Carryduff football club in desperate need of improved facilities to support growth

A Carryduff football team says that it is in desperate need of improved facilities and pitches in the town to support their growing numbers.

Carryduff Colts have said that the facilities they are using at the Lough Moss Leisure Centre are in need of investment and improvement in order to suitably manage the number of people who are playing football every week.

During the winter months in particular, teams are having to travel to pitches across Belfast and other parts of Co Down in order to train as there are no suitable ones that can be used in Carryduff.

The club currently has over 760 members who play with them every week, with some year groups having more than 70 boys and girls taking part. It has had to turn children away from playing for certain teams due to the large numbers already taking part.

Belfast Live spoke with Mark Hanvey, Laura Gamble, Pat Neeson and club chairman Eamon Deeny, who highlighted some of the issues the club has been facing acquiring pitch space and how there is likely to be even more pressure on sports facilities in Carryduff in the future.

Laura Gamble, U12 and U13s coach, said: "We are in desperate need of some investment into pitches and the facilities we have here in Carryduff because we are struggling to find the space for the numbers that we have at the club at the moment.

"We only have a few pitches here at Lough Moss which we can only use in the brighter evenings due to the lack of flood lights and we have to stagger training times so that we are able to have enough space to provide a pitch for everyone playing.

"In the winter months we have to go elsewhere to Cooke Rugby Club at Shaws Bridge or even to Our Lady and St Patrick's College in East Belfast, which can be difficult for