Community organisations back plans to protect Scottish footballing heritage site at Cathkin Park

A consultation is set to be put forward this week to consider plans to erect a boundary fence around the grass football pitch at Cathkin Park in the Southside of the city.

Cathkin Park has a rich footballing heritage having played host to a number of Scotland international matches and cup finals over the years. It is now the home of the Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust since 2010 who have a long-term lease of the grass football pitch with Glasgow City Council and know they have a duty of care to look after the piece of footballing heritage for generations of Glaswegians to come and to also continue the legacy of Scottish footballing legend and icon Jimmy Johnstone.

One of the main issues which they currently face is the park being vandalised by stolen cars, quad bikes, broken glass, golfers and dog litter which is threatening the safety of children and the playing surface. The Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust are striving to make a positive impact in the local area and want to be able to further improve the facilities around Cathkin by not using any monies from the purse of Glasgow City Council.

Chairman of Glasgow and District Youth Football League, Peter Glancey said, “The uptake in youth football now is increasing every year and we are restricted to venues which we can use. I’ve got 4,000 kids playing football in Glasgow on a Sunday and without places like the grass football pitch at Cathkin Park, we wouldn’t be able to survive and give kids the opportunity to play football.

“Putting a fence around any facility is absolutely vital. If you look at Glasgow City Council’s facilities, they are all fenced around. It’s obvious that any football pitch you have, has got to be protected. If it wasn’t for the staff at the Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust, we would be absolutely snookered. They’re there on a Sunday morning setting up the park for us and cleaning the pitch. We’ve had teams turning around also at other venues and emailing me saying that there was broken glass or dog litter on the park which makes it unplayable. It’s crucial for the safety of the kids that any football pitch is protected with a fence being absolutely vital to ensure the safety of the kids and to ensure a safe environment to play football.

“Parents are cancelling work and changing shifts to take their kids to play football where you could be travelling from anywhere to turn up and all of a sudden the referee says the game is cancelled because the pitch is insecure and been damaged by cars driving over the surface or whatever. There’s nothing more embarrassing than turning around to people to say they can’t use the pitch. We need venues like the grass football pitch at Cathkin to be able to grow - if that’s protected and secured we can use it for cup finals which is right next door to Hampden Park.”

There is currently no showcase grass football pitches although with the protection of a fence around the grass football pitch at Cathkin the city will have a grass showpiece for all to be proud of and have the opportunity to play on. The Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust will continue to invest in the venue with their global partners as long as it’s not to their detriment as it remains an asset to the city. Next week the Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust will host local residents who will gather to celebrate Eid al-Adha on the pitch. They were also praised in recent times for their pilot innovative football programme Freedom from Torture.

One local commented on his experiences with the Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust saying, “I took my grandson to a training session at Cathkin and was absolutely blown away with the dedication and work of the team. The grass football pitch at Cathkin was a previous danger to kids in the area but thankfully it has been resurrected by the Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust. They saw that my grandson had the desire to play football and he is now with Queen’s Park FC Academy with the Charitable Trust making a positive impact on many familes. It blows your mind when you get to stand on the old terraces and watch your family play on such a historic football pitch.”

There’s so much potential for Cathkin in years to come with the facility having also recently facilitated the SFA to hold a UEFA C Licence course not just on the pitch but also in the clubhouse where various facilities were made available. Access to spaces around the park will not be limited, only the pitch itself to maintain its standard with a three meter fence being proposed.

Brian Sproul, Football Development Officer with the Scottish Youth FA said, “It’s massively important to keep pitches active as if one pitch goes off, it has a knock-on effect.” Brian is aware there has been a huge investment put into the grass football pitch at Cathkin and for someone to vandalise the pitch with a car, prevents kids from playing on the pitch. He added, “It’s hugely important that a perimeter fence is placed around the grass football pitch which shall hopefull deter future vandalism.”

The planning application is currently pending and a decision is expected to be made by Friday, July 21.