WESTBURY United are appealing for donations from their supporters and local businesses after they announced that vital upgrades must be completed if they are to stay in the Southern League.
The club, which finished tenth in their first season in the Southern League, says that they need to upgrade their changing room facilities to accommodate female referees and officials at a cost of roughly £30,000. The club has already spent £25,000 in upgrading the fencing around the pitch, which is also a requirement for the league, and so now they are appealing to supporters and local businesses to help raise the funds for the changing room upgrades.
The club says, “We need your help to future proof Westbury United and to maintain our membership in the Southern League. We’ve come a long way over the last five years; on the pitch we have had two promotions which has seen us play at the highest level we have ever been at this season, finishing above local rivals Melksham Town, Paulton Rovers, Larkhall and just two points behind Frome Town.
“As we finish the 2022/23 campaign, Westbury United are the third best non-league football team in Wiltshire, behind Swindon Supermarine and Chippenham Town. When you consider where we were five years ago, it’s a phenomenal achievement. We’ve had an increase year-on-year with attendances, averaging 267 this season, up from 110 last season; the ground is full of mascots, families and the regular die-hard supporters that bring a brilliant atmosphere and feel-good factor to match days.
“It goes without saying that this success on the pitch has come a lot faster than many of us anticipated and the progress behind the scenes has had to follow just as quickly. With thanks to our amazing volunteers and sponsors of the club, we have been able to get a lot done. The club is unrecognisable from days gone by, with local business sponsor boards and banners, a state-of-the-art announcer hut, immaculate playing surface, well-run bar and hospitality services to name just a few.
“We are a self-funded club, we rely on our sponsors, money over the bar and people through the gates to survive. The money we have generated is put back into the club, a big investment is put into the pitch every season and we have recently had brand new fencing installed around the pitch, which you will all be able to see when supporters return to watch the team.
“The fencing is part of the Southern League’s strict ground grading requirements, it looks fantastic and does give us more sponsorship opportunities, but it is something that had to be done. At over £25k it was a huge amount of money that the club needed to generate, which we did without any external help. Ground grading is a real issue for clubs this season; Lymington Town, who are in our league fought incredibly hard to get themselves out of the relegation zone this season but have now been demoted back to step five due to the requirements around the ground not being done.
“It is a very real and current threat to us and our survival at this level, it’s taken us 100 years to get to this level, we don’t want to drop back down.
“This is where we need your help – for our next and biggest project to get up to where we need to be with the ground grading. The changing rooms at Westbury United are not up to the level required. They need to be bigger and rightly so; they need to accommodate female referees and officials. We have had problem with showers this season, due to the age of the system in the changing rooms. It has been a problem for the club. This is a massive project, the biggest that has been undertaken at the club for decades.
“It is going to cost us tens of thousands to complete this and time is ticking. We are pleading with local businesses and anyone that can spare anything to donate to this. We know times are tough for everyone out there and we wouldn’t be posting this if we weren’t in desperate need. It is a great opportunity for business and people alike to contribute to the new look of Westbury United and become part of our history. Please donate what you can. Thank you for your continued support of the club, it means everything to all of us.”
To donate visit https://bit.ly/ 3AQw3uk
