Sporting Chance: Football club furious after being banned from pitch week before season starts

CP United (CPU) contacted the Edinburgh Evening News to say that they had been told their home ground of Little Kerse at Grangemouth was not appropriate to play in Lothian and Edinburgh Amateur Football Association’s Premier Division for the 2019/20 season.

SIGN THE PETITION: You can back our Sporting Chance campaign, just like thousands of other Edinburgh residents, here.According to a member of the CPU committee, a vote was held one week before the season started to bring about a new law that would enforce all new clubs to commit to playing their home games at an EH postcode. However, CPU dispute the suggestion that they are a new club.

Sporting Chance: Edinburgh Council to be held to account over access to sport

A CPU committee member said: “The teams joined together in the Premier Division of the LEAFA league, taking Craighill’s place but changing the name. The name change was accepted by the association in early June and our home park, Little Kerse, was also emailed to the league.

“We didn’t have any issue with this and actually backed the league’s reasons for bringing in this rule for new teams as we were already a member club. We were then told by the league that we could not play at Little Kerse, although many other member teams are allowed to carry on playing out with the EH postcode.

CPU had an affordable arrangement with Sports Galaxy at Little Kerse, which is approximately two miles away from having EH postcode. Over two games this season they have paid

£185 in rental fees for other facilities below the standard of Little Kerse – just to abide by the new rule.

Calling for common sense to prevail, Cllr David Alexander, SNP councillor for the Falkirk North Ward and former SFA referee, said: “League officials should recognise we are talking central Scotland amateur and not the Champions League.”

Our menifesto for change:

1. Cut the grass in public spaces and take it away!

2. No more reductions in the budget of Edinburgh Leisure and a commitment to look at reducing the cost of access to facilities

3. A commitment from the city council that there will be no net reduction in the space used for pitches and sports facilities across Edinburgh

4. If developers want land for other reasons, it should be mandatory for them to pay for, and construct, alternative facilities before any development happens

5. Every public pitch and other sporting facility to be maintained to an agreed standard by the council or in partnership with local clubs

6. Open up the school estate on trusted volunteer basis during holidays and at weekends (allow local voluntary clubs to work with schools to have access and care for facilities)

You can back our Sporting Chance campaign, just like thousands of other Edinburgh residents, here.