A REVOLUTIONARY elite football centre will offer aspiring junior footballers a route into the sport.

Working alongside local junior football clubs, the Aire Wharfe Elite Football Centre will provide extra coaching sessions and fixtures for talented players who wish to take a more elite route into football.

Coaching sessions will take place at Ben Rhydding Sports Centre on the state-of-the-art 3G pitch with FA Level 2 and UEFA B qualified coaches.

Fixtures against professional football club academies and representative teams will be scheduled every six to eight weeks.

Sessions started in early November for for the under-12 to under-16 age groups. The initial phase is a four-week period of three weekly training sessions each Friday lasting 90 minutes, with a fixture against high quality opposition on the fourth week. This will be a representative team drawn from the clubs playing in the Aire and Wharfe valleys.

Aire Wharfe coach and development officer Sam Dexter said: “For some time now I have felt there is a lack of opportunity in the Aire Wharfe Valley for talented young players who want to progress and challenge themselves by playing alongside and against players of a similar quality.

“We want to create a local player pathway that bridges the gap between local junior football and the professional academy system.

“The training and games will be scheduled so as not to interfere with local club football fixtures and we will not ask or expect the players to stop playing for their local teams.”

For further information on how to get involved contact Sam Dexter at awfootball@mail.com