Published: Tuesday, 24th February, 2009 3:25pm

Rushing in to join the sevens

by Frank Cassidy

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FOOTBALL fans who fancy a kickabout with state-of-the-art facilities have a chance to do it next month.

Belmont Academy in Ayr is the latest destination to host a Prostar league, endorsed by ex-Liverpool striker Ian Rush, that hopes to encourage more people into regular exercise.

It is hoped that the weekly events will play a part in reducing Scotland"s heart disease and obesity rate by getting more local people into regular weekly exercise for the cost of a pint of beer.

The community six-a-side football league will be running every Wednesday evening between 7pm and 9pm on the brand new 3G astroturf pitch at Belmont Academy and officially kicks off on March 11.

The Astroturf surface means that matches will not be affected by the weather which has caused so many problems recently in Scottish football, particularly at grass roots level.

Teams will play a half hour game each week in a league system with promotion and relegation at the end of the season.

There is no registration or affiliation fee and match costs are just £2.75 per player per week, the same cost as a pint of beer.

Divisional winners receive Prostar strips while runners-up receive top quality individual trophies and there is also a top goalscorer competition.

The league will be affiliated to the Scottish Amateur FA with all matches being officiated by qualified SFA referees.

All equipment is provided so that it is simply a case of turning up and enjoying the fun.

Anyone aged 18 or over can enter and you do not need to be an organised or established team, you may simply be a group of friends, work colleagues or mates from the pub.

Prostar Leagues" organiser Stephen Mullane said: 'We previously organised a very successful five-a-side league at Citadel Leisure Centre with John Given providing much of the help to get it started.

'We closed the league after teams wanted to go outdoors and there were simply no pitches available to hire, however we are delighted that we have managed to book the academy"s astroturf

'This will allow us to kick off Ayr"s first six-a-side league on larger pitches than the standard five-a-side enclosed pitches people are used to.

'Our aim is simple - to get as many members of the local community involved as we can.

'Scotland still has one of the highest rates of heart disease in Europe and we want to try and tackle that problem head on.

'If we can do our bit to help fight obesity by getting people into regular exercise then we"ll be happy.'

Anyone interested in taking part can either contact Paul Spacey on 08703 300888 for more information or teams can register online at www.prostarleagues.com.