18 teams, one goal

Quest to raise £28,000 to give players facilities to be proud of

THE national passion might be football, but you would never know it from some of the facilities junior and amateur clubs have to contend with.

And Oldham is no exception with crumbling changing rooms, if any, no toilets, waterlogged pitches and land sold to developers.

But one thriving club which has battled for years to get its own ground is now appealing for help to build a new clubhouse.

People are being urged to support Chadderton Park FC’s buy-a-brick campaign to help raise the £28,000 for the changing rooms, toilets and kitchen, with extra needed to kit out the inside.

Work is already under way, much of it down to the efforts of volunteers, and club secretary Steve Lynch said: “Most of our children arrive in their football kits to play here. It will be nice if they are wet, for them to come in and put on a dry tracksuit.

“And a toilet — that’s not asking too much in the 21st century!”

Chadderton Park FC was founded in 1977 when renowned football coach and referee, Jack Halliwell, got talking to some lads kicking a ball about outside his house in Ferney Field Road. When they complained they had nothing else to do, he formed a team and put them in a league.

From those humble beginnings the club now has 230 players in 18 teams from under sevens to open age (over 21s) — with the original team re-forming in 2007 for a special match to celebrate the club’s 30th anniversary.

Demand is so high that it started three under 6s teams this year following a summer school, and it is the only Chadderton club with girl teams.

The accolades are numerous, from league and cup honours to national recognition. In 2006/7 it was the Manchester FA Charter Standard Club of the Year, North West England Club of the Year in 2007 while Chris Wales was coach of the year in 2008.

One team is bidding for a treble this season and four for a double but Steve insisted: “Winning trophies is not the be-all and end-all. Although it’s good to win, if the children enjoy what they are doing, that’s success rather than winning trophies.”

However, one major success has been the way the club has pulled together to turn the former St Matthew’s cricket ground into its home.

They agreed to lease it from the site trustees when the cricket club folded and Steve explained: “The area had a lot of anti-social problems — drinking and drug taking. It was broken into time and time again.

“The grass was knee high and the old pavilion derelict.”

Chadderton Park FC is Oldham’s only junior football club in Oldham with its own ground and the transformation has included raising £6,500 for security fencing. The pavilion is also earmarked for demolition.

Steve paid tribute to the strong community feel which is reflected in its bid for the FA’s top benchmark of community club status.

Like many parents he got involved when his son started playing and said: “It is so family orientated and so well run. When we hold fund-raising days we get so many people down here.

“At the end of the day we feel we are doing something special.”

How you can get involvedFOR £5 you can sponsor a brick and have your name put in the club register; £125 will buy 25 bricks and your name immortalised on a plaque in the new building; £250 gets 50 bricks and an individual plaque. To buy a brick contact Steve on 0161-628 3587 or 07753-303286.