FA Chairman Greg Clarke makes visit to Cumbria
The new Chairman of The Football Association, Greg Clarke, visited Cumbria on Wednesday 2 November as part of his tour of counties across the United Kingdom, to see first-hand the work that is being done to develop all areas of the game locally.As part of his visit to Cumbria, Mr Clarke visited The Sheepmount Athletics Stadium – a facility that was one of many affected by the severe flooding that hit the county at the start of the year. Witnessing first-hand the impact that the flood had on the facility and the rebuilding work that has taken place since, The FA Chairman also observed a session put on by the county’s FA Skills team.
Following the visit to The Sheepmount Athletics Stadium, Mr Clarke travelled to Brunton Park to meet representatives of the club, who received praise throughout the footballing community for the way in which players and staff proactively assisted with the flood relief effort.
Once again looking at the impactthe floods had on Brunton Park and the work carried out to recover, Mr Clarke then went to the Cumberland FA where he met with the County FA CEO, Ben Snowdon, and representatives from neighbouring Lancashire FA and Westmorland FA to discuss local grassroots football development and plans moving forward.
Ben Snowdon, Chief Executive Officer of the Cumberland FA, said: “We were delighted to be able to welcome the new FA Chairman to Cumbria and were pleased to be able to showcase some of the incredible work that has taken place locally.
“It’s no secret that the county has been forced to endure a tough year in the wake of flooding at the end of 2015; however, the community – and grassroots football community in particular with regards to the game – has really come together to ensure opportunities to play the game continue.
“We feel this is something that deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated and I am sure that Mr Clarke appreciated the dedication and commitment shown by the grassroots workforce within our county.”
During the course of his visit to the Cumbria, Mr Clarke will also answered a selection of questions posted to him on social media by people involved in grassroots football locally, with answers being filmed and later posted on the Cumberland FA website, @CumberlandFA on Twitter and via the Cumberland FA Facebook page.
