A Valleys football club fears it could collapse after the council slapped them with a £1,440 bill for a broken lock. Chairman of Trelewis Welfare AFC, Allan Mclean, said closing would be a devastating blow for the players and community who rallied together to start the team during the Covid pandemic.
The 39-year-old explained how the key for the referee's changing rooms went missing following a match in August. Although the team said they contacted the council and league on numerous occasions to try and open the lock without causing damage, nobody was available as it was a Saturday. It left them with no option but to break the lock so personal belongings could be retrieved.
Although the team was prepared to pay for the damage, Allan said they were shocked and disappointed when a bill for £1,440 came through for a new door. He said it is so expensive the team may not survive.
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"We contacted the council and the league and told them we had to break the lock and secured it with a padlock," Allan said. "We said that we'd be willing to pay for any damages because we had to get in there. We were never told what to do in the unlikely eventuality of this happening."
Allan said the thought of the team ceasing over this was "very upsetting". Although the club itself is around 50 years old, it closed in 2014 and reopened in 2019. Allan said he wanted to re-start the club as he noticed there wasn't enough for young men to do in the local community other than go out drinking. He said the community helped get the club running by taking part in fundraising events and that it had been very popular from the get-go.
He said: "I was speaking to some local youngsters who were saying there is no football for them around here anymore. So I thought 'why don't we get Trelewis reformed?' and that's what we did. We spoke to the old team and old committee about how to go about it.
"I have played football all my life and it has helped me tremendously with my mental health and keeping me on the straight and narrow. We live in the bottom of Merthyr which is a very deprived area and we've got nothing, really. Football and sport in general keeps the boys on the straight and narrow and off the drink - it gives them something to do. We've worked so hard and had lots of backing from the community. We get involved in loads of different events and fundraisers. Now it looks like we're going to have to go because of this bill."
Allan said the club has been very successful. It now has around 40 players, aged from 16 to 40. He said if the club closes, it would have an impact on every single one of them.
He said: "I think it would have an awful effect. We put so much effort into it, not just the ones who set it up, but the players who put in the training. We'd lose the family feeling the club has. We've got boys who play for us who are autistic and had never had many friends before and now they've got 30 friends. We look after them and get them involved in everything. We all go out together. It would be really upsetting for this to end."
Allan said the club has been fundraising and did not want to resort to asking people for money, however the bill is so extensive that they have no other option but to close. He said the council replaced the door in August and is now asking for £300 to start with - which they have raised - and then £200 a month until the bill is paid. You can view and donate to a fundraiser here.
A spokeswoman for Merthyr Tydfil council said: "There was extensive damage to the Trelewis Globe changing room door and the complete metal door and doorframe needed to be replaced, which cost £1,400. Football clubs are currently given their facilities free of charge, which includes the pitch and changing rooms. When non-accidental damage occurs we feel that it's reasonable to pass on those costs."
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