FOOTBALL lovers have celebrated taking a massive step towards the future by opening a brand new �70,000 sports pavilion.

Stebbing Football Club and the Flitch Youth Football Club will both benefit from superb changing facilities that will allow them to expand further across all age groups.

The long-awaited building with running water, electric and toilets has replaced an old uninviting portacabin which had none of those features.

Delighted Stebbing Parish Council clerk Linda White said: “This project has taken nearly 10 years to come to fruition and I have been proud to be a part of it.

“It is a great facility for the children and also for the village and the clubs are now fully ready for the new season with purpose-designed facilities.”

The project received �20,000 in joint funding from the FA, the Premier League and Sport England. And, under the umbrella of the council, the two clubs will jointly manage it.

An official opening of the pavilion took place on Saturday morning during a huge football tournament and barbeque. Chairman and Flitch Youth founder Marina Bull was delighted with the amount of people that came along.

Before cutting the ribbon she said: “Thank you to all those who made this project financially possible. To all those people who have completed the construction and preparation and work here. And to everybody who made generous donations of their services free of charge.

“This project has really been a mighty one, with many highs and lows. It has been a tremendous journey.

“I cannot begin to express our very sincere thanks to Linda White, Christina Cant, and all involved in Stebbing parish Council, and especially Dick Hughes.

“Dick coordinated the construction and the entire project took an incredible amount of work for which we will always be very grateful.

“I am so proud of our joint achievements. What we have done here will make such a difference to the football club, our parents, and our committee, but most importantly our children – the boys who play for Flitch Youth.”

Stebbing parish council chairman Christina Cant added her thanks to the many sponsors and donators and said: “Marina had dynamism and a confidence that we would succeed that made her a pleasure to work with. Without her hard work there would have been no money to finance the changing rooms at all.”

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