Our pitches will be perfect thanks to lottery cash boost
Thorn Athletic will upgrade facilities thanks to funding
Thorn Athletic Community Trust has plans to sow the seeds for future development as they unveil plans to upgrade their grass pitch with a £4,800 Lotto cash grant.
The amateur side opened the Thorn Athletic Sports Academy at the former McMaster Centre in Johnstone last summer.
With origins in the west Johnstone area more than 20 years ago, the club was instrumental in saving the facility ten years ago and now they aim to grow within the community.
Trust chair Mark McGee says the National Lottery Awards for All Scotland grant will allow them to fix their well-used pitch.
He told the Paisley Daily Express: “We were delighted to receive the National Lottery Grant as it will let us improve the quality of our grass pitch.
“Over the last period it has seen a lot of use, there has been some vandalism and there are some drainage issues.
“We hope the money will let us improve the surface for all our teams.
“The pitch upgrade is part of a wider development plan we have for the facility.
“We are taking over two pitches at Thomas Shanks park which is beside us.
“We have Thorn age group teams playing all over the place, like Beith and Linwood, and we want them all to be able to play here.”
The academy has been running free or affordable footie sessions for youngsters.
Free Fun Football, in partnership with the SFA and McDonald’s, is open to kids aged five to 11 between 4.30pm and 5.30pm.
The trust also runs Scheme Soccer Saturday for kids aged six to 12 between 7pm and 8pm every Saturday, with just a £1 donation required.
Mark added: “These sessions have been really popular and we are hoping with the Euros this summer, interest in football will increase and we want to be in a position to make sure we can capitalise on that.”
In total, £109,362 Lottery cash is being shared between 25 projects across the country.
Chief executive of sportscotland, who are distributing the money, Stewart Harris, said: “This is extremely welcome news for sport in Scotland at a time where there are plenty of challenges across the sporting sector.
“This investment from the National Lottery will make a huge difference to clubs and communities across the country.
“The grants will help contribute to sportscotland’s vision of an active Scotland where everyone benefits from sport.”
To find out more about the club and kids sessions, email enquiries@thornathletic.com
We hope the money will let us improve the grass pitch surface for all of our teams