Honeybourne Harriers launch lottery to buy new ground

Honeybourne Harriers formed five seasons ago with just 11 children but as of today, the club is made up of seven teams with over 120 players.

Currently, the club uses the Honeybourne Parish Council Sports Field but with plans to launch even more teams, the Harriers are looking to buy land to build a home to call their own.

Founder and manager Matt Henson said: “We initially started the club with no expansion plans or intent to have any other teams, it was literally just so a bunch of kids could play football.

“We never anticipated this growth and certainly didn’t expect to need more land to accommodate the children who want to join us.

“Our ethos has remained the same, that every child will play football regardless of ability, and this is down to the hard work of the coaches and volunteers we have. We don’t trial and cherry pick, in fact we get so many kids come to us around springtime because they have been told they didn’t make the cut at the club they have been training with all summer, these kids join us and get to play football.”

Founder and manager Matt Henson wants the club to be as inclusive as possible

To help with the next step, the club has launched a lottery with a £25,000 jackpot.

It is hoped that by selling more than half a million tickets, the club will be able to buy part of an adjacent field from a local farmer.

Mr Henson added: “Currently all the pitches we use are shared with at least on other team which means planning kick-off times can be a nightmare, but the degradation of the surface is the biggest issue, especially at this time of year.

“By selling 555,000 tickets we would generate £249,750. This would buy us seven acres and leave enough to level off and seed the surface, every penny raised will be put to this project but we will need to keep pushing to reach the goal.

“We will get to the half a million tickets, I don’t know if it’ll be in time for the 2023/24 season but we won’t stop, if everyone in Evesham purchased just one £1 ticket, we would reach our goal.”

Mr Henson added that the Worcestershire FA and the Football Foundation have already assisted the club in their project whilst representatives of the Evesham Ambassador League Committee recently visited the club before making a £500 donation to kickstart the fundraiser.

To find out more about the club and to enter the lottery, visit the website here.

Honeybourne Harriers current site (right) and the land they intend to purchase off a local farmer (left)