Need for Investment in Football Facilities

That the Parliament congratulates the national football team for its excellent start to the Euro 2008 qualifiers, notwithstanding the defeat in Kiev, and wishes the squad all the best in the remaining matches; believes that youth development provides the lifeblood for future success at club and international level but observes that much of our sporting facilities at local level across Scotland are in an awful state of disrepair, as most recently highlighted in Edinburgh; recognises the vital contribution which volunteers, who give up their time to run thousands of clubs across Scotland, make to the success of football in Scotland but notes the dispiriting environment in which they often find themselves working in pavilions, changing rooms and other facilities which are not up to scratch, and believes that the Scottish Executive must recognise the vital role that youth football plays and, for the future of the game, must invest in new or renovated facilities to sustain football at all stages from soccer sevens through to professional level.