ENGLAND’S next top footballers could well be nurtured at a state-of-the art new sporting facility in Frampton.

At least that is the hope of coaches at Frampton Youth Football Club, which has been given the green light to build a large indoor training facility at its grounds.

This top of the range sports centre will be built on the current pitches of The Reg Davies Memorial Football Club, the youth club’s current ground off Whitminster Lane.

Plans for the 10m high building include a sports hall with a 3G artificial surface football pitch, a classroom area and a first floor public viewing gallery.

Bosses at the club hope the development will be one of the first of its kind in the country and be part of a fundamental change in the way grassroots football is taught in England.

The decision from Stroud District Council earlier this month marks the end of a gruelling three-year planning battle. However - that was the easy bit.

Now the club has been set the challenge to raise a whopping £800,000 to build their dream facility – which will be home to the club’s many boys and girls teams of players aged four to 21.

Despite the scale of the task ahead of them, club chairman Ian Palmer says they rearing to start fundraising right away.

Stroud News and Journal:

“It’s a lot of money – but I’m confident we can do it,” he said.

“There are a number of grants we can get from different bodies, businesses and sporting organisations. But it will take a lot of hard graft and fundraising from us too.

“When it’s finally built it’s going to be a unlike anything else in Gloucestershire. It really is going to be something special.

“We think it can rival the facilities of Championship youth teams and be among the top facilities in the country.”

Mr Palmer, who has been coaching football for 26 years, continued: “The hope is that this new kind of training will lead the way for a change in the way grassroots football in England is taught.

“This mix of indoor and outdoor training is a format that has been normality in European nations like Spain and France for years. It’s about having different environments to teach young players different skills.

“Playing on smaller pitches teaches them about spacial awareness, technical skill, ball control and a quicker and more direct style of play.

“Without fostering that technical ability from a young age our national team just can’t compete on the world stage.

“When you add this to the usual full-size pitch training, which we will of course continue to utilise, we hope to start bringing up the complete young footballers.

“That’s what this is all about. You never know, maybe we’ll discover the next England star.”

He added that the indoor facilities will be used all year round – but that they will come in extra handy during the winter months when the weather can make outdoor training difficult.

“The facility also has space for a classroom with white boards and desks where the players can come after training sessions for team-talks, theory and tactics training,” he said.

To build this extensive sports centre the club have recruited some expert help.

They have chosen the company that would also create new indoor sporting facilities for Forest Green Rovers if the proposed Eco Park near Eastington goes ahead.

Recently the firm has created similar indoor pitches for Chelsea FC and Fulham FC.

If all goes to plan with the funding, they hope the first spades will hit the ground to build the 2,300sqm space next year.

Mr Palmer stressed that the facilities at the youth club would also be opened up to the community.

“We want his to be real hub for sports in the village and the wider area,” he said.

“It will be made available for local teams of all sports, five-a-side leagues, schools, elderly fitness groups and disability teams. We want this to be for everyone.”

The club is planning to hold an official event to launch the fundraising campaign soon, which will be attended by representatives of Chelsea FC and Swindon Town player Nathan Thompson.

There are also plans to extend the car parking spaces up from 75 to 100.

The sports centre would be open from 9am-9pm on Monday to Friday and from 9am-5pm on weekends.

3G pitches are the most significant and successful development in synthetic surface technology designed for football at both competitive and recreational levels.

In 3G turf, the pile (artificial grass 'blades') is supported by a thin base layer of sand, and by an infill of rubber crumb.

To view the planning application please visit the council’s planning website and search S.16/0972/FUL.