Edinburgh football club get top-level Holyrood backing for new home ground as MSP wins cross-party support
Over 1000 players - including men’s and women’s senior teams - kept waiting for Council green light after SEVEN-YEAR campaign
The biggest grassroots football club in the east of Scotland have taken their fight for a purpose-built home ground all the way to the Scottish Parliament – and have received cross-party backing for local MSP Daniel Johnson’s motion of support.
Now Edinburgh South Community Football Club, which boasts over 1000 players from soccer school up to senior men’s and women’s team playing in the SPFL and SWFL pyramids, hopes Daniel Johnson’s parliamentary motion will help bounce Edinburgh Council into signing a long-term lease on the site identified at Inch Park, allowing the club to chase millions in untapped funding.
ESCFC chief executive Joe Sneddon, pleased to see Johnson join Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray in throwing his weight behind a low-impact, sustainable, all-weather facility near the club’s traditional home and current community clubhouse, said: “For seven years we’ve done everything asked of us. Now we need a clear decision and long-term land security at Inch Park Nursery. Give us the land and we will deliver.”
Murray, the former Secretary of State for Scotland who has been a long-time supporter of South’s Field of Dreams campaign, threw his support behind the Scottish Parliament motion recognising the strength of the club’s case.
And he urged the Council to act quickly to address a glaring need for facilities, saying: “This is one of the largest grassroots clubs in Scotland, supporting thousands of young people and families across Edinburgh South, yet it has been left for far too long without the facilities it needs to thrive.
“This isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’. Without secure pitches and proper changing facilities, children are being turned away, and the club, despite the amazing work it does, can't fulfil its full potential. A club that delivers so much for our community deserves stability, and certainty.
“I have consistently raised this issue locally, and this motion underlines that action is now overdue. I urge the Council to work together with the club to deliver a permanent solution in Inch Park, so this brilliant club can continue its amazing work across South Edinburgh."
Facilities deemed ‘essential’ by local representative
Johnson’s statement, which is due to go before the chamber for debate tomorrow, makes it clear that the local MSP recognises the value of South’s contribution to the community.
He notes that “ESCFC’s plans have received support from the SFA” and says he “believes that good access to high-quality and affordable football facilities is essential to supporting participation, improving health and wellbeing and offering opportunities for young people in communities across Scotland.”
Johnson, looking forward to tomorrow’s chance to speak up on behalf of the club, said: “I’m pleased that my motion recognising the outstanding contribution of Edinburgh South FC at Inch Park has secured cross-party support, and that it will be debated in the Parliament chamber. Ian Murray MP and I have met with Edinburgh South FC, Inch park Community Sports Club, and Council Officials several times in recent months. We will continue to press for urgent action so that these clubs finally get the facilities they need and deserve.”
South at risk of league expulsion without home ground
Edinburgh South men are under constant threat of expulsion from the East of Scotland Football League, where they’ve climbed to just outside the play-off places in the First Division, because they don’t have their own ground. They played at five different ‘home’ venues last season and currently share the ageing Pattie’s Road stadium with East of Scotland Third Division side Edinburgh United.
The women’s team, forced to train and play SWFL East games away from their home of Holy Rood High School whenever schools are closed, are also eager to secure the sort of proper facility needed in order to climb the women’s football pyramid.
In a statement detailing the need for movement on a project first put to the Council back in 2018-19, the club said: “Edinburgh South is a community-led club, run by local people, delivering football for hundreds of children, young people, women and men every week across South Edinburgh.
“We already have a proven model at Inch Park, through Inch Park Community Sports Club, where long-term security has enabled investment and lasting community benefit. The issue now is securing the same long-term land certainty at Inch Park Nursery so we can deliver the pitch and facilities that match the level of demand.
“For seven years we have engaged constructively through meetings, consultations and revised proposals, including Council-led master planning and public consultation, while continuing to grow and serve our community. What’s needed now is a clear decision, clear timescales, and long-term security of tenure.”