A JUNIOR football club is bidding for funding to improve its facilities.

And it is calling on the community for support.

Silsden Juniors are applying for £25,000 from the Aviva Community Fund.

The aim is to build a multi-use extension to the existing changing rooms at the Keighley Road site to cater for expanding numbers of youngsters.

The club's bid has been approved by a panel of adjudicators and is now competing against other schemes in an online vote.

Barry Thomas, commercial manager at the club, said the new building would be somewhere the youngsters and parents could call home.

"We take very seriously our commitment to providing a sporting facility for people in our surrounding area," he said.

"We aim to provide the best possible playing surfaces and training areas that we can, from the funds we raise.

"These funds come from activities ranging from bag packs and car washes to our annual six-a-side weekend.

"Access to the grounds is always 24/7 for anyone wishing to partake in sport, exercise or just walk or jog around our fields.

"We also want to attract more junior sports and encourage other groups to use our facility, along with the majorettes, Scouts and fitness groups already using it.

"Currently we attract 240 young people to our junior set up.

"However, given our area, there must be hundreds more youngsters whom we should be able to attract and get involved in sports and outdoor activities."

Mr Thomas said a pitch-side classroom also formed part of the club's ambitious improvement plans.

"By working with local schools and clubs we can offer courses and activities that will improve the community by getting the youth and their parents involved in sport on a regular basis," he said.

"We have a rounders team wishing to also use our facility, but while we can provide a pitch we have no changing facilities for them.

"We know the new facility will be used most nights and every weekend during the season. We also know that with teams being added every year, the extra players and parents will grow.

"The classroom would enable us to teach maths – focussing on the areas of the pitches – geography, concerning the location of the teams we play, and history – the club was founded in 1904 so plenty to go at there!"

He added: "The Juniors would greatly appreciate any support for the bid. It only takes a few minutes to vote.

"We have got past the first stage of the bidding process and need to come first or second in the vote to achieve our goal."

At present the Juniors have boys', girls' and mixed teams for young people aged five to 18.

The annual six-a-side contest in June, the club's main fundraiser, attracts over 100 teams and more than 2,500 spectators from across the north of England.

The ground features two standard-sized and four smaller pitches, with a floodlit 'paddock' for training purposes.

But because of the numbers, many of the teams have to train on rented all-weather pitches in the winter.

To vote, visit community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/Project/View/826.