Sporting chance

LAST night Newark Town FC were due to play their biggest game of the season so far, and one of their biggest ever — a home semi-final against Clifton in the Notts Senior Cup, the highest ranking county football competition at their level of the game.

It is the first time the club has reached the semi-finals, beating teams higher in the footballing pyramid along the way.

Around 200 people watched their quarter-final clash so it is likely that equally as many, if not more, would have seen last night’s encounter.

However, while the Blues fly the sporting flag for the town, they have to play the game six miles away in Collingham because of a lack of adequate facilities in Newark.

The club isn’t the town’s only success story this season. The rugby club has secured its league title and is in two cup finals, while the athletics, rowing and swimming clubs, among others, are going from strength to strength.

Newark, for a town of its size, has plenty to be proud of on the sporting front. Its facilities, however, leave a lot to be desired.

That is why Newark and Sherwood District Council must push hard for a much-needed sports hub that would provide not only a football stadium for Newark Town, but also a leisure centre, cricket pitch, and athletics, netball and tennis facilities.

Next Thursday, the council’s cabinet will be asked to decide if it will negotiate with the town council to secure land off Bowbridge Road for such a scheme. It should be one of the easiest decisions members will ever make.

Start the negotiations and set the ball rolling for more sporting success.

As Newark’s sportsmen and women continue to do the business on the pitch, isn’t it time they were given a little more help and support off it?