FOOTBALL clubs in Port Glasgow have been given an unusual gift to help develop budding young players.Parklea Community Sports Hub, which is used frequently by local teams, was recently presented with a storage container from the Scottish Football Partnership, in a bid to support the development of Port sports clubs.The container will allow teams to store their equipment where they train and play, adding another asset to the new £6 million community sports facility.Former Morton captain and Tele columnist Stuart McCaffrey, secretary of the Scottish Football Partnership, was at Parklea to make the presentation. He said: “The Scottish Football Partnership is committed to assisting the development of grassroots football in Scotland.“The award of a storage container will add to the fantastic facilities on offer at Parklea. We would like to wish everyone associated with the sports hub continued success in the future.”
Community sport hubs, sportscotland’s contribution to the Scottish Government’s 2014 Commonwealth legacy plan, aim to increase the number of people of all ages participating in sport.It is also hoped they will bring together various clubs and physical activity providers to offer more sport opportunities for the community, share good practice and promote activities that they provide.Councillor Terry Loughran, convener of the education and communities committee, said: “Community sports hubs is a fantastic initiative which we are delighted to support in Inverclyde. Parklea Community Sport Hub is our first hub that we have progressed through a partnership with the local football clubs, Scottish FA and sportscotland.“The new container gifted by the Scottish Football Partnership is the first visible step of progress that the community sports hub has made.”
Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, added: “Community sport hubs are a key legacy component of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014, and, using lottery funding, sportscotland is committed to developing 150 hubs across all 32 of Scotland’s local authorities by 2016, with at least 50 per cent of these based in schools.“It is terrific to see the progress which is being made at Parklea Community Sports Hub and the addition of a storage container for all of the clubs’ equipment will help to advance the hub’s development even further.”
Feature image and article courtesy of the Greenock Telegraph
