'Gradual build-up' the plan for Rangers' potential new owners?
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BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
Dog poo, quad bikes and a North-South divide
"We thought the record was 12 poo bags, but two weeks later we had 16," says Ecclesall Rangers football coach Martin Windle, who has trained thousands of footballers at the club for nearly 40 years and who does not want to think too hard about how many hours during that time he has spent picking up poo from the pitches here to get them ready for as the football season kicks off across Yorkshire, Martin says he knows that not every team even gets access to such pitches - and he is just one of a number of people from grassroots clubs I have spoken to who say many of them cannot find space for youth teams to play on and they want more to be done to provide them for young clearly loves being on the pitches at Ecclesall Rangers while the various teams train, and when I speak to him he has been chatting with coaches and parents who all know him is a real fixture here, so much so that he has trained people who now bring their kids and grandkids down to Limb Lane to start their footballing has even coached England Euros winner Esme Morgan here before her rise to the top of the with funding for sport falling over the last decade, and a North-South divide in access to green spaces, Martin is calling on the government to step in to help smaller around him, he says: "It's costing these parents a lot. We have to ask them: increase, increase, increase. It's very expensive."We're being told the money is filtering down to grassroots. After 36 years, I can honestly say I have not seen any of that."That's apart from last year when we had a grant from the Football Foundation to improve the grass pitches on this site. What happens? Quad bikes." As councils have faced increasing financial pressure over the last 15 years, funding for sport has fallen in many areas and sport and leisure is not a statutory service so councils do not have to provide has seen leisure centres closing and money for pitches being squeezed.A recent analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics by the IPPR North think-tank suggests the Yorkshire and the Humber region has the smallest parks and playing fields in the report says the amount of open space people in Yorkshire and Humber can access is two-and-a-half times smaller than in London and that parks are, on average, further away for people to reach. Dave Hampshire, from Penistone Church FC, is another football volunteer in South Yorkshire who is doing every job going ahead of the start of the locally as "Mr Penistone", he is further up the football ladder - literally, on this occasion. In fact, when I speak to him, he's standing on it to help paint the says without people like him giving up their time, the first football club Barnsley-born Manchester City and England star John Stones ever played for would not exist."We wouldn't be here, simple as that," he says."I'm a volunteer. Most of the people here are volunteers - from the junior managers to the people on the committee, the people you see here on a Saturday - we're all volunteers. "And without volunteers, for any level of football at grassroots, they won't be there because you can't afford to pay everybody even a tenner." 'Clubs will disappear' Dave explains that Penistone Church FC has had positive talks with the footballing authorities about money for a new all-weather pitch, but some cash will still need to be growing interest in football means not all of their teams are guaranteed a pitch, at least here in Penistone, he says."We're probably the biggest group in Penistone for taking kids off the street and adults into football. We run from under-sevens right up to under-45s," he explains."Pitches is the hardest bit for us. We've been up at Crow Edge, we've been up at Thurgoland, and now we're at St John's School."Dave says his answer is more money from authorities and maybe even from bigger clubs."More money's got to be fed down, otherwise clubs are going to disappear," he I leave, Dave is trying to work out where the water has come from which has been flooding part of the changing and his team of volunteers do this sort of thing twice a week, every week. I've sat in a lot of football grounds over the last few weeks and one of them was Barnsley FC's Oakwell was there that I managed to put some of these concerns to Barnsley MP and Sports Minister Steph told me money is on its way."As a government, we've announced £400m into grassroots sport and indeed £500m into elite sport - and elite sport is really important, inspiring the next generation," she says."One of the things we're doing is where we put money into grassroots sport and through the Football Foundation, we're changing the rules to make sure women and girls have access to priority slots when clubs apply for that funding."We've got a great record here in Barnsley of producing fantastic stars and, having been the MP for Barnsley for the last few years, it's not a surprise to me to hear about the North-South divide and it's something that as Sports Minister I want to tackle." The need for good spaces for people to exercise in and participate in sports is backed up by Rob Copeland, director of the Advanced Wellbeing and Research Centre in centre is one of those places you would have no idea about, unless you needed well as running projects to help elite athletes, it also takes that research and works out how it could benefit people, like me, who are only ever elite in their other things, the centre runs fitness classes for cancer patients because its research suggests being fitter means treatment will work says having the space in which to exercise is not all about producing Premier League footballers."Research tells us that if you have access to high quality physical activity opportunities within a 600m radius of your house, you're 40% more likely to engage in physical activity than those that don't," he explains."What we find is that kids who are active tend to be active adults as well, so this benefit from an early age translates into later life. "That means people are less likely to have a long-term condition and they're more likely to engage for longer in being economically active. "And it's good fun," Rob adds. "Engaging in physical activity is good fun." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
