Cobham hails Roman’s army

The arrival of Chelsea Football Club in Cobham is set to provide a dramatic boost to both sport and community projects in Elmbridge.

Launching a football team for disabled players and running coaching schemes in deprived parts of the borough are just two of the initiatives being considered by club bosses.

The news comes a week after the Premiership club was given the go-ahead to build its multimillion pound training ground, nicknamed The Bunker, in Stoke D'Abernon.

It will also double as a football academy to nurture the soccer stars of the future and will be used by the youth and reserve teams as well as Chelsea's squad of international players.

As part of the deal struck with Elmbridge Council, the Blues have promised to "repay" the borough for providing a slice of its land by backing youth projects and boosting the borough's sporting profile.

And it is not just young footballers who will benefit from the arrival of Roman Abramovich's boys to the area.

Chelsea are prepared to support a range of projects to benefit both young and old.

Shaun Gore, Chelsea's community development director, is spearheading the scheme.

The former professional footballer, who spent five years at Fulham FC in the late 1980s, said there were a number of ways they couldhelp the community.

He said: "Our work is not just football-based, it could be that an athletics club needs our expertise. In Wandsworth, for example, we helped launch a mini bus to pick people up because that's what the community needed.

"We are in the early stages of the plan and we are trying to identify the needs.

"Every area is different and it could be that Elmbridge might need help with raising funds for charities.

"Social responsibility for football is huge. And we see what we are doing as opening up the brand of Chelsea for people who cannot afford to buy a ticket."

Chelsea's profile in Elmbridge has already been established in North Walton where two of the club's coaches have been putting six to 15-year-olds through their paces in Saturday morning sessions.

The scheme was launched following calls from children themselves who were unhappy with the lack of facilities for young people.

Stella Burgess of the North Walton Partnership helped launch the scheme.

She said: "For the kids it's beyond their wildest dreams. When I mention Chelsea coming to Walton to coach them they say What, the real Chelsea?'"

Elmbridge Council is thrilled about the opportunities the Blues will provide.

Abby Parker, marketing and communications officer for the Leisure and Culture department said: "It's massive. Just being linked with a club such as Chelsea is amazing, but the fact that they will be able to get out to the schools and sports clubs is huge for us."

The state-of-the-art training ground, complete with 16 pitches, is to be created in Stoke Road. However, it's presence will be felt across the borough, according to Geoff Seale, Elmbridge's Sports development officer.

He said that it was hard to say what kind of schemes Chelsea would help create in the area because it depended on what people in Elmbridge want.

He said: "We do a lot of football in the community schemes anyway.

"But with a big team such as Chelsea we will be able to get to the hard-to-reach areas.

"And with support from them there would be no expense to the council or local community."

Anyone who would like to find out more about Chelsea's Football in the Community scheme in Elmbridge should phone Mr Seale on 01372 474581.