A footall club in Wigan which is playing a pivotal part in boosting grass roots football in Wigan has received funding from local councillors.
Our MP and Secretary of State for Sport Lisa Nandy, along with local councillors Mary Callaghan, Lol Hunt, and Clive and Marie Morgan from nearby Winstanley Ward in Makerfield CLP, attended a special event at Laithwaite Park, in Douglas Ward, to meet Mike Cotter, chair at Cherrybrook FC, and see how things were going at the park.
Founded in 2008, Cherrybrook FC is a thriving junior football club for boys, girls and men and women based on Scot Lane (behind the police station). It prides itself of nurturing talent and promoting the values of teamwork, respect, and sportsmanship, providing a positive and inclusive environment for players of all ages and abilities.
Cllr Mary Callaghan, who organised a £4,000 Brighter Borough funding round with other councillors from nearby wards, said: “Mike and all the staff are doing an amazing job at encouraging local boys and girls from all across Wigan to come down and learn to play football and be part of a team. What an amazing facility.
“Mike explained to me how he now has over 11 girls teams and they want to play in local league games. So I decided to find a way to help fund the kits and equipment needed for all of them.
“So with the much-appreciated help of other ward councillors, who have children from their wards playing here, we raised the £4,000 needed. Then I asked our MP Lisa Nandy if she would come down and meet the girls teams.
“Lisa, who is the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, met the staff and all the girls from Cherrybrook under 8’s and their coaches.
“Even though it was raining, it didn’t matter. The look on those girls faces was worth it all when they met Lisa.
It was a brilliant evening and made great memories for those girls. Thank you to everyone involved.”
Cherrybrook FC’s chair Mike said: “We had the opportunity to show Lisa and some of our local councillors our wonderful facilities and introduced them to some of our new girls teams.
“The meeting that followed our PowerPoint presentation, discussed how difficult it was for us to obtain funding, the protocols which we needed to follow, the paper work involved and what could be simplified in order to assist other ambitious organisations to follow in our footsteps and improve Grass Roots sport in the UK.
“Our club is leading the way, blazing that trail and its all down to the parents, coaches and all the incredible volunteers who through their efforts, make up our exceptional organisation.”
Lisa received a special personalised Cherrybrook FC kit and thanked the club for their hard work and dedication in making Cherrybrook FC such a fantastic asset to the Wigan community.
The Laithwaite Park hub, where Cherrybrook FC is based, is a facility consisting three floodlit 4G artificial football turf pitches (FTPs), plus grass pitches, a pavilion with a large cafe, conference rooms and changing facilities and also a large car park. It runs holiday clubs for children and offers its pavilion as a space for party and community events, meetings, training etc.
Laithwaite Park was improved thanks to a generous investment of £8million from the Premier League, The FA and the Government’s Football Foundation, along with nearly £5million from Wigan Council.
It is now run by Leisure United and bookings for the pitches and wider facilities can be made via its website.
