Scarborough's U-19s side saved by affiliation change

Scarborough Athletic scored 100 goals in the 2009-10 league campaign

Scarborough Athletic have taken over the affiliation of Scarborough Town's under-19s side to save them.

FA rules required the under-19s to be affiliated to a senior club by 31 July, and Town's future is in serious doubt.

Town committee member Andy Standing told BBC Radio York: "We're very thankful that Scarborough Athletic have taken them on."

Athletic director James Hunter said: "Hopefully they can keep going for the sake of the players."

The under-19s date back to the original Scarborough FC which folded in 2007.

A lot of people have worked a lot of hours for the young footballers in Scarborough and that's got to be appreciated

Mitch Cook

Since then, they have been attached to the George Pindar Community Sports College's academy, based on the edge of the town's Eastfield Estate, with Scarborough Town providing much of the funding.

"If Scarborough Town call it a day, whether it will then be for Athletic to take on [the cost] I don't know," Standing added.

"It is quite a considerable amount. Because of the lack of a floodlit facility in Scarborough, we have been using Pickering's facilities for the last few years, which we're very thankful for, but there are cost implications."

While sympathetic with Town's likely demise, Hunter believes having just one senior club in Scarborough will benefit football in the town in the long term.

"We're very serious in what we want to do for the town and for football in general," he added.

"With the under-19s, links with the ladies team, bring all the links together and it's only going to be beneficial."

Town's director of football Mitch Cook pointed out: "We're waiting for confirmation that the under-19s league have accepted the situation... if (they do) we'll be happy to go along with it."

Cook has been involved in junior football in Scarborough dating back well into the Scarborough FC era - he was Scarborough manager for a while - and hopes Town's hard work and financial support will be recognised.

"A lot of people have worked a lot of hours for the young footballers in Scarborough and that's got to be appreciated," he added.

"We feel that football in Scarborough should be played in Scarborough and we gave [the under-19s] that opportunity. Scarborough Town was seen as an extension of that and it was successful."