Goalposts used by hundreds of young people have been trashed leaving a football club with a bill of around £700.
Twenty sets of nets at the Falls Park pitches used by Belfast Celtic Young Men and Ladies FC had their cross-bars snapped in an incident believed to have occurred overnight.
Club Secretary Ryan Whelan told Belfast Live the damage was discovered just hours ahead of around 450 kids arriving for a cross-community tournament.
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Club members are “gutted”, he said, adding that the nets were only bought around a month ago following a previous bout of vandalism.
Mr Whelan added that there is a need for better security at the pitches.
He said: “We’ve been asking the Council for some time now for a shipping container to put our stuff in, but we’ve got no where. There’s been people today, since news of this latest incident went out, offering to buy us new nets. That’s great, but we can’t let people give us money for new nets for this to happen again. We’ve had nets like this damaged several times over the last couple of years.
“Who ever’s done it, they’re not trying to get them out to have a kickabout. They’re all chained up and it’s obvious they are. They’ve all had their crossbars broken on purpose, it’s simple as that. We had to duct tape them up today or we’d have had to turn away more than 400 kids from across the city who come here every Saturday to play.
"We’ve even had to buy a van to put the heavier metal nets in and park the van nearby to keep them safe. The ones broken were the smaller plastic nets. They were only bought at the start of September and already they’ve been wrecked. We’re just gutted to be honest. It’s not just us affected either, as there’s other clubs who use the ground, football clubs, GAA clubs. It’s just pure badness, 100%.”
Michael Donnelly, a Sinn Féin councillor in the area, visited the scene. He said he is working with the Council to try and improve security and has arranged a meeting with City Hall officials for next week.
In a Facebook post, he added: “Just away from speaking with Ryan Whelan and although obviously devastated, there is a hell of a lot of good work going on and a million more positives than negatives.
“Hundreds of kids in the park having a great time and former Celtic and current Leicester boss, Brendan Rodgers dropping by to see the showcasing event on display. This morning’s incident will not deter the local clubs who do sterling work. We support them 100% and will work with them over the coming days to put measures in place to try and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“For those who damaged the equipment, hang your heads in shame. The only people you’re hurting are members of your own community.”
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