Harrogate Railway will offer one year of free football training to under 5s and under 6s, to try and spur on the next generation of footballers in Harrogate.
Richard Foster, youth development officer at Harrogate Railway, told the Stray Ferret that there’s been “no better time” to be involved in youth football in the town, thanks to the recent promotions of Harrogate Town and Leeds United.
At one stage in the 2000s, Harrogate Railway were synonymous with football in Harrogate, especially after their FA Cup second round tie against Bristol City, which was watched by 3,500 supporters and shown live on the BBC. However, the club, which is based in Starbeck, has struggled in recent years and in 2019 were relegated to the eighth tier of English of football.
Richard Foster, youth development officer at Harrogate Railway.
Richard said Railway is putting their hopes into youth football to try and inspire local youngsters and potentially provide new players for their first team.
He said with many children forced to stay indoors during lockdown for months, it’s meant they’ve been more used to playing FIFA 20 on an X-Box than kicking a ball around with friends, but he said some age groups at Railway have now started to return to regular football.
He said:
“We have seen some regression both socially and psychologically from players, this accounts for 50% of the player’s abilities so we have had to work hard to build these key areas back up.
“These issues are due to the lockdown, excessive playing of videos games, and a lack of a structured educational setting. This has hampered some age groups return, with some players and parents still not wanting to return, but on the whole, we are in a healthy position.”
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Grassroots football in England has declined sharply in recent years, with the FA reporting thousands of clubs folding over the past decade.
Richard said the club wants to offer a clear pathway from grassroots through to the first-team to give their young players something to aspire to. The club will also offer financial support to adults looking to get their UEFA coaching licenses.
Details of the free coaching programme will be announced over the next week weeks.
Richard added:
“This past six or seven months have been hard for the entire community and as a club we are here to support and serve them. The club has been here 85 years and is still going strong.”
