Sponsorship deal boost for Canton Liberals FC

Canton Liberals FC is facing a brighter future after securing a sponsorship deal that will help them continue their meteoric rise through the league pyramid.

The deal with estate agency Squarefoot, whose Canton office is located opposite the Liberal Club that gives the team its name, has provided the club a significant cash injection to develop the new ground they need in order to progress to the South Wales Senior League. Only formed in 2006, the Libs started out in Division Four of the Cardiff & District League, rising rapidly from the bottom of the pyramid as champions of Division 4 (2006-7), Division 3 (2007-8), Division 2 (2008-9) and Division 1 (2009-10). Playing on local authority pitches for the first four seasons, the club realised that their rapid success meant they needed to secure their own venue. At that start of the 2010-11 season they secured the use of the Marl in Grangetown - previously the home of former South Wales Senior League side St Mary’s Butetown, so they were confident that if they won the Premier Division the ground would meet the SWFA criteria and enable a fifth successive promotion. But with a 3-1 win agains Clwb Cymric on the last day of the season securing the Premier Division title, celebrations were quickly ended with the bad news that the ground had failed the SWFA promotion criteria.

This led to the club teaming up with Fitzalan High School in a deal that involves the club developing the required facilities on the playing fields, which will both benefit the pupils and give the club the modern ground they need to progress. The club plans to form junior sides as part of the partnership. Canton Liberal Chairman Dean Bowden said: “We are delighted to have a permanent ground, and thanks to Squarefoot’s sponsorship we now have the funding in place to develop it to the standards required to get to the next level. Without this deal, we would be consigned to the Premier Division with no prospects of further promotion, so this means a lot to us, the school and the local community who will also benefit from improved facilities.” Derek Richardson of Squarefoot said: “We are glad to help such a talented and ambitious team. Their rapid rise up the pyramid may have been temporarily checked, but we are confident that the 2011-2012 season will be a great one for the Libs!”