A budding football team from Harrogate has been awarded a £750 cash-boost from a Yorkshire housebuilder.
New Park Bulldogs FC were handed the cash as part of Persimmon Homes’ Healthy Communities initiative which is aimed at amateur sports teams and individuals aged 21 years and under.
Persimmon will hand out £750 to either an individual or sports team in the area with the money to be spent on sports kit, equipment, coaching or facilities.
In January 2018 Persimmon’s 30 businesses across England, Scotland and Wales will choose a team or individual to represent them in the grand final. An online public vote will decide the overall winner, with one individual or group scooping the £200,000 top prize to create a lasting legacy and two runners-up winning £50,000 each. The other 27 finalists will win £5,000 each.
Launched in 2014 with just eight players and two coaches, the club now boasts over 80 registered players and caters for four age groups (U11, U12, and two U14s teams).
Jane McCulloch, Club Secretary at New Park Bulldogs FC, said:
Since the club’s inception we’ve seen the club go from strength to strength.
Our U14s have won four league and cup titles in the past two seasons which has given all of the players a huge boost in morale.
I want to make the club the best in the area and we have made huge inroads to achieving this.
We’d like to thank Persimmon Homes Yorkshire for their kind donation, this will go towards paying for the club’s coaches to attain their badges and further their coaching abilities.
Kevin Thubron, sales director for Persimmon Homes West Yorkshire, said:
It’s great to see how far the club have come in just a few years.
The rapid growth of the club shows that there is a real appetite for children who want to play football in Harrogate.
We’re always looking to support communities in which we build so we’re thrilled to be giving away this money to such a promising team to help them on their road to success.
For those who wish to know more about Healthy Communities and how they can enter, they can visit www.persimmonhomes.com/healthy-communities
