An urgent appeal has been launched to repair the clubhouse roof at the capital's oldest football ground.
The Old Spotted Dog Ground Trust needs £15,000 to fix the roof to help Clapton CFC move into their new home in Forest Gate and have a base from which to continue its community work.
Urgent appeal to save The Old Spotted Dog clubhouse roof (1)
Clapton Football Club Limited, the community benefit society behind Clapton Community Football Club, became the owners of London's oldest senior football ground in July.
Since then, volunteers have transformed the pitch after first walking through the ground's gates to discover an overgrown tangle of waist-high weeds.
Before taking over, a leak caused a section of the clubhouse roof to collapse with attempts to patch it up thwarted by the elements. The condemned electrics need replacing too.
Without a new roof, the club's ability to bring football back to the ground hangs in the balance along with its ambition to make the venue a hub where community groups can meet.
A clubhouse is a key condition Clapton CFC has to fulfil to get a green light to use the ground from the Football Association. An inspection is due in March.
Annu Mayor, a director of the Old Spotted Dog Ground Trust, said: "When we moved in no one knew how bad the situation was in terms of neglect.
"There's a huge appetite for bringing sport back into the community.
"We're a grassroots football club. We want to put our money where our mouth is. This isn't just about the clubhouse, but about making a working place for the community.
"At the heart of this is the community, not just the football," Annu added.
The club backs a number of organisations and campaigns in Newham, including The Magpie Project, London Renters Union and Lola's Homeless. Last year members and players staged a bike ride in memory of fatally stabbed teenager Sami Sidhom.
The club's away kit - which bears the anti-Fascist message, "no pasarán", meaning "they shall not pass" - became a hit after pictures of the shirt went viral in Spain.
On the prospect of his club playing at the ground, striker Sherwin Stanley, who works at St Bonaventure's, said: "Everyone wants this and for the community to come together. It's something that's needed. One hundred per cent.
"The number of youngsters who would benefit from the Spotted Dog being for the community, it would just be blinding."
To donate visit chuffed.org
Since this article was published on December 14 the target has been raised to £19,000.
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