A Swindon community football club has opened a new venue just in time for the Euros.

Stratton Juniors FC set up The Penalty Spot near Merton Fields to give more than 25 youth teams and five adult football teams a place to socialise, host events, and generate much-needed revenue.

Months of hard work from dedicated volunteers have turned the upstairs area of the building into a clubhouse that will welcome people in to watch England’s Euros matches before its full opening at the start of the next season in August.

The club took over the site two years ago and carried out a major refurbishment to bring it up to scratch, then leased out the top floor to the NHS for use as a training centre.

After that 18-month contract ended, chairman Peter Nash and treasurer Sam Holborow saw an opportunity to use the space for something special.

Peter said: “We have had a lot of growth in the last 18 months so we wanted to improve the togetherness of the club.

“In grassroots football, you can go through an entire season without seeing other teams play games, so this is where they can come together and do just that.

“Most of the work on this has been done by volunteers in just 10 weeks, which is phenomenally impressive.

“We rely on volunteers and will have to see how the venture goes for the first 12 months before hiring staff."

Street artist Jakstaart created a mural for the entrance. The entire building - including the games room and function area with a bar, coin-operated pool table and darts - can be hired out for events and special occasions

Sam added: “We didn’t have anywhere where the teams could congregate and celebrate the club. Now it’s the home of Stratton.

“We’ve had great feedback, the kids from the teams have screamed with delight, the parents are very excited about it, and everyone who sees the mural when they come in goes ‘wow’.

“We have exciting long-term goals for the club and we invest as much as we can into improving it.

“We want to provide football for all, but to do that, we need to invest in the pitches and this provides a way to bring in more revenue."

The Penalty Spot will open at 5pm on Thursday and serve alcohol after 6pm. For more information, visit The Penalty Spot’s Facebook page or email thepenaltyspotsjfc@gmail.com