Extra pitch boost for Eggborough complex
CAIRO CONNECTION: James Lancaster and Tarek Hassan with friends in Egypt.
A recently revamped sports centre in Eggborough has been further boosted by the announcement that a second football pitch is to be located there.
The cricket ground will now also be used for the winter season with goals being erected in October so that there is no overlap with the summer sport.
This will relieve pressure on the main pitch which has taken a lot of wear and tear with four teams now competing there each week.
The Eggborough Sports and Leisure Complex has taken on a new lease of life since Bob Lancaster took over its running from the power station on his retirement from Selby’s Abbey Leisure Centre.
And 18-year-old son James is in the thick of the action as far as getting more football played there is concerned.
He has been behind new team Eggborough Eagles, who have announced the Eggborough Friendly Cup starting at the end of June, and is encouraging any team to enter.
James says: “This is a great opportunity to give our main pitch a rest and have more teams playing on our pitches. I am also planning for more junior sides to play on two mini pitches, which are also to be marked. The FA has been asking for more football to be played, and I am responding to that.”
With a BTEC first diploma in sport, James is also a coach with the Thorpe United U9s Blue team and runs his own football academy.
And he has recently returned from a trip to Egypt with respected Sherburn-based coach Tarek Hassan.
He and Tarek met with Ahmed Soliman, a goalkeeper/coach who has three times won the Africa Cup of Nations for Egypt. Tarek has a strong connection with the Zamalek club to which Ahmed belongs and has helped James learn the business.
As well as being chairman of the Eagles, who compete in Division 2 of the Selby and District League, James is now also a player – as striker or in central midfield – and a committee member for Jolly Miller FC, another team now based at the sports complex.
In playing he has defied doctor’s advice that his knee is not fit for the purpose and says he is performing better than ever.
And as someone who loves the area, he hopes one day to be able to offer his services in some way to Selby Town.
Anyone wanting more information about the sports complex, or about bringing football to Eggborough, should call 01977 661373 or ring James himself on 075 111 76214.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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