An Our West Lancashire councillor's pitched in after shock news that a popular football tournament looks like being cancelled.
And Ormskirk's Gordon Johnson's hoping that 'extra time' can be called as Ormskirk West End FC try to save the event after School Letting Solutions upped the price of booking fees at Ormskirk School from c.£200 to £1,000 – the club cannot, perhaps unsurprisingly, bridge that gap.As OWL’s newly elected Derby Ward councillor, Johnson is well known to many in the local football scene and has been involved in the organisation and running of the tournament since its inception in 2009.
This morning, he told QLocal: "I’m extremely disappointed to hear that the club have had to cancel this year’s tournament.
I have been involved in the provision of referees and daytime organisation at all of the previous tournaments which not only attract many local clubs and youngsters but many visiting teams from the surrounding areas.
"The previous events have been fun and enjoyable days and it’s very disappointing to hear that the cancelation is due to a third-party price increase of the hire costs, especially when Ormskirk School themselves have fully supported previous events at the venue”. OWE FC was established in 1970 and has been providing footballing opportunities to the town’s youngsters for almost fifty years.“I have spoken with my colleague, Cllr Owens, who is a Foundation Governor at the school, who is pursuing the matter, and I will be in contact with the school and the company involved, to see if, even at this late stage, there can be a rethink,” he added.