Sports pavilion vision comes to life for Glenrothes Strollers

Councillor Mark Hood, Fife Council executive committee member, recently visited the Glenrothes Strollers Community Football Club to hear about the progress made since being awarded £300,000 as a one-off investment towards its project from the council’s 2014/15 budget.

He said: “The Strollers are a very successful community football club. They are home to ten kids’ seven-a-side teams, eight youth 11-a-side teams, four girls’ teams, two pan-disability teams, one adult amateur team and over 50 children in nursery teams.

“We realised in early 2014, when setting that year’s budget, that with a membership of over 500, the Strollers is an important community organisation delivering significant sporting opportunities for a wide range of local people.

“We have a nationally-recognised football development programme here in Fife and these improvements will complement the building of Fife’s first indoor football training facility at the nearby Michael Woods Sports & Leisure Centre.

“This is another very positive step towards improving access to sport and physical activities for the people in Fife.”

Funding of £43,000 was also awarded from the Glenrothes area local community planning budget.

Councillor John Wincott, depute chairman of the Glenrothes Area Committee, said: “I’m very pleased to hear first-hand from club members about their ambitious vision for the club and the positive impact on the health and wellbeing of local people of all ages and abilities.

“A pavilion building with six changing rooms that incorporate showers, toilets, a referees’ room and much needed storage will allow for much more use of the park’s football facilities.

“A club room for parents and visitors will also help to encourage people to take part in wider club activities.”

Sportscotland contributed £250,000, recognising that this project will improve the facilities and provide an even better experiences for everyone involved.

John Gheel, sportscotland project manager, said: “Sport has a huge role to play in enhancing the lives of local communities, bringing people together and providing the support to enable them to reach their full potential, at every level.

“At sportscotland our aim is to create more and better opportunities for everyone in Scotland.”

John Buchanan, chairman of Glenrothes Strollers FC, was delighted to finally see all of the funding in place to make the club’s dream a reality.

He said the existing changing facilities were not fit for purpose and offered little incentive to get people involved with the Strollers.

“We’re pleased the value of what we deliver has been recognised and we’ll work hard to make this a fantastic community facility we can all be proud of,” said Mr Buchanan. “Work will start in the next few months and we hope to have the building ready by September.”

The project has also been awarded funding from the Robertson Trust, the Gannochy Trust and the Scottish Football Partnership, while the club’s own fundraising efforts have enjoyed excellent support from several generous local businesses.