Caribbean Cricket Club

The CCC’s history

Established in 1948, the Caribbean Cricket Club has been an important part of the Caribbean community in West Yorkshire ever since, and is a pillar of the local community around Scott Hall. It was created by the Jamaican society in Leeds as a social gathering for mainly West Indian men, although predominately those from Jamaica. Like most community sports clubs, the CCC relies on fundraisers and donations in order to raise money to fund the club.

The Caribbean Cricket Club has recently secured funding from Sports England for an exciting renovation to the club house. This will include a new sports pavilion and new changing rooms. The work has commenced with it due to be complete in November 2022. Currently the CCC is closed due to the current building works. Republica are already looking forward to the tremendous party that we are sure the CCC will host for the grand opening.

Republica & the CCC

Republica have played and been based at many places over the years, from the days of the original Woodhouse Wanderers, through to Republica Highland (based at the Highland pub in Burley), the Cardigan Arms and for the past decade the Caribbean Cricket Club.

Those that know the Cardigan Arms from recent Kirkstall Brewery times will know it as a pleasant boozer, with a beautiful interior and a good selection of ale and craft beer. But it was not always thus: it started as a great pub and a home to Republica for many years, but soon got taken over by a PubCo and had a succession of landlords, and the regulars were replaced by a pretty horrible bunch. So in 2011, after harassment towards members of the women’s team and physical threats to the men from the people now propping up the bar, it was decided that it was time to move on.

At that time we were playing at our current pitch on Scott Hall Road. Someone suggested we approach the Caribbean Cricket Club. After all, it made perfect sense: its opposite our pitch, had changing rooms and storage units. The CCC were more than happy with this and we were welcomed with open arms. From then on, Caribbean soup (extra hot sauce optional!) and Red Stripe post-game became part and parcel of our Sunday fixtures.

After a couple of years we grew ever closer to the CCC, and over the years have hosted football tournaments there, held socials, had joint football & cricket days with the CCC (they won the football…) and have been invited to various events such as the Windrush celebration event last year. One of our players joined the CCC on a tour out to St Kitts, and many of us have got to know the stalwarts of the CCC well.

Many people from our club have sat on the committee for the CCC, and know from the words of various chairs of the club that the CCC view this as “our club”: we are not guests in their space but active and involved members of the club. Both the men’s and women’s sections have keys, we now run the bar whilst we are there and lock up when we’re done. Importantly our socials raise much needed money for the CCC from which we all benefit, from works to the outdoor section to longer-term aims of a new clubhouse.

We continue to support the CCC wherever possible – and you can help also. Buy a beer if you can afford it: if you are driving or can’t stay after the game, consider buying a drink unopened for when you get home (the Guinness West Indies Porter is a particularly good drink to sip in the bath post-footy… worth sipping as it’s 7.5%!). The CCC have always accommodated us arranging our own beer for those who aren’t a fan of the regular selection: many will have seen the cask of ale at socials, and we now have agreement to organise some real ales which are sold at £3 a bottle/pint. Over the years, Republica have made good use of the CCC’s excellent clubhouse to host parties, tournaments and fundraising events. A highlight for Republica is attending Larry’s Fish Fry that the CCC host every Friday for some truly fantastic fish.

As our clubhouse, it’s important we support the CCC as much as possible. However it’s also important that we use our resources to support the local community around where we play football. The messages from recent Black Lives Matter protests called for allies to “support Black-led businesses and community groups”. The area surrounding the CCC is also amongst the 10% most deprived areas in the country. The CCC is a vital community asset in the area, and it sits with our values as a club that we use our collective resource and platform to work with the CCC in their development and long-term survival as a community club.

We’re proud to support the CCC, and are grateful for having our home there. The soup, the atmosphere and most importantly the people have been an integral part of Republica for many years - and long may it continue.