Sports enthusiasts in Edinburgh are set to score with the launch of the city’s newest sports facility thanks to a unique partnership between Edinburgh’s Telford College and World of Football.
Edinburgh’s Telford College has teamed up with World of Football (WOF) to turn the college’s tired playing fields into a revitalised indoor sporting facility for use by both students and the local community.
The project will see the outdoor pitches at Marine Drive be incorporated into the new development of ten football pitches, six of which are indoor which are designed for five-a-side football – with one existing full size pitch set aside for other sports such as hockey, cricket and rugby.
Miles Dibsdall OBE, Principal of Edinburgh’s Telford College said: “We are delighted to announce that planning has been submitted for this fabulous new facility at our Marine Drive campus. It has been a very smart piece of business to strike a deal to work with World of Football to revitalise our pitches, which were becoming both sub-standard and under used. This is a great example of the college playing a key role in the local community. And what’s really pleasing is that this facility will benefit not just Telford College and the students from the new Edinburgh College when the merger happens in October, but also sports enthusiasts across the city that will be able to hire out the pitches.”
Tom MacGregor, Head of Sport at Edinburgh’s Telford College said: “It is great news that there are plans in place for a fresh new sports facility in north Edinburgh. This type of facility creates endless opportunities for students on our various sports courses – they will now have a state of the art facility to improve their learning that won’t be affected by bad weather at any time. It’s the perfect site for a facility like this and I’m sure the students will be itching to make use of it when it opens.”
Paul De Marco, Managing Director of World of Football said: “This is a great opportunity for us to expand on our brand in Edinburgh but also a great chance to get involved with the local community. Our family business originated from Granton in the 1930’s and we are delighted to be investing back into the community.”
He continued: “It made sense for us to target Marine Drive; it is a great space with amazing potential. It will serve as a great facility for the students to use for their studies but will also be a great addition to the North Edinburgh community. We don’t just build 5 a side football pitches we have developed a style of football which is totally unique and in building at Marine Drive from the ground up this will be our most advanced and in demand centre yet.”
Edinburgh’s Telford College is one of Scotland’s largest independent further education colleges. They provide a wide range of career related programmes and currently have around 17,000 students and 600 members of staff.
More information about the college can be found at www.ed-coll.ac.uk
