THE FUTURE of grassroots football in Worcestershire looks secure following a £803k investment into a 3G training pitch at a community sports club.
Sporting Club Inkberrow has officially unveiled the pitch which is aimed at increasing access to the sport for underrepresented groups, including girls and people with disabilities.
After netting a significant £625k Football Foundation grant, the project was supported by £100k from the Wychavon District Council’s Community Legacy Grant scheme and £78k raised by the club.
The new 9v9 floodlit artificial surface was finished at the end of December, enabling the start of a new junior performance programme.
This offers professional coaching with tailored technical sessions to help each young player master the fundamentals of the game.
At last Friday’s launch and celebration, a group of young players showed off their footballing prowess before joining club officials and representatives from the Football Foundation to listen to speeches.
Among those speaking were Redditch MP Chris Bloore, the deputy leader of Wychavon District Council, Coun Aaron Powell, and club treasurer Rob Bailey, who described the new pitch as being ‘the icing on the cake’.
Mr Bailey said the investment represented a significant milestone for the club, bringing professional-level training and opportunities to its junior players and enabling all the training to be undertaken in-house.
“Girls’ football is a big thing for us and 30 per cent of our teams are women and girls, but there is more we can do.”
He spoke of the club’s ‘massive pride’ in completing what had been a five-year project.
“It will make the club as it will bring all of us together every night of the week in one place.”
Chairman Eddie Hobson, also proud of the club’s progress, said: “It’s been challenging to get where we are, but we’ve done it with the support of some fantastic organisations.
“We’re extremely grateful to have been entrusted with so much local and central Government finance through the FA – it’s an amazing achievement.”
The official opening came during the same week the senior men’s team Sporting Club Inkberrow got a third successive promotion and will play at Step Four for the first time in the club’s history next season following a victory in the Hellenic League Premier Division play-off final.
Head of the girls and women’s team, Mark Wilkinson, added: “The girls section at the club continues to grow from strength-to-strength, with both the U13s and U15s reaching cup finals.
“With a pathway in place to the women’s team, they have the ambition to achieve the same success as the men’s team has achieved with promotion.
“The club is looking for new players with the same aspirations.”
The club, which has charitable status, was formed in 1978 and now has more than 600 players who belong to 40 teams, which are helped by more than 150 volunteers.
The 14-acre site on Sands Road also has a floodlit full-size grass football pitch compliant with Step 5 standards and four other grass football pitches.
