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"It's a lifeline" says community club

A football club which has been doing its bit for its local community throughout the Covid-19 crisis has been handed a “lifeline” by Sport Wales.

CPD Aberffraw in Anglesey is a true community club. Earlier this year, it dished out grocery boxes to keyworkers and raised money for local charities. And it has now been awarded a grant of almost £2500 so that it can continue to be the life and soul of the village.

Dewi Hughes is Chair of the club. He says: “We had support from Sport Wales to keep us afloat in the initial stages of the pandemic and the latest funding now allows us to prepare for a bright future. We’d like to say a big thank you to Sport Wales for their support during the tough times – the funding is a lifeline to local clubs like ours.”

The club has recently signed a long-term lease on its field with the community council. The council has agreed that the rent will be reduced if the club can cut the grass.

Rather than paying to get its grass cut, which would mount up to £600 a year, the club’s volunteers are ready to roll up their sleeves. And a grant from Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund will now be invested in a ride-on mower.

In a further boost to local football, the ground will be shared with Bodorgan Juniors FC who may otherwise have been forced to fold as its current home is no longer fit for purpose. 

“During lockdown we have tried to support our community as we have always been well supported by everybody here. We have done our best to keep everyone's spirits up.

“But we can’t wait to get back to playing,” adds Dewi. “Not being able to train and play has undoubtedly had an affect on the mental and physical health of our players. Many of our volunteers are older and quite a few have had to shield which has been a fairly negative experience. It is excellent to see them now starting to get the vaccine which means they are a step closer to being able to watch us play. We’re all looking forward to the community being able to come together again.”

Almost 1,000 sports clubs and organisations across Wales have shared more than £3m through Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund since the pandemic began. The Fund provides grants of between £300 and £50,000 to support sports clubs and organisations so they can offer even better opportunities for the nation to be active beyond the Covid-19 crisis. Funding is still available from Sport Wales thanks to the Welsh Government and the National Lottery.