Unite The Clubs

UNITE THE CLUBS

For better facilities for our kids



PLEASE SIGN THIS ON LINE PETITION AND PASS IT ON TO AS MANY PEOPLE

AS YOU KNOW FOR THE SAKE OF OUR YOUTH

ON behalf of Hutchison Vale Football Club, I am inviting all youth football clubs in Edinburgh to attend a meeting on Sunday November 5th at the prison officers club longstone7pm to hear proposals for a mass protest march on the City Chambers and then on to the Scottish Parliament to highlight the terrible state of football facilities for football in council-owned playing fields in Edinburgh. Also to highlight the lack of investment and help to ALL community-based clubs wanting to create autonomous and properly-constituted clubs with their own premises and playing facilities in the city. This march is also a chance to demonstrate our combined frustration at the overall attitude of politicians, not only in Edinburgh, but possibly the rest of Scotland too, at the lack of real investment over many, many years, in providing modern and civilised facilties for kids wanting to play football. I am asking all clubs to join forces to make this march a wonderful demonstration of showing how much we care about our kids and also the sport we love. We need the help of everyone if this proposed mass demonstration is to be a success. We would like to see players from all clubs turning out in their club colours, with whistles and red cards, to make the march a truly fantastic sight. We feel it would attract attention from TV companies and other newspapers as it would be the first time ever that the clubs, themselves, are making this show of strength. Ian Mackay has been waging a campaign for better facilites for years in his columns in the Evening News and he admits he is getting nowhere, following his latest meeting in the City Chambers. He wants all of us to benefit, not just certain clubs. His ideas of sharing modern and civilised facilties at various venues were first detailed in the widely acclaimed East Football Project document and that initiative is currently being pursued by a committee under the chairmanship of John McKenzie (Cavalry Park). We need to promote change for the better, once and for all. We have to make a stand as there are far too many unproductive meetings with politicians and progress is either terribly slow or not at all. All the promises and visions from politicians of what they are doing or hoping to do to provide better facilities have produced very little improvement in public parks. The current facilities are possibly the worst ever. The costs involved in hiring these shocking facilities are also prohibitive and clubs struggle to pay for them. If any group cannot pay the inflated prices charged by Edinburgh City Council through Edinburgh Leisure, both for pitches and training facilities throughout the winter months, then they cannot use them. Only those who can pay can get the use of halls in schools, etc. We need to unite to make our 'voice' heard and also ensure that we are not fobbed off with any false promises. We want action and we want it now - not next year or sometime in the distant future. Our kids have suffered enough due to the quite deliberate lack of investment from the people we elect to represent us. Support this mass march, please!

In addition we must not disrupt our regional leagues the protest march will be staged during the holidays it will be Wednesday 14th march 2007 @ approx 1-30pm we cannot stop the kids playing their football

We are asking associations all over Scotland to join us in this march and make it all over Scotland this involves you as well we must show a united front for the sake of our future in sport of any kind especially football

All details are on these web sites http://www.thepink.org.uk/index.htm , THE PINK 2, http://www.malcolm.stewart12.btinternet.co.uk/index.html

This is not about any one club its for all of our CLUBS

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Les Trotter 0797403160180