IN the wake of recent statements made in the Chronicle by Llanfoist Fawr Community Council (LFCC) regarding Govilon AFC's reasons for leaving the King George V Playing Field, the club would like to address some key points they feel need clarification.

In relation to LFCC's claim that Govilon AFC's members and supporters appeared to perceive the King George V Field as 'their football club' and that Govilon have warned youngsters not to use the area, a Govilon spokesperson explained, "We are not aware of anyone involved with the club telling youngsters they cannot play on the field. We have never stopped any other teams/individuals from using the ground. Over the years a number of different groups have used the ground to include a boot camp, boxercise, travellers club and the outward bounds centre. We have never stated that the ground is for the sole use of Govilon AFC, the long history of the club playing on this ground makes that association on its own, the local community and other local clubs associate Govilon AFC with this ground."

In the Chronicle's original story of 22/8/2013, the LFCC complain that Govilon put out a large sign on match day proclaiming the ground belongs to the the club, but Govilon argue, "The sign welcoming other clubs to the ground was not a permanent fixture and was placed temporarily whilst matches took place and removed at the end of the matches. It didn't say welcome to Govilon AFC football ground but welcome to Govilon AFC. Surely we should be allowed to put a sign out welcoming other clubs to the ground?"

Govilon AFC would also like to stress that they never stated that they had been asked to leave the village, but it was just not possible for them to function as a football club within the constraints that were applied following the working party report carried out by the LFCC.

A Govilon spokesperson told the Chronicle, "The truth is Llanfoist Fawr Community Council did not ask the club to leave the ground but sometimes actions speak much louder than any words.

"In light of the enforced changes our line marker, nets, corner flags and sponsors' advertising boards would have had to be kept away from the ground and transported to every match.

"Additionally, it would have been very difficult to carry on without our main source of income, which was provided by the Pavilion's kitchen, because we had to remove our fridge, freezer, tea urn, and kettle mugs from the ground.

"Then there was the constant threat hanging over the club of having no further use of the Pavilion, if in the eyes of the council it was not maintained to a certain standard of cleanliness. It was not possible for us to play Gwent County Division One football with the constant knowledge that on a whim this facility would not be available to us."

The spokesperson added, "Our groundsman spent hours every week making sure the ground looked its best and was a credit to the village, we also employed the grounds contractor who laid the pitch to carry out work all at no cost to the council.

"In their wisdom, LFCC now want to cut the ground 14 times a year with the cost being borne by the local tax payer. All of this along with the new hire costs of around £60 a match and the reluctance of LFCC to sit down and talk to us made us arrive at the decision we did. "We felt for our own peace of mind we had to leave what has been our home ground for a very long time now in what was a very sad decision for the football club, all of its supporters and the local businesses, who we did our best to try and support."