Lord Pendry unveils new ootball facilities on the Isle Of Man

A state-of-the-art £308,175 sports pavilionwas officially opened by Lord Pendry, president of the Football Foundation, recently (Saturday 30 April 2016) in Castletown on the Isle of Man.

The new facility was built thanks to a £99,175 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which delivered by the Football Foundation, the UK’s largest sports charity.

This funding has allowed for a part demolition and extension of the club’s existing changing block and stand to  include new changing rooms, spectator toilets and ancillary accommodation. The new facilities will allow for Castletown FC to better cater for its teams of all ages – the club’s teams currently range from Under-7 to senior male and female sides.  

Castletown FC was one of the first clubs on the Isle of Man to achieve FA Charter Standard Community Club status, and as such have always been an integral part of boosting sports participation in the local community.

The club worked with the Isle of Man FA to produce a Football Development Plan (FDP), which is a vision for football participation at the site over the next five years, with football participation expected to increase by over 40% in that timeframe.

The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund is funded by the Premier League, The FA, and the Government, via Sport England. It is delivered by the Football Foundation, the country’s largest sports charity. Since 2000, the Football Foundation has delivered over £1.2m in grants towards 17 grassroots sports projects worth just under £4m on the Isle of Man.

Lord Pendry, President of the Football Foundation, said: ‘‘It was fantastic to visit Castletown FC on the Isle of Man today to see the effect of yet another important piece of funding from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund through the Football Foundation.

‘‘The new facilities will allow this club to grow and allow for more young people to get involved with sport. Such improvements allow the club to take further pride in their home, providing appropriate provision for their many teams to prepare for games.’’

Cheryl Callow, Secretary of Castletown FC, said: ‘‘We were thrilled to have Lord Pendry officially unveil our new facilities today, our players, supporters and coaches can’t wait to start using them on match days.

‘‘This support from the Football Foundation is invaluable, this funding will allow our club to grow and will certainly see more people getting involved in football from the area.’’