Portrush youth football tournament to go ahead despite conflicting accounts between club and Council

On March 7, Portrush FC Youths had posted on social media that their “extremely popular Summer Cup tournament will not be going ahead this year.

"Our council has told us that we can’t use Parker Ave pitch on the 7th of June as they have to have the pitch ready for the Super Cup at the end of July.

"This is a massive blow to the club and I’m sure to the hundreds of players and families who make the journey to the Port for a great day out.”

Causeway Coast and Glens Council then replied to the Facebook post saying: “Council officers met with a representative from Portrush FC Youths and Alderman John McAuley on Monday to discuss options which would allow the tournament to take place on 7th June.

"A number of actions were agreed and work towards that objective are on-going. Council would question the accuracy of this recent message from Portrush FC Youths.”

SDLP East Derry MLA Cara Hunter then raised the issue in Stormont, calling on the Communities Minister Gordon Lyons to engage with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council and Sport NI on the issue.

She said: “I am very concerned that access to publicly funded facilities is being unduly prevented by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, leaving one football club homeless and forcing the cancellation of Portrush Youth Summer Cup.

“Portrush Youths FC support over 200 young people in sport, providing a community to children engaged in football and nurturing local talent from around the area. Yet, despite the clear benefit they offer the community, the club has been repeatedly prevented from accessing proper pitch facilities.”

She also made mention of a Coleraine team, East-End FC, who she claimed were “being denied access to a proper pitch of their own.”

She continued: “The decision by the council to reserve use of a pitch to just one Coleraine District match per week effectively means that grounds which should serve the whole community are instead sitting idle 99% of the week.”

However, on Thursday, March 13, Causeway Coast and Glens Council said that Council representatives had met with Portrush FC Youths to discuss their proposed Summer Tournament and “had agreed an option which would have allowed the tournament to take place on 7th June and still allow essential off-season grounds maintenance work to take place”.

In a statement, they said: “That option was being progressed when Portrush FC Youths made a surprise announcement on social media that Council had told the club that they could not use the pitch. Council has today (13th March) informed the club that their tournament date is now confirmed and the club representative has stated that the tournament will go ahead.”

Referring to MLA Hunter’s comment about a club having nowhere to play, Council said: “Council is not aware of any club across the Borough that is “homeless” i.e. it does not have regular access to a football pitch.”

The Council statement continued: “In an effort to accommodate the numbers of children attending the club’s training sessions, in 2023 Council agreed that Portrush Youths could have access to additional ground space on the main football pitch at Parker Avenue for training purposes, two nights a week.

"This arrangement was dependent on how well the ground conditions sustained the use and the main pitch not having to be closed for essential maintenance during the football season. Unfortunately due to overuse, this arrangement was suspended at the start of this year.

"Industry recommendation for the use of pitches is dependent on the type of surface. Grass pitch recommendation is generally 4-6 hours per week.

"It is inevitable, with other influencing factors like the weather, that access to grass pitches has to be managed, and they inevitably sit “idle” for the majority of time. Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council approach to managing grass pitches is common practice across all council maintained pitches in Northern Ireland.”

Referring to the situation of East-End FC, the Council statement said: “East End FC play matches at Ballysally Community Centre. They regularly play matches at this site throughout the football season.

"Unfortunately a few requests for matches have had to be refused due to the requests being submitted during the off-season maintenance period.”

The Council statement concluded: “Council welcomes Minister Gordon Lyons’ recent announcement of future grassroots funding for football.

"Given that the majority of football pitches across Northern Ireland are provided and managed by local councils, it is hoped that Causeway Coast & Glens BC will be in a strong position to be able to secure funding for more synthetic pitch provision which can support between 40-60 hours use per week.”