A game of two halves

Ally McGilvray • Published 6 Apr 2010 14:40 0 Comments

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IT is a town renowned for rugby and the place rugby sevens was invented.

However, we can reveal a record number of youngsters in the town are now playing football.

Melrose FC play their home games in the Gibson Park on a pitch marked out with rugby posts opposite the Greenyards - home of Melrose RFC.

They have teams of boys and girls, aged from primary one up to under 13s, who compete in the local league organised by the Scottish Borders Junior Football Association alongside other teams across the region - including Galashiels, Hawick and Kelso.

And, this summer, the football club are planning to stage a sevens tournament of their own.

However, with the number of youngsters tackling the game, it has outgrown its storage facilities at the bike sheds. And now they have launched a fundraising campaign in a bid to take over the neighbouring fire station.

Speaking to the Border Telegraph this week, Ray Fenton, one of 27 qualified SFA coaches at the club, said: "Football is absolutely massive in Melrose.

"The club has been going for about 20 years but there has been a dramatic rise in the number of children playing the game in the town every Saturday morning - from around 60 kids a couple of years ago to 175 kids now.

"And now one of our ladies coaches has started a girls team so we now have around 20 girls that are members of the club."

But he added: "Both football and rugby, compliment each another by encouraging more youngsters to get involved in sport and keeping them fit."

The coach revealed many of the youngsters at the club play both sports.

"We try to have the football on a Saturday and the rugby on a Sunday because we want to ensure that the kids get the opportunity to try both sports," he said. "The last thing we want to do is ask kids to choose between them because they are still working out what they are best at and that would be detrimental to them.

"At this age all they want to do is play with their mates so that's what we try to allow them to do."

Last month, it was reported that the football club was interested in building a Portakabin next to their home ground to use as changing facilities following reports that two youngsters were knocked down trying to cross the road to use the toilets at the rugby club. But, this week, Ray refuted the rumours.

He explained that they have been offered the use of the former fire station which is currently used by the town's festival committee for storage. However, the club needs to raise £40,000.

Ray said: "A Portakabin is not something that we have ever looked into.

"We really want to give the football club a base in the town but we realise this is a historic site and we need to get something that matches the surroundings.

"Through the generosity of the festival committee, what we have been working towards is moving into the old fire station, which is a beautiful old building in the centre of Melrose.

"It is currently being used for storage by the festival committee but they have kindly offered to swap our current storage facilities for theirs.

"We actually have the bike sheds just now so what we are planning to do is develop the bottom half of the bike sheds and the festival committee will take over that. Then the plan is that we will subsequently take over the fire station and develop toilets and changing facilities for the kids.

"We have had a couple of accidents, one with the rugby club when a little boy got knocked over and one of the boys from the football club got knocked over going back to the Greenyards. So if there is toilet facilities there it will make it a lot safer.

"It could be a great facility for the whole of the community because the idea is it could also be used by the rugby club and the school, and the festival committee have asked if they can borrow it when the festival is on. We really do appreciate everything they have done for us because if it wasn't for them the building would have been demolished after it closed a number of years ago."

He added: "It's something that we are pretty excited about but there is a lot of hard work to be done and a lot of funding to be found for it."

The football club is working with Scottish Borders Council and the Scottish Football Association to find the funding to develop their new home. It also raffled seats in the directors box at Ibrox which were donated by Rangers director Paul Murray.

In addition, Melrose FC are planning to host a fundraising family fun day in Melrose, which will include a sevens football tournament, on June 12.

It will include an appearance from a surprise celebrity. Last year, former grade one referee Stuart Dougal was the invited guest and refereed the matches - which includes a seven a-side football tournament. And, it is hoped that one day it may become as big as the event organised by their friends at the rugby club across the road.

Ray said: "It is fair to say the sevens are alive and well in Melrose - not just with an oval ball but with a round ball too."

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