Ardglass exit Amateur League

Ardglass exit Amateur League

26 July 2017

ARDGLASS Football Club has been forced to withdraw from the Amateur League.

With the start of the new season just a few weeks away, the club says it cannot compete owing to a lack of players.

Instead of having two senior teams, the club will be reduced to one team which will be taking part in the Newcastle and District League.

It’s a stunning setback for the club which only a few seasons ago was firmly established in the Amateur League’s top flight.

Last season, however, the club was relegated to Division 1A after finishing rock bottom of the Premier Section with just six points from 24 games.

Pre-season hasn’t gone well either and with poor turn-outs at training and no new players coming through, the club says it had no other option but to pull out of the league.

A deeply disappointed club secretary Hugh Hart said he was “totally devastated” and revealed that a number of other factors were behind the decision.

Mr Hart said new IFA rules regarding registration meant Ardglass were unable to bring in enough young players.

And he also accused Newry, Mourne and Down Council of failing to provide adequate facilities in the town.

“We have been campaigning for over 20 years for improved facilities, but nothing has been done,” he said.

“A few years ago Ardglass were running three senior teams, a ladies’ team and four youth teams. As a club we outgrew the facilities which were available to us and now we are paying the price.

“Players have moved to other clubs because they can offer better facilities. It’s a total catastrophe.”

“We amalgamated with Killough at youth level under the Coney Island banner under the assumption that the children could go on and play for either club.

“However, new IFA regulations mean that this avenue has been closed. The football authorities have totally lost the plot.”

Mr Hart said the fear of incurring fines for not fulfilling fixtures was another reason for pulling out of the Amateur League.

However, he insisted that the club would continue and concentrate its efforts in the Newcastle League.

“We are going to start from the bottom up. We have a small core of young players and we will try to build from that.”

A spokesman for Newry, Mourne and Down Council said the council, in partnership with Sport NI, had recently concluded a ’Sports Facility Strategy’ which reviewed the current provision of all sports facilities within the district.

“The Strategy identified that within the Ardglass area there is one soccer club for which the Council currently provides a soccer pitch and pavilion for the club’s annual season hire usage,” the spokesman said.

“The Strategy made recommendations to upgrade both facilities at this site, and the Council has allocated a budget for capital upgrading to these facilities and also to those other sites also highlighted in the Strategy in need of improvements.

“The Council is currently in a tendering process for both the pitch upgrading and pavilion replacement at the site in Ardglass, and these works are expected to commence early September 2017.”

The spokesman continued: “The Council in partnership with the former Down Sports Association has now formed a charitable company known as the Sports Association, Newry, Down and South Armagh (SANDSA).

“This company has already registered over 150 clubs from throughout the district and its role is to assist those clubs with possible funding opportunities, promotion of good club governance and assistance in all aspects of gaps in their coaching or club members needs.

“This association, with the Council being its lead partner, is in place to help all clubs in order to ensure they are able to grow and are sustainable in their delivery of sport to the local community.”