Young players are priced at the game as clubs deal with “excessive” costs – Irvine Times

The fears were raised from the future of girls’ football in the area, as a country based on Irvine reveals that it has branched nearly £ 20,000 last year for the park’s rent alone.

Clark Drive Girls FC, which manages 19 minor women’s teams, paid the amount in 2024 to various bodies, including KA Leisure, the trust that manages the sports and fitness facilities in the region.

Coach Ian Edgar said that the growing fees needed to meet weekly fees can lead to the folding of teams and girls and their parents who give up the game.

Youths of all ages are engaged in sports (Image: Facebook) He would also like to see the money received from organizations such as KA Leisure to use their parks for all atmospheric conditions reinvested in better facilities.

Ian said, “This is a very expensive business, especially when you have to go to the local government in the winter and hire terrains.

“We pay the Irvine Community Sports Club every year a fixed play and training fee there.

“On top of that, we have the cost of renting the field when we use other places for our games.

“The costs over the last few years have increased significantly, demand has increased significantly as the supply remained the same.

“The Northern Irshire is not the most common area in Scotland and is a fight for families to pay fees, with no additional costs such as travel and boots.”

Clark Drive under 16 (Image: Facebook) Clark Drive launches a shoe bank where girls hand in boots that are too small for them, which can then be handed over to the younger girls.

Ian added: “It can cost between £ 30 and £ 50 for a pair of boots and in the season parents may need to buy two or three sets while their children’s legs grow up.

“These are the hidden costs for parents.

“As we take into account what we pay at the Irvine Community Sports Club and others like KA Leisure to hire the pitch, we look at about £ 20,000 a year.”

Ian, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, is a leading coach for the team of Clark Drive girls under 14 years.

He said: “It’s not just about playing football – there is a social aspect.

“Girls learn life skills.

“It keeps them off the street, stopping them to go down the wrong way.

“For two nights a week, the group of girls who coach, parents know where they are.

“They are in a safe environment.”

Both the club and the parents have the extra costs for moving girls to games that can be as far as Langholm in Scottish borders – a round trip over 200 miles.

Ian said the bus hiring is especially excessive – it costs up to 365 pounds per coach.

He said: “We are just a common club managed only by volunteers.

“There must be a larger investment in the facilities.

“Over the years, we have lost seven or eight grass parks that have never been replaced.

“The growth of the game is four or five times, especially for girls.”

Ian fears that some clubs or teams may be folded in the future due to the price.

He added: “Of course, this is a problem.

“If the clubs increase their hiring and travel costs, then the girls will move away from football.

“It also leaves a void in a community that cannot be replaced.”

(Image: Facebook) Another club, Kilbirnie Girls Girls, paid £ 7,06 last year to hire terrains for its three girls teams between the ages of nine to 16 from the Irvin -based KA Leisure.

They say the cost of hiring the terrain for all atmospheric conditions – for their teams under 18 – ranges from £ 28 per hour (from PIC) to £ 52 (PIC) depending on the time of year and if spotlights are required.

In Eastern Irshire and southern Irshir hiring the pitch – according to their websites – there is a fixed price of £ 26th.

Kilbirnie say they need to charge parents £ 30 per month to cover the cost of renting the pitch and relying on fundraising and sponsorship to keep sailing. They have recently created a fourth team for girls to meet the search, thus adding costs.

The Garnock Community Campus Club provides football for 44 girls from ulcers, flightton, sortan, Largs, Kilbiri, Bate and Dali.

Their teams play about 24 games a season, more than 100 per season. Each team trains twice a week and needs a minimum of four terrains a week over hiring home games.

For several months, the club has to branch between 1200 and 1400 British pounds for parks.

Ryan Apps (Image: contribute) Chief trainer Ryan Applications said: “In winter there are additional costs classified as peak leases because they use spotlights.

“This is not only the price of the terrain, but also the distribution and availability.

“You have no idea how difficult it is to get the terrain on weekends.

“Sometimes you have to miss.

“Another time we have to go to salty cats, skewers or irrhaine to find somewhere to play.”

(Image: Facebook) Ryan says football facilities are not always scratched with damaged networks and wheels missing from mobile goals.

Ka Leisure also released the field of teams from Outwith North Ayrshire, which Ryan claims to make it difficult to get reservations for games and training.

Both he and Ian say that parks and facilities should only be for local teams.

Ryan added: “It’s a little disappointing when you are competing for parks against Dumbarton and Glasgow countries.

“There are no terrains for all atmospheric conditions.

“Some of the ones we have are leaking and the nets burst.

“You pay excessive prices for very bad facilities.”

Kilbirnie Ladeside Girls (Image: Facebook) The club and parents, such as Clark Drive, also have the extra costs for transporting girls to games that can be as far as Lanarkshire and Dumfres and Galloway.

Ryan, who takes the girls’ team under 16, added: “The club put mini buses but relies on the parents who take their children there, as well as raising funds and sponsorship.

“The council should spend more on facilities.

“The price is expensive, but the distribution is the biggest problem.

“He has to appear a little and go with prices.

“You don’t see the money back.”

Both Clark Drive and Kilbiri are members of the Scottish Women’s Football Association and play in the Southwest Regional League.

Ka Leisure said their average year -round price for hiring the ground for minors, including peaks and outside peak times, was 40 pounds – below the national average.

The spokesman added: “Prices are set to provide operational resistance and are regularly inspected in accordance with the annual prices of Sportscotland.

“We maintain an open and fair booking policy, guaranteeing equal access to teams in each area.

“This policy maximizes use and increases the possibilities of participation. In terms of availability, we remind users of alternative options, including the North Irshire Council and Community clubs with their own terrains.

“We work hard with our partners to deal with all maintenance problems immediately.

“We are encouraging teams to report all current support problems directly to us for SWIFT resolution.

“We appreciate the reviews of the clubs and are constantly committed to improving our services to support youth football in northern Irshire.”