FA award recognises Wotton community spirit (From Gazette Series)

FA award recognises Wotton community spirit

WOTTON Rovers FC have received the prestigious FA Community Club Award following an inspirational drive that has seen the club adopt a 'football for all' initiative.

Last week, in a ceremony at the GFA headquarters in Almondsbury, representatives from the club were presented with the award by West Ham United and England legend Trevor Brooking.

It was a prestigious day in the club's history, and the award was much-deserved after Rovers' incredible community work.

Rovers have three senior teams and 14 youth teams. Over the last few years they have entered two teams at each youth level to ensure that all local children, regardless of their ability, have the opportunity to experience competitive football at their level.

This season saw the introduction of girls football at the club with a U12s and U14s team entering in a league. This year, the club is aiming to introduce U10 and U16 girls teams as well, thus offering foorballing experiences to children aged five to 15 within the Wotton community. Rovers currently cater for over 270 children and expect this to rise.

In the pipeline are women's sides as well as teams for vetrans and players with disabilities.

Nick Ford, the club's youth secretary, was delighted with the award and said: "This is a fantastic award to receive and is the result of a lot of hard work by a dedicated group of volunteers. We receive a huge amount of support from parents, players, local sponsors and schools.

"Wotton Rovers are extremely proud to be one of only four clubs in Gloucestershire to receive this prestigious award.

"We would like to see Wotton Rovers at the heart of the community, offering opportunities for all to play football."

A major part of the club's ambition is to develop first class playing and training facilities at the New Road site in partnership with the Wotton Community Sports Foundation.

Ford added: "We are aiming to see the development of both senior and junior pitches as well as a multi use games area and changing facilities. To this end the club has been working closely with the FA and is about to apply for major funding from the Football Foundation to support the development."

The club and the sports foundation (WCSF) require the support of a major sponsor (or sponsors) to help fund the grant offered by the Football Foundation. This is a strict requirement of the Foundation to ensure the quality and long-term viability of any scheme to which they contribute.

With this plan on the horizon, these are highly exciting times for the Wotton sporting community.