A YOUTH football club with more than 100 players on its books has joined the call for a better deal for soccer in Romsey.

Tadburn Youth FC has 11 teams, ranging from under-seven to under-15, and Simon Cornell, who manages one of those teams, was quick to spring to the support of Romsey Town manager Trevor Holmes, who called for improved facilities in last week's Romsey Advertiser.

Romsey, the one men's soccer club based in Romsey, has just won promotion to the Premier Division of the Wessex League and has launched plans to raise funds for an all-weather training pitch.

Its Bypass Ground facilities are leased from Lord Brabourne's Broadlands Estate and Mr Holmes took issue over the lack of provision by the local authorities. Drawing attention to the greater provision for rugby than for soccer, he pointed out that there was nowhere in Romsey which was really suitable for youngsters to go and kick a football about.

Mr Cornell also took issue with the superior provision for rugby, which has two pitches at Romsey Sports Centre and just one rugby club.

He said: "We have one reduced-size football pitch which we can use on Saturday mornings but we have to rely on help from Mountbatten School for our training facilities."

He added that there were all-weather pitches with lights at Romsey School, which were also used by men's teams.

And he said: "You can quite often look across to Romsey Sports Centre on a Saturday afternoon and see that at least one of the rugby pitches isn't being used.

"The enthusiasm is definitely there and to get the club as it should be, we really need facilities in the Romsey area."

Most of Tadburn's teams play in leagues which organise their activities in the Southampton and Eastleigh areas.

They are Romsey's only youth soccer club following the disappearance from the scene of Cupernham and they and Romsey town are keen to forge closer links.

If Romsey are successful in raising the funds they need for their all-weather training pitch, it is likely to be an overall asset for the town as a whole.

"We would only need it two evenings a week and it would be available for the youth teams on the other evenings," said Holmes.