30-06-2025
Morton in the Community blown away by response ahead of summer football camps
SCHOOL might be out for summer - but the fun's only just getting started for those at Morton in the Community.
The charitable arm of Greenock Morton FC is continuing to play a vital role throughout Inverclyde this summer with the return of their popular summer football camps - and for an affordable price.
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Camps are set to begin this week (Image: George Munro) In line with Active Schools Inverclyde, camps are returning to all four corners of Inverclyde from Port Glasgow High School to Wemyss Bay across a seven week period and coaches are looking forward to welcoming a huge number of kids over the course of the holidays.
Blair Kelly, Morton in the Community Football For All Lead, said: "I think this is the first year we've probably went back to an old model that we did maybe about eight years ago, that's when it presented as a roadshow.
"As a result of Covid, we get stuck into using one venue and we probably didn't interact with as much kids across Inverclyde and the local community that we wanted to.
"This year we've opened up over seven weeks where we go for the likes of Notre Dame in central Inverclyde, down to Wemyss Bay to the top of Port Glasgow.
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"We're putting ourselves out there to try and reach as much kids as we possibly can."
The first week of this year's camp are set to run in line with Morton in the Community's pay what you can scheme, meaning that kids have the opportunity to play football for as much or as little as possible.
And for Kelly, the introduction of the scheme earlier this year has already had a wider impact across the community, something he believes has been incredible to witness.
As a result, more kids get to make the most of the chance to be outside and active over the course of the holidays.
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He added: "The first week of the camps are running as part of our 'Pay What You Can' scheme.
Here at Morton in the Community, we just thought it's an easy way to give kids a chance to play football that might not otherwise.
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"We run programmes in partnership with the McDonald's Foundation that are free.
"There's a lot of kids that go to that we never see at camps normally, now we're seeing them at camps on a regular basis. That's a by-product of both projects coming together,
"Active schools are saying the same thing so it's brilliant to see it working.
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The uptake we've had for camps so far this year is brilliant.
"We're at best part of maybe 120 for the first day, and across our booking system we've already had over 300 bookings, which is unheard of for us recently.
"We've been blown away."
The camps have been praised by local Councillors (Image: George Munro) Councillor Jim Clocherty, Inverclyde Council's convener of education and communities, praised the initiative, which gives children in the area the chance to play and learn new skills in a safe and supervised environment.
He added: 'The school summer holidays is an exciting time for many.
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"We know it can also be difficult for working families trying to keep young people entertained and active over the next six or seven weeks without causing any additional financial strain on already stretched household budgets.
'That's why it's important that there is plenty to do over the summer holidays and partnerships like this between our active schools service and Morton in the Community are crucial for families by giving children the opportunity to play, learn new skills, and make friends in a safe and supervised environment.
'These football camps are one a number of activities organised for the summer break by active schools, youth work, libraries, the Watt Institution, and other council services alongside partners including Inverclyde Leisure to make it a summer of fun for our young people while supporting hard working families.'
