Winton Wanderers Football Club is one of the biggest in Greatest Manchester in terms of players yet they don’t have a permanent pitch they can call home.
With a total of 66 teams including both male and female they have 17 locations across Greater Manchester but are struggling to keep regular practices for everyone.
At the minute the club is relying on small grants and their monthly raffle draw where the prize is spilt equally between the club and the winner.
Winton has areas of deprivation so the club tries to be open and available to everyone.
Chairman of the club, Lee Egan told us: “We try and keep our monthly subscription low, our subs are barely just keeping us afloat, this is why we need as much help as we can, so we can generate more money and do event nights.
“What we are trying to do, is to progress and to have our own home, so at the moment we are spread over so many areas with the amount of children that we’ve got, our winter training is over £50,000, so ideally we are looking for a 4G pitch.
“We are coming up to our 30th anniversary in 2025, I think there would be a better year to announce that we are getting our own home, preferably at Brookhouse.”
Winton Wanderers run the cafeteria at Brookhouse which brings in a small amount money for the club. The club has only been successful in achieving some grants of £500-£1000 due to them only having a short term lease.
Lee Egan, chairman of the club, told us how this is more than just football, that it’s a community and a chance to socialise.
Lee added: “Anybody can play football, everybody should be allowed to play football, and it just builds such a family atmosphere in the club.
“We would like to do the 4G pitch with Salford Academy School, so they would gain use out of the pitch as well.”
Egan also spoke on the other venues the Wanderers previously used. After the soccer dome shut down in Trafford Park and they had to relocate, with AJ bell stadium being another kick in the teeth for the club.
Lee explained: “We had to move over 50 teams from AJ Bell Stadium to try and find and locate our new winter trying venues this winter. There is no room for the community yet they call it a community stadium.”
Ste Young, coach of the young Manchester FA girls and father of two daughters at the club, said: “We’ve got so many plans of what we want to do, we just need that lease, we need a home, that then will open all them other options for us.”
Ste also added: “I just love empowering girls, as I said, my daughters thought they had to be boys to play football, its just showing them they can do whatever they want.”
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