GALLERY: ‘Vile’ facilities leave March football club’s players dreaming of away games
PLAYERS at a March football club are so embarrassed by their “vile” facilities that they look forward to playing away games.
Battered dressing rooms, unflushable toilets, broken glass and a pothole-ridden pitch covered in dog mess are just some of the treats in store for footballers playing at Estover Road Playing Field.
The situation has become so dire that disgusted Estover Park secretary Steve Jackson - who this week showed the Cambs Times around the club’s grim home - may move the club’s home matches to Wisbech next season.
He said: “The facilities here are an absolute disgrace - they should be condemned.
“They’re vile, unhealthy, and there are no disabled facilities. The pitch is full of ankle-breaking divots but that’s the least of our worries.
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“Villages like Manea and Emneth have beautiful football facilities but this paints a dreadful picture of March. It’s embarrassing when teams come here - we prefer to play away.
“The place has been left to rot. It’s a health and safety minefield. We’ve done what we can to improve the place but now we need help.”
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Cambridgeshire County Council leases the field to the district council which in turn rents it to the Estover Playing Field Association in three-year blocks.
Jackson said although the ownership issue of the land is “complex” the club now needs a grant from the Football Foundation or the Cambridgeshire FA to improve facilities.
He said: “There’s nowhere else for us to play in March and grassroots football should be supported in the town.
“Even though we don’t feel like a club anymore, and I’m sick and tired of this place, we’ve put in too much work to simply let the club die.”
Park, set up in 2005, have two men’s and four youth teams, three of which host their home matches elsewhere.
March Saracans host Sunday league games at the field but the town’s athletic club and March Rangers have already relocated to the nearby Elm Road Sports Field.
• Visit our website to see a gallery of pictures to prove why players’ prefer away matches.
