SOCCER stardom could beckon budding David Beckhams in West Devon if a plan by Crowndale Recreation Association is on target.

The association hopes to make Tavistock a 'rural centre' for mini-soccer and says it will go 'all the way' with its efforts to attract funding from the Football Association.

The CRA is lodging a £97,500 application this spring and aims to get the soccer centre up and running in the summer.

Chairman John Warne said: 'We understand that the application forms for the monies will be released on April 1 — our plan is to get the bid in during the first week.'

He said if the bid is successful the CRA would start work 'as quickly as possible' on a £150,000 scheme to create a series of mini-soccer pitches plus basic changing facilities on their 12-acre site.

'We can be a pathfinder rural area for the FA scheme — there's no question we have to go for it. It's the first step for Crowndale.'

The CRA, which failed to attract Lottery funding for a much larger, multi-million pound scheme in 1997, feels there is 'exceptional' demand for such pitches given the amount of youth teams playing locally. It now intends to concentrate on football, certainly as a first step towards improving sporting facilities in the Tavistock area.

Mr Warne said the CRA still needs funding from West Devon Borough Council and that the CRA was in contact with the borough treasurer concerning an 'acceptable' financial package.

He added that if it would be helpful to a Tavistock Area Community Recreation Association (TACRA) bid to the National Lottery for an all-weather pitch in Tavistock, the CRA would be happy to go all the way with the FA.

At Monday's CRA meeting, treasurer Mike Jefferies said Sports Council funding could only best be described as 'possible'.

He compared this situation with the position from the FA, which has indicated to Crowndale that funding is 'probable' this year for mini-soccer.

'This does present us with a dilemma now — should we jeopardise probable FA funding for the remote possibility of Sport England funding?' he said.

'Let's go forward together, with West Devon Borough Council and TACRA, but we can take the first step today with the FA. Nothing will be finalised by the end of April but if we wait until then, the funding may have gone elsewhere,' said Mr Jefferies.

Jim Lothian, founder of Tavistock Jets football club, said: 'We very much see the advantages of going down this path because hopefully it will mean that in time further funding may be available from the FA to develop the Crowndale site to meet more of the needs in the town.'

He said the youngest soccer teams have to travel to Plymouth to play because of the lack of facilities in Tavistock — extra pitches would also reduce pressure on existing facilities which are often damaged through over-use.

He said if a 'huge agreement' between the FA, Premier League and TV companies comes to fruition, it could mean a huge injection of cash for youth soccer in the future.

'The FA representative is fully aware of the exceptional needs in this area,' said Mr Lothian, who hoped that perhaps further land could be purchased in the valley to meet demand.