Kincorth Amateur Football Club’s chairman has hit out after an “unacceptable” campaign of vandalism has driven volunteers to their wits end.
Kieran Heads, 32, chairman of the local football club, arrived at training on Friday to find the grass pitch at Kincorth Circle “completely ripped up.”
Deep tyre marks were left across the field overnight, marking the latest in a series of recurring incidents that have left the club’s volunteers at their wits’ end.
He said the deep gashes in the turf create an “unsafe” environment for up to 200 kids who are expected to turn up for matches across the weekend, and Kieran says he has been forced to consider calling the games off.
He also said that important sporting equipment, kept in nearby containers, has been raided by the same group and strewn across the park in the past.
Now, Kieran has hit out at the group of local youths who he suspects is responsible for the campaign of vandalism.
Speaking to The Press and Journal, he said the all-too frequent problems are “so frustrating”.
Vandalism a persistent problem at Kincorth football pitch
The dad-of-two said: “This has been going on for years and years.
“The Kincorth Emirates youth set up was only set up three years ago, but since then they have had to deal with around 15 or 16 incidents.
“People have been coming onto the pitch, and I can only assume they are using some sort of dirt or electric bike.
“They do doughnuts on the pitch, they got all over the pitch itself, and they leave massive trails of mud everywhere.
“It means that myself and the coaches have to get there super early and fill in all of these patches.
“We’ve even had to call games off because it is not safe for kids to be playing football on.
“We’ve got so used to it now that we don’t even bat an eyelid at it anymore.
“But this recent one was just so frustrating. All the plans to have games on were made this Friday, and it’s all just so avoidable.
“It’s ridiculous that people in our own community are doing this.”
‘There is nowhere else to play football in Kincorth’
Kieran stressed the importance of the local pitch in the absence of any other options for its aspiring footballers.
He also added that the persistent vandalism has presented a financial worry for the club.
“We try to keep out membership costs low, we know that we aren’t in the most affluent area,” he continued.
“But if we have to keep repairing the pitch, we won’t be able to afford it.
“We looked into getting a full time grass maintenance company but it’s just far too expensive for us – we can’t afford that.”
Kieran also pleaded with the trouble-makers to “show a bit of common sense” and end the pointless damage – which he labelled “unacceptable”.
He added: “We are all from Kincorth and we are all volunteers. We all are in this community together, we shouldn’t have to spend so much time dealing with this. It’s unacceptable.
“There is nowhere else in Kincorth to play a game of football, this is our home and it’s incredibly frustrating.”
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