25 minutes ago
- BBC News
Rangers keen on Irving as fee agreed for Mendy
Rangers are keen on West Ham midfielder Andy Irving, Celtic continue to monitor the Scotland international after making a late approach in January, while Cologne, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Stuttgart and Sturm Graz have contacted the London club and there is also Serie A interest in the 25-year-old. (The Scotsman), externalReal Betis and Rangers have agreed a £2.6m fee, with a 20% sell-on clause, for 20-year-old centre-half Nobel Mendy, who is expected in Scotland on Wednesday to have a medical and sign a four-year contract. (Sacha Tavolieri on X), externalUdinese paid Motherwell £4.7m, plus add-ons, for 18-year-old Scotland midfielder Lennon Miller and have also inserted a sell-on clause in the move, with the fee setting a new record - surpassing the £3.25m Well secured from Celtic for David Turnbull in 2020. (Anthony Joseph on X), externalScotland defender Ross McCrorie could join Miller at Udinese amid interest from the Serie A club, but Norwich City and clubs in Major League Soccer are also keeping tabs on the Bristol City 27-year-old. (Chris Jack on X), externalAberdeen are keen on a move for 20-year-old Varnamo winger Kenan Bilalovic, with a transfer of around £550,000 being discussed. (Scott Burns on X), externalBilalovic has two years left on his contract with Swedish club Varnamo and is expected in Scotland soon to complete the paperwork over his proposed move to Aberdeen. (Anthony Joseph on X), external Dundee United have still not agreed a return for Stephenson from Liverpool and would also need to free up a loan slot before any move could happen. (Scott Burns on X), externalDundee United are close to agreeing another loan for Liverpool defensive midfielder Luca Stephenson, with the English champions planning to extend the 21-year-old's contract after rejecting an approach from another club for a permanent transfer. (Anthony Joseph on X), externalStephenson is set to sign a new deal at Anfield and then head to United on a season-long loan. (Liverpool Xtra on X), externalFormer Celtic midfielder Ismaila Soro is training with Falkirk after the 27-year-old Ivory Coast international left Beitar Jerusalem. (Daily Record), externalDunfermline Athletic owner James Bord could bring 22-year-old winger Jefferson Caceres to the Scottish Championship club to allow space in Sheffield United's squad to sign a new centre-half. (The Star), externalSheffield United are ready to sell Jefferson Caceres to Dunfermline to open a slot for Nils Zatterstrom, who they are currently negotiating a deal for the defender with Malmo. (The Bladesman), external
STV News
an hour ago
- STV News
Is the ferry connecting Fife to mainland Europe about to return?
Plans to reinstate a ferry link between Fife and mainland Europe have moved a step closer with a solution to a key border control obstacle now in sight. Danish operator DFDS is aiming to launch a service between Rosyth and Dunkirk as early as spring 2026, carrying both passengers and freight. The route could handle around 51,000 passengers a year initially, rising to 79,000, and bring an estimated £11.5m annual boost to the Scottish economy. One of the main barriers has been the need for a Border Control Post (BCP) at Rosyth to process certain goods, particularly agrifood products. Building a new facility was deemed prohibitively expensive and unnecessary, with DFDS instead proposing to use the existing BCP at Grangemouth. The UK–EU deal agreed earlier this year will eventually remove the requirement for BCPs altogether, but an interim arrangement is needed if the ferry is to start before the rules change. In England, similar 'remote BCP' arrangements already allow sanitary and phytosanitary goods arriving at Dover to be checked over 20 miles away at Sevington. Scotland secretary Ian Murray has written to Steve Reed, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs along with the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales outlining how a ferry service between Rosyth and Dunkirk could proceed without a specific Border Control Point at Rosyth. In his letter, Murray said: 'I would like to propose that we urgently seek to agree that an amendment to the BTOM is made, as a transitional measure to allow the use of remote BCPs, within a short radius of the port of arrival…' While it is the Scottish Government who must amend the regulation to allow the use of a remote BCP at Grangemouth, this can only be exercised with a cross-GB consensus. Dunfermline and Dollar MP Graeme Downie, who has been working to resolve the issue, said: 'A regular passenger and freight ferry service from Rosyth to Dunkirk would be an incredible boon for the Dunfermline and Scottish economy, making trade easier as well as making it simpler for people from Europe to visit the Kingdom of Fife. 'These matters can be complex but we have taken a huge stride towards making this ferry service a reality. 'I want to thank the secretary of state for Scotland and his officials for their work and assistance in finding a way to ensure a BCP is not required at Rosyth. Their efforts make it more likely a passenger and freight ferry to Dunkirk could begin as soon as next year. 'We are not quite there yet and, in particular, a small amount of infrastructure is needed at the Port of Rosyth. However, as the ferry is one of the projects in the strategy of the Forth Green Freeport I am hopeful we can overcome this problem as well. 'I have spoken to both Forth Ports and the Green Freeport about this issue in the past and hope to meet with them very soon to discuss how speedy progress could be made in time for the ferry to begin next year.' The project also has the backing of major Fife employers, including Amazon and seafood company Mowi, and could remove 8.2 million kilometres of freight traffic from UK roads each year, cutting carbon emissions. The link would replace the previous service between Rosyth and Zeebrugge in Belgium. The passenger service ended in 2010 before becoming freight-only, and was ultimately axed in 2018 after a fire aboard one vessel made the route uneconomical. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
