£190K GRANT TO HELP YOUNGSTERS DEVELOP FOOTBALL SKILLS IN ORDSALL

A project to help the development of skilful young footballers at Ordsall Leisure Centre in Salford has been boosted by a £190,000 grant.

The cash from the Football Foundation will enable changing rooms for teams and officials to be upgraded and allow league matches to be played on the outdoor artificial pitch at Ordsall Park.

It will also see the sports hall repurposed into a ‘Futsal Hall’. Futsal is a form of football mainly played on a small indoor hard court, marked by lines and does not use boards or walls for the ball to rebound.

The Football Association and the Football Foundation are developing futsal opportunities as a way of introducing younger players to the game and is seen as fast-paced, exciting and ‘a real developer of skills’.

After Salford’s property/regeneration briefing heard details of the Football Foundation’s offer the deputy city mayor Councillor Tracy Kelly agreed to conditions placing a restriction on Salford city council’s freehold titles on Ordsall Leisure Centre as security for the grant for 21 years.

Ordsall Leisure Centre was established in the late 1970s, originally housing a six-court sports hall, changing rooms, two squash courts, indoor bowls and a licensed bar.

Various transformations over the years have seen the building as a home to a permanent elite gymnastics area, a three-court hall, fitness suite, changing rooms and a CrossFit gym. 

A full-sized 3G pitch in the adjacent Ordsall Park is managed by Salford Community Leisure from the leisure centre, but has limited changing facilities.

A report to the briefing said:

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“The current performance of the facility is a cause for concern. While the 3G booking are strong and generating essential income, indoor income has declined.

“Membership, primarily driven by the fitness suite, has fallen below 100. The decline has been primarily caused by local competition – budget operators and accommodation blocks with their own gyms.”