Cleator Moor Celtic have received funding for their training pitches at Cleator to be improved. 

The pitch was becoming unusable during the winter months so a sports consultant was brought in to help with the matter. 

It was decided that a designer drainage system was needed for the facility and the club began looking for funding. 

Cumberland Council assisted with funding and Dave Firth of OBI was brought in to assist with the project. 

Dale oversaw the maintenance of one of the pitches at the Qatar World Cup.

Further funding was then secured from the UK Government through the help of Julieanne Mitchell, who works on local community projects. 

Colin Bell, head of youth, junior treasurer, and U6s coach, said: “The drainage project for the pitches at the Cleator facility will have a big benefit with respect to the availability of the pitches during the exceptionally wet Cumbria winters. 

“Currently we have many games and training sessions cancelled due to waterlogging of the facility. 

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“The effects of global warming are having huge detrimental outcomes on grass pitches, which means when games are called off, the club incurs additional astroturf costs which we can ill afford. 

“The drainage will allow us to play games and train more throughout the year and have a huge effect within the community.”

The total costs of the project amounted to around £80,000 with the physical groundwork starting on September 9 and lasting for ten days. 

It is hoped that the facility will be brought back into use by the beginning of December. 

Project lead David Graham added: “The project is a huge investment by the club to improve our facility at Cleator. 

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“This project started in April 2023 and is just short of an £80,000 investment, this time, money, and effort will hopefully be well worth it, and we hope to see the long-term benefits going forward. 

“My huge thanks to Ray and Colin for their support.”

Cleator Moor Celtic would also like to thank Dale Firth, Adam Copper, Craig Lewis, and Julieanne Mitchell.