Prudhoe Youth Club introduced its first football team in 1969 thanks to a local guy names Billy Fothergill. Our current Chairman took over from Billy in 1987 and since then the club has grown every year and today we have over 20 teams of boys and girls from under 7 to under 17's and the 2008/9 season brought the first senior men's team

THEY say that every empire eventually crumbles.

But there’s one empire in Prudhoe which is bucking the trend, and is getting bigger and stronger with every year that passes.

Having started with just one team with space for a small number of teenagers some 20 years ago, Prudhoe Youth Club F.C. now boasts over 20 teams for both boys and girls.

It has 345 players, an army of team managers, coaches and officials, and makes use of no fewer than five football fields in the town.

But the club is not content to sit on its laurels. It intends to grow even further to meet the needs of Prudhoe’s football-mad population.

Next season the club will have at least 21 teams in junior leagues and competitions, catering for youngsters aged between six and 17.

The 2008/09 season brought the introduction of our first senior men’s team.

Chairman and the club’s long serving jack-of-all-trades, George McCreedy explained: “We will definitely have a senior women’s team two seasons from now because a lot of the girls will be too old for junior football.

“There are a lot of young lads as well, and we hope to get a senior team going as well. We have enough people getting old enough to play senior football, and I have every confidence it will happen.”

With a move into the world of senior football a real possibility, the club had been considering changing its name.

But club officials have decided that Prudhoe Youth Club FC is more than just a name. It is a piece of history, and the name will be retained.

“We thought about it,” said George, “but our name has become a bit of a tradition really, so we’ve decided to stick with it.

“Everyone knows us as Prudhoe Youth Club. If there is a senior team we can vary the name of the team, but it will still be Prudhoe YC.”

The original junior team in Prudhoe was run for many years by stalwart Billy Fothergill. They entered competitions at under 14 level, and won most of the cups and trophies junior football had to offer.

When Billy called it a day in 1987, the team fell into the care of Prudhoe Youth Club, organised by the George, the town’s long-serving youth worker.

He said: “The work Billy did will never be forgotten. We took on a team which was already established and there were plenty of youngsters who wanted to play.

“Things just developed really. We were able to start up two or three new teams at different age groups, and things have never stopped developing.

“There have been changes in society over the years. At one time senior football was very much the focus right across the district.

“But nowadays there is enormous demand for the junior game. We have 345 boys and girls registered as players, but there are a lot more than that at the club.

“We like to win, but that is not just what we are about. Some children want to join in training sessions and be part of the club, but they might not want to play competitively.”

George says the club is as much about helping children to develop as people as it is about football.

“We have standards, and the youngsters learn about how to conduct themselves. They know there is a line they cannot cross.

“I think it gives them a great sense of responsibility, and hopefully a sense of pride when they pull the shirt on.

“A lot of people who join the club at a young age stay with it, and work their way through the age groups. Some even become coaches.”

The club has no fewer than 42 volunteers who work as coaches and referees. It even sends would-be coaches and officials on approved courses to gain necessary qualifications.

Over the years the club’s many teams have won their fair share of silverware, and its young players have enjoyed a number of trips abroad, which include a memorable tournament appearance in Yugoslavia in 1990.

But despite the achievements both on and off the field, George says the club is still in search of the holy grail * a place to call home.

In the absence of a home ground, matches are currently played on pitches at West Wylam, Ovingham, Eastwoods Park, Highfield Middle School, and Prudhoe High School, with training sessions taking place at the high school’s football development centre.

George said: “We are on the lookout for a base. We will never find anywhere big enough for all of the teams, and we’ll always have to use more than one site.

“But a base would be great for the club if we could find one.

“The community has been fantastic. We have a great relationship with the schools and with Leisure Tynedale, and we have three junior size pitches on the cricket field at Eastwoods Park.

“We have had a lot of support from local businesses. The whole community has pulled together to help us, and without that support we would struggle.

“We always try to give the players the best we can, in terms of facilities, equipment, kit, as well as coaching and guidance.

“Nowadays we have a child welfare officer and a schools liaison officer. The club is available for local youngsters; we have people from Stocksfield and Throckley, from all around the area. There is growing interest all the time.”

Over the past two decades George has managed teams and led coaching sessions.

Now with the formal title of chairman to his name, he is happy to leave the track-suit work to the club’s coaches and concentrate on continuing the club’s development off the field.