The city’s biggest grassroots football club versus a council depot
The fight to secure a permanent home for one of the Capital’s sporting success stories
John Greechan is one of Scotland’s leading sports writers. He is also a qualified football coach, and puts those skills to good use in the cause of Edinburgh South, the city’s biggest and one of its most successful grassroots sports club. Here, he outlines the club’s long and frustrating struggle to secure land used as a council nursery to secure the club a permanent home.
Scotland is once again a proud footballing nation. A country eagerly anticipating a long-awaited World Cup return for our men’s national team, engrossed in the most fascinating top-flight title race for decades – and obsessed, in a million different ways, with games and teams across all levels of the world’s most popular sport.
In a part of the world where the beautiful game is followed with such fervour, then, how can one of the biggest grassroots clubs in the land – a success story by any measure - find themselves homeless and under threat? Why, after seven years of adjusting to every changing demand of a local authority we believe is guilty of foot-dragging on an almost Olympic scale, can Edinburgh South not be entrusted with the long-term lease that would deliver real, valuable, verifiable improvement to the lives of so many in the community served by the club?
The answer lies not in a lack of enthusiasm or ambition among the volunteers and employees who make ESCFC such a fixture in a part of the capital containing some of Scotland’s most under-served areas. With more than 1000 players of all ages, from tiny tots up to senior men’s and women’s teams, the human potential of this club - its impact felt in foodbank drives, free after-school clubs, refugee support, mental health programmes and countless other initiatives beyond the field of play – is undeniable.
Nor, for once, is lack of funding an issue. Having already missed out on a share of £8.6 million set aside for grassroots facilities, South are constantly being encouraged to apply for the next round of cash awards by sporting and governmental bodies. There is a desire, among leaders in football and politics, to support South’s bid for a low profile, eco-friendly, all-weather facility at Inch Park.
The only thing standing in the way of a brand new pitch that the entire community, including local schools could use?
Cross-party support for club
That would be the City of Edinburgh Council’s refusal to sign over a long-term lease on a piece of ground currently being used as a glorified tip for unused machinery. Little wonder council officers are coming under intense scrutiny and pressure, up to and including questions at Holyrood, over their apparent resistance.
As South chief executive Joe Sneddon rather aptly puts it: “A return to the World Cup reminds us how much the game means nationally. But the strength of Scottish football doesn’t begin in stadiums.
“It begins on community pitches like ours, with volunteers standing in the rain and young people pulling on their first strip. That’s where the national game is built.”
Sneddon and his fellow volunteers at South have been working closely with elected representatives to push the club’s case. Daniel Johnson MSP has joined local MP Ian Murray, a long-time supporter of South’s ambitions, in pushing the council to act on a case that has been active – if that’s the right word – since 2018-19.
Johnson achieved cross-party support for a motion, earlier this month, calling on the local authority to sign over the site to South.
Describing the proposed site as “ideal” to serve the community, Johnson said: “Edinburgh South CFCs outstanding record speaks for itself. Over 1000 participants every week across 75 different teams covering every age group.
Waiting too long…
“But they need a permanent home to continue bringing community football to young people across Edinburgh. After seven years, the club have already waited too long for a solution. Inch Park Nursery site is an ideal site and I urge the council to green light development as quickly as possible.”
As things stand, the men’s team – now firmly established in the East of Scotland First Division – face constant threats of expulsion because their current arrangement, sharing the ageing Patties Road ground with EOS Third Division side Edinburgh United, doesn’t meet league criteria.
The women’s team, flying high in the SWFL East and with ambitions to reach the national leagues, currently play and train at Holy Rood High School. As a coach with the women’s team, set up just over four years ago, I can testify to the problems this creates.
Holy Rood, like many schools, is off limits out of term time. It would cost a small fortune (we checked) to get the facilities open for use during the school holidays.
So we’re constantly searching for alternatives – or simply cancelling training, as we did with one of the sessions that fell in half-term – while this beautiful facility, with its floodlit pitch and changing facilities, lies empty and unused.
Won’t cost council a penny
Easter is already a serious concern for a team with a huge league clash and, potentially, a League Cup semi-final falling at a time when Holyrood will be padlocked and out of bounds.
And this single team’s story will be familiar to many at South. It goes without saying that the club having access to their own home ground would solve a great many problems – without costing the council a penny.
Murray, a former Secretary of State for Scotland who has become increasingly involved with one of the most important community groups in his Edinburgh South constituency believes the club are being “held back” by a local authority seemingly intent on “making things harder” for the army of volunteers who invest so much in helping others.
He told the Inquirer: “In Scotland, we’re on the edge of our seats, heading to another World Cup and witnessing one of the most gripping title races in decades. But here in Edinburgh South, one of Scotland’s largest grassroots clubs is still being held back.
“Edinburgh South Community Football Club has clear plans to turn underused land at Inch Park into a permanent community facility. The investment interest is there. The volunteers are there. The young people are there.
“What’s missing is the constructive engagement needed from the Council to let the club deliver.
“Local football clubs like ESCFC are about far more than sport. They strengthen community cohesion and pride, support active lifestyles and give thousands of young people a positive outlet. They are powered by an extraordinary army of volunteers who give up evenings and weekends to make it all happen.
No more delay
“Councils and governments should be helping those clubs succeed, not making it harder. We are one decision away from delivering a permanent home for this club and lasting benefits for the wider community. The Council now needs to step up and work with ESCFC to make this happen.”
Sneddon is adamant that there can be no excuse for any further delay, with the club now putting their faith in another meeting with council officials early next month, where drawings for Inch Park should be on the table.
“Uncertainty has real consequences,” warned Sneddon. “We’ve already missed multiple national funding rounds because we can’t demonstrate long-term security on the site.
“A new pitch fund has just opened and, without clarity, we risk losing that opportunity too. This isn’t theoretical. These are real resources that could transform the site and benefit the wider community. Delay has consequences. After seven years, we need a decision.
“This proposal aligns directly with the Council’s own Sports Pitch Strategy and its framework for club involvement in facility management. We’re not asking for something outside policy. We’re offering to help deliver the priorities the city has already set out around participation, health and community wellbeing.
“We know what it takes: the infrastructure, the rising costs, the late nights and lost weekends, the league registrations and team lines squeezed in around full-time jobs. But we also see the smiles when children are simply loving life with their friends, the confidence that grows, the friendships that last and the structure that grassroots sport provides.
“Football is the vehicle, but the impact goes far beyond the game. It’s about opportunity. It’s about belief. It’s about giving every young person a platform on the same level.
“That’s why this matters. Give us the land security and we will deliver.
“We’ve proven what grassroots football delivers: inclusion, confidence, pathways and community pride. The council says it wants those outcomes, so back the mechanism that delivers them. Provide security at Inch Park Nursery and hold us to account on delivery. That is a deal we’ll sign today.”
The Inquirer contacted the city council to ask for its response to the issues John raised in his article. Councillor Margaret Graham, the city council’s culture and communities convener, told us: “We’re in active discussions with Edinburgh South Community Football Club and are working in partnership with them and the wider community on future plans for Inch Park. This includes the development of a masterplan for the park, which we hope will help the club deliver on their plans while also taking into account other users and competing demands.”