Charity stalwart hits out at the cost of pitch costs

Pat Burke, founder of Children in Poverty Inverclyde, says six amateur clubs have folded in the last three years and he claims running costs are driving people out of the game.

Mr Burke, whose charity recently donated strips to St Columba's High School and Clydeview Academy, said: "In last three years, amateur football has lost around 30 teams nationwide, six in Inverclyde due to exorbitant costs.

"Greenock High School Former Pupils for home games are out £150 pitch fee, referee fee £50, medical box and balls £500 per annum.

"Two training nights weekly cost £75 per night."

He claims Inverclyde Council is not doing enough to help teams.

Mr Burke said: "The council steadfastly, to their shame, do not budge on fees to assist the teams.

"Only those familiar with having run teams or on the committee can really grasp the uncertainty in keeping clubs afloat and the immense work put in.

"Council people making these decisions have never been involved running clubs."

Council bosses say that the issue has already been extensively discussed in the Telegraph and say that any further subsidy would mean cuts to services elsewhere.

This comes after a Tele investigation which revealed that booking fees charged by Inverclyde Leisure, are amongst the most expensive in Scotland.

Clubs are paying £156 to hire an artificial pitch for two hours for 11-a-side adult game, compared to £96 in Glasgow, £83 in Edinburgh, and £103 in neighbouring Renfrewshire.

Only Aberdeen and Midlothian were higher than Inverclyde, at £200 and £175 respectively.

The same picture emerged for juvenile teams (under 16) where a full pitch hire was £98 compared to £72 in Glasgow, £41.75 in Edinburgh, and £51.50 in Renfrewshire. Only Aberdeen and Perth charged more at £100 per hire.

In the last year, the prices have increased to £175 for an adult team and £109 for a youth team.

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson sticking to their previous response, said: “We work closely with our partners Inverclyde Leisure to ensure access to leisure facilities and activities are as affordable as possible so they can be accessed by as many people as possible to encourage healthier and more active lifestyles and the physical and mental health benefits that comes with that.

“The council and IL are responsible for seven fitness gyms, three swimming pools, an ice rink, four sports centres, 17 grass pitches, six 3G pitches, a golf course, three town halls, an athletics stadium, an indoor bowling club, and several community facilities, including school pitches.

“We have some of the best, if not the best, leisure facilities in the country with equipment from leading manufacturers and that’s been recognised by industry professionals and that should be a cause for celebration.

“However, having first-class leisure facilities doesn’t come for free and there are costs associated with building and maintaining them and paying staff for managing them.

“A typical 3G pitch with fencing and lighting costs in the region of £700,000 to build and we have more on average per head of the population than anywhere else in Scotland.

“Most of our pitches are also to the standard of the national football governing body.

“While we subsidise leisure facilities and have invested millions of pounds in making them the best they can be, they must be run sustainably and that is becoming more and more difficult in the face of continued cuts to local government funding and increasing running costs."

However they added that: “Any increased subsidy towards leisure and to support pitch hire for adult football teams would potentially mean cuts to other services such is the tough financial climate councils and public services generally have to operate in."