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Leading local football club appeals for help to build on lionesses’ success 
Melbourn Dynamos Football Club is asking for help to fund its future after England’s women were crowned European champions.
Dynamos are expecting a surge in interest and demand from girls, boys and all sections of the community following the Lionesses’ historic triumph.
But the club has to find more than £20,000 per year just to hire a 4G artificial surface and grass pitches for training and matches.
Dynamos are designated by the Football Association as a community Hub Club.
As part of that accreditation, it runs the Wildcats programme aimed at introducing girls aged 3 to 11 to the sport.
Up to 65 youngsters have been attending the Saturday morning sessions and that number is set to increase in the new season.
Club chairman Blake Carrington said: “The Lionesses’ victory is a brilliant opportunity to bring football to more people, especially children and girls in particular
“We already have four girls’ teams and the aim is to create more as the players from Wildcats feed into the system.
“It’s a really exciting time, but the reality is that it costs about £1,000 to set up a new team.
“Although we would love to do more to give girls, boys and adults the chance to play, we will only be able to do it if we increase our income or find a way to reduce our costs.”
The club expects to start the new season with about 420 participants playing across 27 teams and groups – making it one of the biggest sports providers in the area.
Dynamos estimate they will have to pay £19,000 to hire the 4G pitch at Melbourn Village College over 33 weeks of the 2022/23 season.
The club played a key role in developing the project and attracting the grants from the football authorities and government to build the £800,000 facility, which opened in November last year.
Dynamos pay a slightly reduced hourly rate to use the pitch because they are the partner club.
But they also have to find £2,000 per year to use the playing fields around the school, plus £8,000 to employ a local business to look after the grass.
So Carrington is seeking support from local businesses and authorities to raise sponsorship and cut costs so that Dynamos can offer as many people as possible the chance to play.
He said: “Grassroots clubs like ours already face huge challenges to meet existing demand.
“On top of the huge cost of hiring pitches to train and play on, we have to find money for kit, training for coaches, referees’ fees and everything else that makes running teams possible. “We at Dynamos would love to establish partnerships with businesses and individuals who want to invest in their local community.”
The club is inviting anyone interested in supporting the club to come to a tournament on The Moor on Saturday 10th September.
Dynamos are hosting a 32-team competition for under-eight players on behalf of the Royston Crow Youth Football League. Guests are welcome from 11am to see the club’s work first hand and to meet officials.
For further information, please contact Melbourn Dynamos’ chairman Blake Carrington at chairman.mdfc@gmail.com
Steve Richardson at Steverichardson2@gmail.com or Ian Henderson at mdfcfinance@gmail.com
