Uncertain future for Waterford club as pitch is bought from receiver

A west Waterford soccer club, preparing for 50th anniversary celebrations next year, faces an uncertain future after one of the playing pitches it has occupied for more than 25 years was purchased from a receiver.

Dungarvan AFC plays in the Premier Division of the Waterford Junior League but has 27 other teams, facilitating under-age boys’ and girls sides, and also runs a Saturday academy for children aged six to 10.

The club, with an affiliated involvement of about 1,000 people, began leasing the Dungarvan former Waterford Crystal playing pitch at Kilrush for €1,000 annually during the late 1980s. When the glass factory closed in 2009, receivers Deloitte dismissed the agreement as non-binding.