"Little Wembley" is looking top class

Students pitched in and helped to renovate a famous old football ground in Nelson.
UCLan students at Nelson's football groundUCLan students at Nelson's football ground
UCLan students at Nelson's football ground

More than 30 volunteering and community leadership students from the University of Central Lancashire spent the afternoon getting their hands dirty renovating Nelson Football Club’s Victoria Park.

The mixture of undergraduates and postgraduates tidied throughout the ground and gave a lick of paint to barriers and pitch side hoardings.

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Senior lecturer Yasmeen Ali said: “Working with the community is a big part of the community leadership course here at UCLan Burnley.

“Nelson FC is a small organisation which recruits many sports volunteers but not many volunteers support with the maintenance of the grounds. It was great to be able to help the football club.”

Donna Clough, a third year student, was among the group who tackled the physically tough work.

She said: “The event was not only a great way to get to know our fellow peers and tutors. It has also filled us all with pride knowing that we had made a difference to the football ground, which will in time, be a great asset to the local community.”

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Nelson FC was founded in 1881 and currently play in the North West Counties Football League.

Adam Keizer, the club’s chief executive, added: “We are delighted that UCLan students volunteered their time to help the football club. We have very old facilities here at Little Wembley, which are run by a small team of people, so to have more than 30 pairs of hands for the day was a massive help and a great way to get local young people involved with the football club.

“Hopefully this is the start of a community partnership for Nelson FC and I look forward to having our supporters down at the ground after the work has been done.”