Chadderton Park Sports Club in Oldham has won the prestigious Silver Award in the ‘Best Grassroots Club’ category at a UEFA award ceremony.
Back in 2003 the running of what was then Chadderton Park Football Club was passed over between two volunteers, with nothing more than a shopping bag filled with paperwork and a budget of £212.
Fast forward to the present day and the club has grown into a thriving hub for the community it serves, running over 100 grassroots football teams with more than 180 coaches.
After winning the FA National Club of the Year Award in 2019, the club was this year nominated for the greatest accolade for grassroots clubs on the European Stage.
Club Chairman Terry Jennings, explained that this award gives recognition to everyone at the club for their hard work in the community.
Mr Jennings said: “Although we are all volunteers, you can imagine that sometimes doing things for such a massive amount of people can be difficult at times, and can be a thankless task.
“There are always difficulties along the way, but when we were rewarded with the UEFA Grassroots Silver Award, and became essentially the second best grassroots club in Europe, it was beyond our wildest dreams.”
One thing that is abundantly clear is that Chadderton Park is more than a grassroots sports club.
The inclusive community-focused ethos of the organisation is evident in all they do, offering a range of competitive and recreational sports to anyone with a desire to get involved.
As a result of the club’s development into other sports in 2013, it has succeeded in reaching all corners of the community and has accrued an ever-growing number of faithful volunteers across its netball, rounders and walking groups.
Recently the club has also branched out into non-sports based initiatives, such as mobilising their volunteers in the community to help the homeless.
Despite the current pandemic that has impacted upon grassroots sport so heavily, Chadderton Park still welcomes all members of the community to join them and actively encourage people to head to the website to get involved.
www.chaddertonparkfc.co.uk
