A COUNTY football club has vented its anger after a group were spotted walking their dogs on the pitch.
Seaford Town Football Club shared images of the group ahead of the sides RUR Cup match against Hassocks FC on Tuesday.
The club, who play in the Southern Combination Football League 1, took to social media to urge locals not to use the pitch at The Crouch stadium as a dog walking location.
“We have had six volunteers down the club organising various things for this evenings quarter final fixture,” a club spokesman said in a statement on social media.
“It’s incredibly disheartening for everyone at the club who spends their free time to work on the facilities when the pitch is disrespected like this.
“When dogs sprint on the pitch it cuts up the grass and causes divots in the ground, not to mention the mess that is often left behind. It’s all unnecessary traffic that can easily be avoided.”
The spokesman said the issue of dog walkers using the pitch is a “daily occurrence”, but with most of the clubs members being dog owners themselves, pleaded with the public to find a different area to use.
“We understand the limitations of having our ground in a public park and we do everything we can to make it a welcoming place, but we wish people understood the hard work that goes into running a football club and how things like this are upsetting and feel like a slap in the face to our volunteers,” he said.
“There is a mass of grass land around the outside of the pitch and Seaford has an abundance of green space to walk dogs - it’s baffling to us why the pitch is treated like this by certain members of the community.
“Most of the club members here are dog owners, we welcome dogs on match days, dogs are welcome in the clubhouse, so this post is coming from a place of understanding, all we ask is for some respect of the pitch which takes a lot of hard work and effort to maintain.
“With this and the vandalism it’s an uphill battle that we feel like we can never win.
“All we ask is people spare a thought for the efforts made by the club and to think twice about walking on the pitch.”
Seaford Town FC lost the RUR Cup final 2-0 to Hassocks FC.
The club have also launched a fundraising page to raise money for new floodlights.
“For the past few years with the extreme weather, our floodlights at The Crouch have taken a real beating,” the club said.
“They were installed over 20 years ago and are more than past the end of their life but the club hasn't been able to afford to replace them, so we have been patching and repairing with what available funds we have.
“We have our next grid test in October, of which if we fail we will be relegated. Floodlights are an important part of the club as without them in working order the club will not meet the minimum standards of the FA Ground Gradings.”
Donations to the club can be made on GoFundMe.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel