I have watched with interest the debate about the football pitches. I am a keen golfer and amateur football coach in the UK with two, football mad sons who have made extensive use of the Condado pitches over the last few summers. Sadly, I only manage to visit CdA once a year for the annual family holiday, so I am not fully up to speed with the goings on at CdA nor am I in with the in-crowd of people who make the place tick.
The problem is simple to define. We have a resource (the pitches) which some find of value but not everyone. There is a cost involved in maintaining them. Those who don’t think they are of much value don’t want to share the cost. Those who think them valuable are happy to pay but administering individual payments from individual players is not cost effective.
If we cannot persuade the owners to take maintenance seriously we must either live with it as is, or take the initiative. If we manage to raise some funds, it would need someone on site to take responsibility for looking after the funds and spending them appropriately. Is there anyone out there who would volunteer ?
Below are my comments on taking this forward:
1. Take small steps – aim to get one pitch up to scratch. If there is demand for more pitches this will soon become obvious.
2. Aim low – I think recreating the lush, green manicured pitches (some of) the kids in the UK play on is unrealistic. Aim to get the pitch into a safe condition – fill in the pot holes, cut down the weeds, etc. Millions of kids around the world play on bare flat surfaces, as do thousands in Spain. It’s rare to see green grass on a kids pitch in Spain.
3. Start with a bang – what about a day of action ? Pick a date, early in the summer when there are lots of people around, and invite all the interested kids and parents onto the pitch, sleeves rolled up and get going. (Possibly need to obtain permission from the owners first).
4. Pay as you play – not really feasible for individuals, especially kids, to pay every time they want a kick about, particularly when the can play at Condado Club’s pitch for free (and the gardens are always available too !!). But thought should be given to team events – this is how most of the UK 5-a-side venues are financed. It would be great if there were enough people living on CdA to run a league during the football season, with all games being played on the same pitch. If this is not feasible how about a few small tournaments during the summer, when the development is well populated, with each team paying to take part. Ideally with each garden/block putting in a team. Perhaps the people who sponsor all the golf trophies would also sponsor the football tournaments.
5. Donations – this has been mentioned before. I think it is a good idea. I would be happy to contribute. Lets set up a bank account, and see who much we can raise in say a month. If it’s insignificant and the idea is scrapped any monies raised could be paid to the local medical charity.
6. Community Charge – I realise that not everyone wants to pay. But what about having an opt-in option for those who are happy to pay an extra 20 euros per quarter to fund the maintenance of the pitches, or even an opt-out for those not willing to pay. Obviously this would need Mileniun to play ball (pardon the pun).
7. Sponsorship – as far as I can see the people who own Sabores are aiming at the youth market, especially with their new sweet shop. Maybe they would be interested in sponsoring the maintenance costs in order to cement their relationship with the kids. In addition, one (or more) of the other bars may be interested if the grown-ups were encouraged to visit their venue for a pint after each game.
Fingers crossed something can be sorted.
Lanky