A sense of community has been restored in Goldington, Bedford, thanks to a new partnership between housing provider, Orbit, and Bedford Town Football Club (BTFC).
A sense of community has been restored in Goldington, thanks to a new partnership between housing provider, Orbit, and Bedford Town Football Club (BTFC).
The football club’s youth development has taken on the lease for the Fiona Way Sports Field and Pavilion where it will be used as a base for its younger teams (Under 8s – Under 12s).
BTFC Youth Chairman, Dennis O’Meara, said: “We are really excited about creating a home base for our youth teams and can’t wait for them to play their home matches out of this fantastic facility. We hope that the local community will play a big part in helping us to settle in and develop the site into a friendly and fun environment where youngsters can enjoy playing and developing their individual and team skills.”
To get the ball rolling, a mini tournament for the Under 10s and some coaching sessions for around 20 local children was held on Saturday (7 December) after the Mayor of Bedford Borough Council, Dave Hodgson MBE, officially declared the pavilion open.
Robert Field, Regional Property Manager at Orbit, who has worked with BTFC on this project, added: “Orbit is all about building thriving communities and sport is a great way to bring people together. Having BTFC’s youth development base here will be a real asset to the children who live locally as it will provide them with a fun, physical activity which they can come along and take part in. Moving forward, we will continue to work with BTFC, to encourage even more involvement from the local community and to plan further events here, which won’t always be solely football-focused ones.”