeating this newsletter every year, I make no apology for bringing it to your attention again. To me, the very roots of this long-running Club stem from occasions like today, so that you can appreciate just what TFFC stands for. The Club's very backbone of stability has been built up on our history, where it is important to remember the TFFC origins. My firm belief is that an awareness of the Club's history and traditions instil pride and a sense of teamwork and collective commitment. It makes no difference how our fortunes fare during the season – good, bad or indifferent – since history keeps rolling on and to that extent, you should be very proud to be associated with a grassroots football club that has existed this long. No other club in Maccabi football can match TFFC's continuous longevity. RAISE YOUR GLASS TO TFFC! So please take the time to click on the links and enjoy reading about the history of Temple Fortune Football Club. The commitment of each of our Members, along with many counterparts over the years, has ensured that we will continue beyond our 57 years of existence. Over this festive period, you might end up with a drink in your hand at some point, so please quietly raise a toast to Temple Fortune FC, fifty-seven years old today! THE FAMOUS 'LOW BRICK WALL' On this very day 57 years ago, four teenagers – namely Michael Rook, Robert Silverstone, myself and my brother Peter – decided to form our own team. During the mid-sixties, we met with other friends every Sunday morning for kick-abouts at Princes Park, a small park in Temple Fortune, NW11. Around the autumn of 1968, a few members of the group split away to start up a team named Princes Park, so at the end of the year we agreed to start up our own team.  After finishing a short game in Princes Park, as the light began to fade on a cold and damp midweek afternoon, the four of us walked out of the Park and up Oakfields Road to the first house which belonged to my parents. We sat on the low brick wall (seen outside the Kyte household above) and decided to form the Temple Fortune Town Football Club; the name was immediately referred to as 'TFT' for short. THE VERY FIRST GAME The first game of any kind to be played under the banner of TFT took place at Lyttelton Playing Fields just five days after formation. The game was only four-a-side and we walked from Oakfields Road to Lyttleton through Hampstead Garden Suburb. We used pullovers on the grass as 'goalposts' and TFT won comfortably against a Lyttelton group by 24–8 – I scored nine goals! The first 11-a-side match was played on Sunday 25th October 1970 at Hampstead Heath, where TFT beat Princes Park Juniors 12–4. In 1971, the name was shortened to just Temple Fortune and a set of yellow shirts was bought from Pullens of Temple Fortune Parade for only £14! In time, we adopted yellow shirts (with red shorts) as the Club colours. COMING A LONG WAY The rest, as they say, is all history! We have certainly come a long way since those embryonic days. Fifty years of continuous participation in Maccabi League football for a start. Please enjoy the links and again, Happy Birthday to our Club! On behalf of the Club's management I would like to wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2026 and not forgetting, good Fortune all the way!  Nigel |
At the end of the 2025/26 season, TFFC will commemorate 50 years of competing in the Maccabi (Southern) Football League. To mark this incredible milestone, the Club will be producing a book for all Club Members and anyone associated with us who might wish to share in this incredibly unique achievement in Jewish football.  |
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>>>>>> Thank you for reading this edition of The Fortune News! <<<<< |
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