A VILLAGE club is on its way to becoming a ‘powerhouse of football’ as it works with the Football Association to boost the grassroots of the sport.
St Cleer FC is thriving: its adult team was promoted twice during last season, and its youth section has grown from one team to eleven following a merger with Liskeard Youth Football Club. The arrangement brings advantages to both sides - with St Cleer benefiting from the increase in numbers, while Liskeard enjoys the dedicated facilities boasted by the village club.
A service level agreement has now been created between St Cleer FC, the Football Association and St Cleer’s parish council in order to keep things on an upward trajectory.
A grant from the FA has provided new goals for the youth teams and a splitter for the pitch.
Meanwhile, the Parish Council has committed to a pitch improvement plan which has seen trees managed to improve drainage, and vertidraining to spike the pitches to seven inches; when the weather improves, sanding and seeding are on the cards, says the local council.
Now, the FA have funded a further £3,262 for extra improvements,
and St Cleer has had a mention in the Football Foundation’s Local Football Facility Plan.
Parish clerk Roni Jones said: ‘We have an outdoor gym open to all; but obviously this is very useful for sport. We are in the midst of replacing our skate park, we are looking to upgrade our MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) and working in partnership to achieve this has been mission critical.
‘Jon Colenzo, chair of the adult Football Club and Amy Lloyd, chair of the Youth FC work tirelessly to provide health and wellbeing opportunities for locals. The Parish is delighted to support them’
In its plan, the Football Foundation says its aim is to see refurbished changing facilities at St Cleer, to improve the pitch and to improve lighting and surfacing of the MUGA in order to enable small-sided and social play.
‘As the nation’s most popular team sport, football has the power to contribute positively to vital social outcomes and health priorities,’ says the Foundation.
‘To maximise this power, facilities have to be welcoming environments to attract first-time users and repeat visits, whether for informal, recreational or competitive football.
‘Research clearly and continually demonstrates the positive impact high-quality football facilities, in the right locations, can have on participation and enjoyment. Facility quantity and quality has to ‘step up’ if football is to reach out to everyone.