Four Cobh soccer clubs and 1,000 players will benefit from development

FOUR clubs in Cobh are hoping recent fundraising efforts will continue next year in order to facilitate the development of a new artificial pitch.

Cobh4Football was created to bring unity and development to football in the town of Cobh and the overall goal of the project is to develop high-quality facilities for the young people of the area.

The project aims to work with each club and assist with their development strategy away from the pitch and ensure a healthy footballing future on the island for years to come. The project will serve to benefit the four clubs, 40 teams, over 1,000 players including 600 kids and 100 coaches in the area.

According to the Cobh4Football Fundraising GoFundMe page, the group acknowledge that Cobh is currently in need of developments in terms of playing facilities for young players and given the incredible growth of numbers playing football in Cobh the group see additional footballing facilities as vital for the area.

As a result, the fundraising team have embarked on an exciting venture to install a new artificial playing surface in Old Church Park, home of Cobh Wanderers AFC, and the C4F group is hoping the people of Cobh can keep supporting this exciting project.

Overall, the project will cost €650,000 to complete and the hope is that the pitch itself can bring the four football clubs, Cobh Ramblers, Cobh Wanderers, Springfield AFC and Springfield Ramblers, together for the benefit of all involved.

Mark Farrell and the fundraising team recently thanked those who have already supported the initiative via their GoFundMe page. The team realise it is this support that will allow the project to achieve their goal of developing high-quality facilities for the young people of Cobh. There remains confidence that the fundraising goal of €50,000 can be achieved and all those who support the project will be added to a placard installed on the grounds of the facility when it eventually opens.

Further details are given about the project on the cobh4football.ie website which include plans for the removal of the existing grass pitch at Old Church Park, the installation of new pitches and floodlights, dressing room upgrades, and scheduling plans to cater for all the clubs involved.

Besides the current fundraising drive, funding will also come from grants including the Stephen Ireland Solidarity Payments and Sports Capital Grant. Exciting times for football in Cobh with fundraising efforts to continue into 2021.