Swamp Soccer organisers appeal for suitable venue

IT is one game which definitely won't be cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch - providing the organisers can find one.

With just four months to go until the city's first ever Swamp Soccer World Cup kicks off, there is still no venue to host the international tournament.

The annual two-day event sees teams battling it out on a pitch which resembles a swamp, in a bid to claim the title of world champions.

Supported by the city council, the event started in Scotland in 2006 but quickly outgrew its previous venues in Strachur and Dunoon, and as a result is being held in the Capital for the first time in June.

However, organiser Stewart Miller, 48, said the city council is still trying to secure a venue, and he is now appealing to private landowners in Edinburgh to consider giving up their land for one weekend each year to host the event.

To create the artificial swamp, organisers excavate swathes of earth with machinery before filling the churned remnants knee-deep with water.

The venue for the Swamp Soccer World Cup needs to be a grassland area of around three to four acres, with good soil for the pitches, and close to a natural water source. The area should also be able to fit up to four five-a-side sized pitches, a large marquee, toilets and showers.

Mr Miller said: "A day or two after the competition is finished, the ground starts drying up again and the grass grows back - and the grass that grows after it is much healthier than what was there before.

"We were planning to host 100 teams at the event this year, but the delay in finding a venue is restricting our efforts.

"A lot of teams have signed up already and want to know the location so they can book hotels. The longer this goes on, the more will disappear."

Players from Russia, France, Switzerland and Poland, as well as a host of home-grown sides, have already signed up, with some coming from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.

The event, which will take place on June 25 and 26, is expected to attract up to 3000 people, including players and spectators.

Registration for the event costs 150 per team.

Anyone who can help with a venue should e-mail [email protected].