David Beckham’s lucrative and star-studded new Inter Miami football franchise doesn’t have a look-in compared to Chloe Ward’s Bog Bairns club, helping under-privileged youngsters maintain their love for the game in Falkirk.
The 21 year-old NPA Playwork and Childcare student at Forth Valley College and former Falkirk FC player has been building Bog Bairns from the bottom up for the last five years. She now proudly overseas more than 50 registered kids in five mixed age groups from aged 4-12, and is a member of the Westfield Park Community Centre Committee, where her teams train and play.
As she works towards the completion of her NPA this summer, she is now looking to apply for a Working with Communities course at FVC, to help enhance her already enviable achievements in the Bog area of Falkirk.
Chloe, mother to Lucas (2) and someone who still plays the game herself with Dunipace Women FC, has even bigger plans for Bog Bairns as she hopes to link up with FVC’s Sports Department to encourage coaching students to carry out work experience with her developing club.
However, Chloe admitted that one of her biggest immediate concerns was making sure her young players had the basic equipment to be able to take part in training and games.
She said: “At the moment I am searching Facebook and the internet for people kindly giving away football boots which I can give to some of my wee players.”
Chloe revealed that her efforts to help her local community were born from her own childhood, when her mum could not afford to send all of her brothers and sisters to sports clubs and she feels lucky that she was able to attend.
Chloe went on: “It was always a struggle when we were young and I wasn’t really that good at school. I was told by teachers that I would achieve nothing, but I was determined to prove them wrong and determined to help youngsters who could not afford to play the game. I feel lucky that my family made sure I could go to football training and I have been determined to help others in the same situation. That is why I set up Bog Bairns.”
While at Falkirk FC Chloe managed to work through her 1.1 Early Touches SFA course and is working her way through subsequent coaching badges. She has also attained all the requirements for working with children such as her PVG Certificate and her First Aid qualifications in accordance with Scottish Youth Football Association rules.
In the early days she applied for some National Lottery funding, which was granted and allowed her to design a logo, purchase strips and basic equipment. Now, as well as operating throughout the full season with training and games, Bog Bairns offer summer football camps for youngsters.
She went on: “I really enjoy it and get loads of things out of coaching the youngsters with a committed group of fellow parents. We have tried to keep the fees for parents as low as possible, but we have had to ask them to pay £2 per week since last July to cover all our costs.
“I must admit studying at home for my course during the last year has been hard and I feel I get on better when I can go into the classroom. But the college has been excellent at supporting me through this time and I have nearly completed my course. They even helped me with some funding to furnish my flat for me and my son and we have just recently moved in.
“I now want to apply for a Working with Communities course as it really ties in with what I love doing right now with Bog Bairns. My aim is to be a support worker to help get people off the streets and into a positive destination and I have always had a passion for helping people.
“I would definitely encourage anyone to think about going to study at Forth Valley College. It is not like school, they treat you like an adult and you have a wee bit more freedom to explore what you really want to do.
“Even though school was not for me, the irony is that I have recently been going back to schools, such as the nearby Victoria Primary to do some football coaching. There is a possibility that it could lead to similar work at local secondary schools, so it will be good to show some people that I did manage to achieve something after all.
“I am now speaking with the college to see if we can link up and give sports students the opportunity to come to Bog Bairns to do some work experience coaching in the next academic year. This would benefit the club, the students and the college and I really hope we can make that work.
“We may not have the millions of Inter Miami and the giants of world football, but Bog Bairns are rich with passion and desire to help under privileged kids with the chance to fall in love with the game.”
Gemma Dempsey, and Early Education and Childcare Lecturer at FVC, said: “I am exceedingly proud of Chloe. She, very successfully, manages family life, college and the ever expanding Bog Bairns. Chloe is an inspiration, not only to her college peers, but to her local community where I know she is thought extremely highly of. I don’t think this is the last we’ll read about Chloe and I am very excited to see what the future holds for her.”
Chris Horne, Curriculum Manager in FVC’s Department Care, Sport and Construction, said: “It’s great to see Chloe demonstrating real entrepreneurial skills and ensuring that sport is accessible for all in the local community. The department looks forward to working in partnership with Chloe, to support the Bog Bairns club, whilst providing our students with invaluable volunteering and Football coaching opportunities.”
If anyone would like to contact Chloe to donate training equipment, playing or training kit or funds to help them operate, she would love to hear from them on Chloemaz@hotmail.co.uk .