A Sunbury community soccer group is raising funds to install lighting at its home ground as part of an ongoing effort to convert it to a long-term functional soccer facility.
Led by a group of volunteers, Sunbury Community Soccer Club was established in 2019 by president Matula Osborn, who wanted to create an accessible club for local families.
“[The club] was established because of a conversation I had with a neighbour whose children wanted to play soccer – but she couldn’t afford the registration fee,” Mr Osborn said.
“The objective was to establish a community soccer club for all children from four to 12 years old, regardless of the economic status of their parents.”
With the help of local sponsors, the club offers free ‘kickabout’ sessions for children who want to try soccer, free all-ages walking soccer sessions, and a $200 registration fee for a year of membership for children aged four–12 – but only if this fee can be afforded.
Mr Osborn said the club struggled to secure a home ground, moving from ground to ground until the Sunbury Baptist Church allowed it to use a paddock behind the church for training and competitions.
Since then, the club’s volunteers have maintained the ground to be suitable for play, using portable fog lights to illuminate the pitches.
Now, the club is hoping to secure funding to install permanent overhead lights.
“[The] ground was a paddock, and we have been [using] sponsorships and volunteers to slowly turn [it] into a soccer ground, hence the reason we are appealing to [the] Sunbury community to support our efforts – so that children across Sunbury and surrounding areas can have a choice,” Mr Osborn said.
“We need funding from everywhere, including local government, state government, federal government, businesses, and individuals to make sure all children and young people up to 20 years old have not only a ground, but facilities,” Mr Osborn said.
“With over 45,000 people, Sunbury needs more soccer clubs.”
The club’s training sessions run between January and November, with registration details provided on its Facebook page.
Details:.gofundme.com/f/sunbury-community-soccer-club-ground-lighting
