Young footballers in Salford have scored with a donation from Together Housing Group to help get their new football club off the ground.
The £2,000 donation to Kersal FC Juniors has been made by Together Housing Group which is responsible for the £650million regeneration of Pendleton in Salford, and the University of Salford.
The club has only recently been set up by local parents. The donation will be used to pay for coach training, pitch hire and to expand the number of teams within the club. It is one of several donations from the local community, which has included a new kit from Gap Gas and Plumbing and funding from Winder Carpets of Salford.
Club treasurer Nick Miley-Barratt said: “The club was set up by a group of local parents as there is not a huge amount to do around here for the younger children. We’ve gone from a few players to an under 12s team in no time.
“We are extremely grateful for all the donations we have received to help us get the club off the ground. The boys are now keen to prove themselves on the pitch as a show of how grateful they are for the support.”
Together Housing Group Chief Executive Steve Close said: “These types of grassroots projects can make such a difference to young lives. That’s exactly why we believe the club is worth supporting.”
Salford City Councillor Peter Connor officially handed over the donation to the team during a training session.
He said: “Tony, Nick and all the other parents have done fantastic things to set up Kersal FC in such a short period of time. It was great to have a kick about with the team and see how thrilled they are to play for the new club. I would like to specifically thank Steve Close of Together Housing Group, Mike Taylor of Salford University and Paul Longshaw of Salford City Council for the fundraising they did.”
The Pendleton Together consortium delivering the regeneration project includes social landlord Together Housing Group and building and regeneration specialist Keepmoat. Pendleton Together is working in partnership with Salford City Council.
