The Pitches @ Southport Athletic

Southport Athletic Junior Football Club is a local football club which has 17 boys/mixed teams ages between 6-15 years old. In 2023 they added two under 11 girls teams, totalling 240 local children. It is a totally volunteer-run club and is not for profit. Participation, inclusion and providing a safe learning environment are the values at the heart of the club.

Purpose

The club was formed in 2020 as a new club after issues with financial management with the previous club’s management. It rebranded and moved to a new location on Ferryside Lane Recreation Grounds. Starting from scratch and using local and government funding to buy equipment got the club up and running. The main purpose of the new leadership team was to give kids the opportunity to play football and provide the best facilities possible in a safe environment.

Everyone associated with the club are volunteers and donate a huge amount of time, effort (and passion) to ensure that kids can play football. There’s a huge drive to promote the values of the club – welfare, fairness, respect, and fun. They have recently created their first ever girls team. This generated so much interest we had enough girls to create two teams – they made their debuts in 2023. The club is also welcoming women coaches and management to the club.

The recent success of The Lionesses has shown there is huge appetite for women’s and girls’ football. The club is keen to embrace this and give girls a platform to play and enjoy the game.

Successes

Recently, two of their children were selected for the England FA Para Pathway Team.  A really proud moment for the players, their families and all at the club. Slowly but surely over the last 3 years the club has worked hard to recruit coaches, attract funding, and increase the number of teams playing for the club. We currently have a lot of enquiries from parents wanting their kids to play for the club due to our success and values.

Already, there are exciting plans with the club looking to purchase the club house situated on Ferryside Lane. It will be developed to provide changing, toilet and café facilities. Funding is already in place for this and we’re looking forward to maximising the potential of the clubhouse.

In addition, the club has engaged a consultant provided by the FA to help shape the future of the club, attract investment and to outline a clear path to success for the future. The club wants to be a leader, not just in junior football, but the community itself.

In 2023 it has been our pleasure to provide some grass seed to re-seed the pitches as the club continues to develop.