League of its own
POWERLEAGUE AND SOCCERDROME MEMORIES LIVE ON
DERBY five-a-side football centre Powerleague closed in April to make way for the largest Padel Tennis centre in the UK, which opened last month. But the memories made by the hundreds of players who used the five-a-side pitches at Pride Park each week will live on forever.
The venue, originally called the JJB Soccerdome, was home to four indoor and three outdoor floodlit 5G pitches, and has been a rich part of many of our lives over the years since it opened more than two decades ago.
Back in 2018, Derby’s deputy mayor, Councillor Frank Harwood, then 80, swapped his ceremonial robes for a football kit when he kicked off the city’s second Festival of Sport at Powerleague. He joined teams of players aged over 50 and over 65 taking part in the walking football event, part of the festival organised by Derby City Sport Forum and Derby County Community Trust.
That same year saw Derby County players Cameron Jerome and Andre Wisdom pay a visit to the Powerleague Soccerdome to help youngsters practise their football skills during the school holidays. The half-term coaching session was run by the Derby County Community Trust, and aimed to provide a safe and enjoyable environment for primary aged children to hone their skills, take part in tournaments, make new friends and have fun while benefiting from the highly-skilled coaching team.
Both Jerome and Wisdom took part in a Q&A and signing session with the excited youngsters before enjoying the afternoon’s tournament; managing teams and even having a kickabout themselves! Casting our minds back to 2016, we simply have to mention the much-loved annual five-a-side football tournament held at the Soccerdome in aid of the British Heart Foundation. The event, then in its fourth year, was a great way to raise funds to help make a difference to people’s lives. Two years before, the same tournament saw 15 teams enter and raised around £2,000 for the cause. Olympic year in 2012 had loads of teams competing in the Monday night five-a-side football competitions, including Robinson Construction and Ashgates.
The previous year in 2011 saw a tournament celebrating deaf-accessible football at the Derby Powerleague Soccerdome. The venue also hosted the 11th annual Derby County Ladies Football Festival for primary schools at the Powerleague.
In 2009, the Soccerdome saw a deaf youth team from Derby finish first in the Deaf Friendly Football Club National Youth Football Tournament. Four teams from Derby County FC joined 24 other deaf youth football teams from across England to take part in the exciting competition organised by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NCDS). Each team took part in a number of five-a-side matches throughout the day. The Derby under 12s deaf youth team were the proud winners in that age category, and received a trophy to take home with them. Teams from Everton FC and Luton won in the under 16s girls and boys categories.
The tournament was the flagship event of the NDCS Deaf Friendly Football Club project, a groundbreaking project designed to make football more accessible to all deaf children.