Derry Hill United FC open New Clubhouse

The official opening of Derry Hill United FC’ s new Clubhouse took place at the end of October and local people in the Calne area were there to celebrate. The Club were delighted to welcome Wiltshire man and Swindon Town legend, John Trollope, to formally open the building, and unveil a plaque celebrating the occasion. Members were also treated to a display of best wishes and inspirational sporting advice sent to the Club by many of the Premiership and Football League’s top managers.

Eight years ago Derry Hill Boys FC was formed by a group of enthusiastic parents to provide local football opportunities for children. The growth of the Club has been phenomenal with current membership exceeding 200 players, both girls and boys between the ages of 6 and 17. The Club has generated a huge interest in girls’ football that led to a name change in 2004 to Derry Hill United FC. Now each weekend the Club is buzzing with the activity of its 15 teams.

Alan Crocker, Chair of the Club said, “When we first started we had limited facilities, no shelter or toilets. It was essentially just a field. However with only 18 members who all lived close, we managed to get by. We knew as we grew we would have to do something to provide the facilities required to support our players and volunteers.”

To meet the growth the Club needed to improve facilities at its home, Bowood Sports Ground. With the green light from Lord Lansdowne and the Bowood Estate they were able to start planning to develop facilities. The Wiltshire County Football Association also worked closely with the Club to support the project, which went from inception to completion in a staggeringly short 18 months.

Alan explains “Any new building costs a great deal of money and raising the funds required was made possible through the generous support of the Football Foundation, North Wilts District Council and and a Landfill Community Fund grant from Viridor Credits through Community First, the Communities Council for Wiltshire. The support and funding from these organizations gave us the motivation and confidence to get the job done, and done quickly, and now we’re here with a wonderful new facility for our members to use.”

Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation said: “We are thrilled that the Club and the local community will have access to these fantastic new facilities and commend the Club and the local FA for their hard work in making this happen.”

“Sport is playing a central role in helping people to stay fit, strengthen communities and promote responsibility amongst young people. This is the latest example of thousands of projects across the country that the Football Foundation is supporting with money provided by our funding partners the Premier League, The FA and Government.”

Derry Hill United plan to use the new Clubhouse to enhance what it offers to members. In addition to toilets and changing facilities the Clubhouse has a meeting room that will be used for training and education for the players and parents, coaches and officials.

After much hard work and with a smile on his face, Alan concluded, “I would like to say a huge thank you to all those involved in making this happen. I hope our young members and adult volunteers make full use of the Clubhouse and enjoy and take pride in this new facility for many years to come.”